Kültür ve uygarlık tarihinde çok önemli bir yere sahip olan Anadolu, birçok medeniyetin izlerini bir arada taşıyan bir mozaiğe sahiptir. Bu mozaiğin vazgeçilmez parçalarından olan mimari eserler, Anadolu'nun kültürel mirasının başlıca hazineleri arasında yer almaktadır. Bitlis şehri de Anadolu'nun tarihi ve kültürel geçmişine paralel olarak çok sayıda gelişmiş uygarlığa ev sahipliği yapmış ve tescilli mimari eserler bakımından Türkiye'deki önemli şehirlerden biridir. Şüphesiz ki Anadolu'daki ve Bitlis'teki çok sayıda mimari yapının asırlar öncesinden günümüze ulaşmış olması, taş malzeme ile bu malzemeyi oya gibi nakşeden taş ustalığı sayesindedir. Gerek Anadolu'da gerekse Bitlis'te oldukça gelişmiş olan taş ustalığı sayesinde çok iyi taş ustaları yetişmiştir. Şehirde, şaşılacak düzeyde ve çok sayıda anıtsal mimari yapının günümüze ulaşmış olması ve tarihi kent dokusunun hemen hemen korunması ve bugünkü kent çekirdeğini de oluşturması, taş ve taş ustalığının ortaya koyduğu sanat eserleriyle yakından ilgilidir. Şehir kimliğinin ve tarihi dokusunun oluşmasını sağlayan taş ustalığı, şehirleşme ve modern yaşam anlayışının etkisiyle günümüzde hızla yok olmaktadır. Bu çalışmada Bitlis şehrindeki taş ustalığının geçmişten günümüze gelişimi ve geleneksel kent mimarisine etkisi, günümüzdeki durumu, sorunları ile bu zanaatın yaşatılması için yapılması gerekenler irdelenmiştir

Bitlis city has a parallel history of the long-established and rich cultural history of Anatolia. Bitlis which is not like today's neglected and desolate image is a city that has hosted many ancient civilizations and that date back thousands of years. Bitlis city which is one of the oldest settlements of Anatolia is built a deep and narrow valley formed by the Tigris River, one of the arms of splitting the South-eastern Taurus on the Bitlis River system. Bitlis in using the advantages of its geographical location, since the most ancient epoch, was in view arts, commerce and science activities that develop a flourishing Anatolian city. Indeed the region in various periods has been one of the most advanced and the most prominent cities in the region of art, architecture, and scientific life. Various professions and crafts in particular stand out as a prominent activity in the city. Mainly stone mastery, blacksmithing, weaving craftsmanship as leather crafts are even today among the occupational groups the importance of protecting Bitlis. The mastery of stone and examples of traditional architecture forming the subject of the study and has a very important place in the city of Bitlis. Stone mastery has a history of close to the history of city's establishment. It have made it essential the use of stone both geographical conditions and geological characteristics of Bitlis. The movement to provide easy, durable, natural and easy handling, thermal insulation advantages of stone in respect of a century in the city have led to the fact that the basic material used for years. In this study it is examined the historical process lived in Bitlis, stone mastery and its reflections in urban architecture, and today the stone mastery and mastery of the protection of the architectural examples out results and findings related to the survival made and what to do to be transferred to the profession's future generations. Examination –observation and researches related field of study research work unfolds as a priority is made. Later on, it has been made the literature review on Bitlis topic title and stone mastery. The main headlines of this study has revealed as classifying of literature and as analysing of works. After the literature study it was made interviews with stone masters in the city and it has been supplied the necessary documents on the subject from various public organizations. In conclusion work was completed by examining the architectural fabric of the city and architectural examples setting forth on the stone mastery in Bitlis. Bitlis is located among cities the most finding of proprietary architecture with historical and cultural value in the Anatolian city. The attainment to today of historical and cultural richness of Bitlis, beginning with element in the emergence of architectural masterpieces comes from stone material and stone masters. The city has a special significance of Anatolian folk architecture with its unique stone structure examples specified with craftsmanship and workmanship with Ahlat. Indeed, Bitlis’ stone masters are their jobs those who perform very well for thousands of years with the city's historical and cultural architecture beyond the centuries. Having developed so much mastery of stone in the city and the emergence of many monumental stone structures extending beyond the ages are closely related to no doubt that the historical accumulation of Bitlis, the