The Black Sea region in northern Turkey is known for strange architectural creations and Mehmet Çetin’s treehouse is one of them. Though treehouses are common in the region, they are mostly built atop a single tree. Çetin went farther and used four trees for his house, looking over Rize’s famous tea orchards.
Standing at the height of 20 meters (65.6 feet), the treehouse is fixed with four steel screws on the trunks of four trees in Güneysu, known as hometown of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The house has been a childhood dream of 27-year-old Çetin, who returned to his village in Güneysu when his school in the capital Ankara switched to remote education. He sought to reenact the decrepit home of his grandfather, where he spent his childhood in a treehouse between plum, pear and date trees. The 6-square meter wooden structure was expanded with the addition of a balcony. The house itself was reinforced with steel cables wrapped in trees.
Çetin, who graduated from university, started an export business, got married, lives in the capital and returns to his hometown only in the summer with his wife. For one month, he stays in the treehouse with her. “I always dreamed of building a treehouse but never imagined I would make it this bigger,” he told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Friday. It took him 40 days to complete the construction, with monthslong breaks.
“I used discarded materials from grandfather’s old home. I spent very little,” he said.
The treehouse is also distinct as its height changes based on wherever you enter it. “If you take the wooden bridge at the back, it is 4 meters high. From the other end, it is 20 meters high,” he said. Though the house is small, Çetin occasionally receives guests. “It shakes a lot when there is wind and people are sometimes scared. But it is enduring. I tried its endurance by having ten people inside it,” he added.
