Condolence houses in Sanliurfa: fading away of a tradition and a creative attempt to preserve it

This article reports the results of qualitative research conducted to investigate the change in the traditional manner of giving and accepting condolences in Sanliurfa, a city with a unique sociocultural structure in the southeastern part of Turkey. Our methodology was based on direct observation of behavior and detailed, open-ended interviews with participants. This article aims to investigate the reasons for moving the condolence tradition from family homes to specially built condolence houses a decade ago and discusses the functional significance of the ceremonial events in giving and accepting condolences.