structure and the advantages of natural stone materials. Bitlis located on a valley surrounded by mountains and on the volcanic terraces has geologically rich stone and a large number of quarries. Ensuring easily transported and processed, showing long resistance to wear and durability, aesthetics and advantages against heat, necessitated the use of stone the construction of buildings in the region. The stone mastery in Bitlis was also mostly imported from master to apprentice and from father to son. Masters, the knowledge they have, skills and professional tact and ethics as a result of long years transferring apprenticeship, they has continued in this profession. For thousands of years apart recently about the city's architecture and history of revealing the names of stone masters are very few details. Anatolia having the best craftsman in Bitlis since ancient times, it has decreased the degree of protection of the profession for various reasons. There is very little information about stone masters on what was done by whom because they are not building in the city of imprinting their names on their works. The inscription published as Amele Ahmed bin Hussein el-Ahlati who is one of the marks of the masters they are limited on the tombstone dated 1534 in the tomb of goodwill worked in the city. The tomb of Ahlat master is important to demonstrate the existence during this period in terms of both size and decoration of XIIXIV. Centuries of Ahlat and Seljuk tomb tradition in XVI century, the survival of the artists that can continue to work or that it. In addition, Küfrev Tomb located in the Inonu neighbourhood built in 1898 by Sultan Abdulhamid Han is known to be designed by Italian architects and be employed Greek craftsman by Anberto. Furthermore tomb keeper (Türbedar) of Küfrev the Tomb in 2011, have it made the restoration of the tomb passed in touch with a few people from maisbiçaçio family members or heirs of working Greek stone masters in the construction of structures or the tradition of artists continues in Greece. Although very limited information about the artist names of the city's stone masons there are satisfactory information about community which they belong to. It is known to occur Ahlat’s masters continuing its tradition mostly Seljuk or masters of Armenian origin of the stone craftsmen and Bitlis region from Muslim masters since centuries. Both in the narrative of older people in region and their inscription in buildings and construction date imprinting of masters is evident in this case. Many of the buildings in the city dated in Armenian, Latin and written in Ottoman is remarkable. The formation from the Armenian and Muslim master craftsmen of mastery of traditional stone continue past the stone in Bitlis, is a style expressed support information. At the beginning of the master stone until recently, performing their jobs, who built many buildings throughout the history of the Republic and living up to the end of the XX. century: Armenian origin and Armenian masters of business is said to be quite disciplined Simos Master and Gavurmuso with the Muslim master craftsmen; master of masters of the so-called Mehmet Muşlu, Nusret Muşlu that the sons of the masters (the master repairing the mosque minaret Gökmeydan) and his brother Aladdin Muşlu, Tahsin Çelebi, Osman Yıldız, Maşallah Dinç and Ibrahim Dinç brothers and Refik Master are the most prominent. These masters who built very good stone structures and are not alive today and number of artisans who continue this tradition today decrease in number because both the emergence of new building materials and techniques appear and they do not train the best apprentices as a result of the reduced demand to this profession. In Bitlis there are very few people from coming young generation. These include stone restorator and Hakan Baktagül Master who is attention to the ornamentation; it is one of the most important representatives of this generation. The way of life in the formation of traditional architecture in Bitlis, severe climatic conditions, the sloping land structure and the presence of stone materials has been effective. The traditional architecture tissue of Bitlis is composed of Bitlis Castle and the majority of scattered around the castle monumental religious, military and civil architecture and traditional Bitlis house scattered among the neighbourhoods with examples and most of the XVIII and XIX. century. Obviously sum of these structure groups comes from stone materials of this architectural identity stamping to city. Bitlis which is very rich historical building stock has in all of these assemblies, connected to Van Culture and registered 14 mosques according to Natural Heritage Conservation District Board record, eight churches, 19 shrines, 4 inn 4 madrasas, 20 