Refrigeration Technology in Anatolian Seljuk and Ottoman Period Hospitals

Abstract

The precise identification of ancient refrigeration systems is problematic, since nearly every technological advance is the result of long accumulation of human experience shaped according to the environmental, cultural, social and climatic conditions of the period and region. Besides, the scarcity of firsthand documentary records doubles the problem. Therefore, in the course of the discussions, being aware of the difficulties of the subject matter, it was an important phase to fill the gap in the area of history of refrigeration technology by the help of the hospital cases in Anatolia. It takes the form of a case study that focuses as much on the context and motives for the possible refrigeration technologies used and applied in historical hospital buildings.