Kiosks like this one in
Patmos can be found all over
Greece.
Kiosks like this one were found all over
Romania from 1959 till 1989
In the Mediterranean Basin and the Near East,
a kiosk (Persian کوشک Kushk; Turkish
Köşk; French Kiosque; German
Kiosk; Portuguese Quiosque; Romanian Chioşc; and Spanish Quiosco or
kiosco) is a small, separated garden pavilion open on some or all sides. Kiosks were common in Persia, India, and in the Ottoman Empire
from the 13th century onward. Today, there are many kiosks in and around the
Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, and they are still a
relatively common sight in Greece. Turkish kiosks are usually polygonal.
The word, which is of Persian origin, refers to an object that acts as a shadow or
shade-maker. In fact, more detailed etymological studies reveal that the word "köşk" has the same ancient root as the Turkish
word for shadow ("gölge").
The word "köşk" is currently used to refer to an old Ottoman style building, made of wood and clad with natural stones, with
multiple stories, mainly used as a summer or winter recreational residence for the wealthy within the old Ottoman Imperial
Palace. During the 18th century, Turkish influences in Europe established the kiosk (gazebo) as an important feature in European
gardens.
In English-speaking countries, a kiosk is a booth with an open window on one
side. Some vendors operate from kiosks, selling small, inexpensive consumables such as newspapers, magazines, lighters, street
maps, cigarettes, and confections.
An information kiosk (or information booth) dispenses free information in the form of maps, pamphlets, and other literature, and/or advice offered by an attendant.
An electronic kiosk (or computer kiosk or interactive kiosk) houses a
computer terminal that often employs custom kiosk software designed to function
flawlessly while preventing users from accessing system functions. Indeed, kiosk
mode is a euphemism for such a mode of software operation. Computerized kiosks may store
data locally, or retrieve it from a computer network.
Some computer kiosks provide a free, informational public service, while others serve a commercial purpose. Touchscreens, trackballs, computer
keyboards, and pushbuttons are all typical input devices for interactive computer kiosk.
History and origins
The kiosk can be defined as an open summer-house or pavillion usually having its roof supported by pillars with screened or
totally open walls. As a building type it was first introduced by the Seljuks as a
small building attached to the main mosque, which consisted of a domed hall with open arched sides. This architectural concept
gradually evolved into a small yet grand residence used by Ottoman sultans, the most
famous examples of which are quite possibly the Chinili Kiosk ("Çinili Köşk" in Turkish) and
Baghdad Kiosk ("Bağdat Köşkü" in Turkish). The former was built in 1473 by Mehmed II ("the Conqueror") at the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, and consists of
a two storey building topped with a dome and having open sides overlooking the gardens of the palace. The Baghdad Koshk was also
built at the Topkapı Palace in 1638-39, by Sultan Murad IV. The building is again domed,
offering direct views onto the gardens and park of the Palace as well as the architecture of the city of Istanbul.
Sultan Ahmed III (1703-1730) also built a glass room of the Sofa Kiosk at the Topkapı
Palace incorporating some Western elements, such as the gilded brazier designed by the elder John Claude Duplessis which was
given to the Ottoman Ambassador by King Louis XV of France.
The first English contact with Turkish Kiosk came through Lady Wortley Montagu (1689-1762),
the wife of the English ambassador to Istanbul, who in a letter written in 1 April 1717 to Anne Thistlethwayte, mentions a
“chiosk” describing it as "raised by 9 or 10 steps and enclosed with gilded lattices" (Halsband, 1965 ed.). Historic
sources confirm the transfer of these kiosks to European monarchs. Stanisław
Leszczyński, king of Poland and father-in-law of Louis XV, built kiosks for himself based on his memories of his captivity
in Turkey. These kiosks were used as garden pavilions serving coffee and beverages but later were converted into band stands and
tourist information stands decorating most European gardens, parks and high streets.
Conservatories
Were in the form of corridors connecting the Pavilion to the stables and consisting of a passage of flowers covered with glass
and linked with orangery, a greenhouse, an aviary, a pheasantry and hothouses. The influence of Muslim and Islamo-Indian forms
appears clearly in these buildings and particularly in the pheasantry where its higher part was an adaptation of the kiosks found
on the roof of Allahabad Palace and illustrated by Thomas
Daniell. Today’s conservatories incorporate many Muslim elements, although modern art forms have shifted from the
classical motifs.
See also
References
- Halsband, R. (1965 edn.), ‘The complete letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
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