fountains, 14 bridges, 195 houses and 4 cemeteries. It is located next to many houses and other architecture, especially unregistered examples. In many monumental stone structures it found that most of the interior structures are very simple examples of ornamentation, while almost all of the foreign crown architecture for doors, windows, altar projection is made on the minarets and the outer walls. At the beginning of a monumental stone building in the city come madrasa, tombs and mosques. On the other hand, bridge, public baths and fountains from the water architecture samples in city are among the important complement of traditional architecture. At the beginning indispensable traditional architectural fabric and main complementary elements comes no doubt traditional Bitlis homes. The vast majority of the XIX. century and still used the traditional homes of Bitlis, is the backbone of the historical urban fabric. A high wall to the street leaving, closed but inside traditional Bitlis home reflects a unique architectural conception, rarely one and three, mostly consisting of 2 levels, composed of flat ashlar called reddish fawn and Kufa, which was built as a flat earth roofs. In planning the homes, culture, tradition, religion, economy, topography and climatic conditions have been the main determinants. Concerns in relation to the best way to benefit from the land for the construction of housing have been effective. Bitlis thousands of years old stone craftsmanship and works of art revealed by these craft is very valuable not only for tourism or aesthetic achievements but also from transportation to present the lifestyle and heritage cultural heritage and, past cultural structure of civilization. Historic stone structures built by qualified stone masters in the city and to future generations to protect this heritage of craftsmanship and should be adopted by residents of all cities. In addition, the preservation of heritage, need of respect and fidelity to history of civilization must be fulfilled to show understanding. Towards the end of the 20th century modern lifestyle and urbanization movements, with the effect of factors such as the presence of cheaper and easier materials supplied in Bitlis, has come to almost end point demand for stone structures. Rather than stone building reflecting the aesthetic and cultural heritage in urban architecture, brick and briquette is used uniformly concrete structures come to the fore. Therefore it also decreased interest in the stone craftsmanship. Such as factors; not bring economic gains to be very good in this profession, those interested in reducing, the laborious and exhausting, such as taking time to learn of this art is also effective. However, both climatic and geological conditions of the city of Bitlis, and considered widespread trend in world ecological structures, stone structures and mastery of stone must be very common nowadays, unlike the current situation. Stone structures are quite advantageous both economically and heat accumulation and health because Bitlis’s harsh climate conditions reign and stone materials are in the region being quite abundant. In terms of all of these reasons, it should be protected stone mastery of craft in the region, the authorities must make the necessary courses and training activities for growing up new masters. Besides, in order to spread stone craftsmanship and stone structures should act primarily government agencies and it should be given priority to be made from stone of public buildings to be built, housing for the people to build the stone should be at ease. Constituting the city's architectural identity thousands of years and rapidly disappearing currentlystone structures should strongly protected. Lately appeared distorted structuring should be prevented, preserving the traditional architecture tissues and structures and undermine these structures and architectural values of the image and structure must be removed. Thus the history of the prominence of the urban fabric will be provided. Old structures while maintaining single structure rather than tissue samples to protect the whole history of the city's conservation plan should be made. In addition, these historic structures preserved, restored after excludes all not abandon to their fate, fidelity to the public as appropriate in accordance, tourism or cultural heritage should be considered for such purposes as maintaining and exhibiting. However, the city's main axis forming the settlement through improving Bitlis River, crooked buildings on top of the emergence of a large number of historic buildings and other historic bridge should be eliminated. Thus the identity of the rapidly disappearing historic city, the building blocks and stones can regain mastery of the granting of the required value.