'Beehive' houses in Harran, Turkey

December 1969 Issue

'Beehive' houses in Harran, Turkey

What’s made of mud, stays cool in the hottest weather and boasts a design that hasn’t changed in 3,000 years?

The subject of December’s photo, the “beehive” houses in Harran in the southeastern Anatolian region of Turkey, located very near the border with Syria.

Since the Assyrians first built them, people lived in houses like this in Harran until the 1980s; today, they remain as tourist exhibits.

Thirty-one readers sent in the correct answer, and GORDON STOFF of Venice, Florida, won the drawing.

We thank Michele Burgess of Huntington Beach, California, for contributing the photo.