Chardak

A chardak (Bulgarian, Macedonian and чардак, čardak) is an old typical house in the Balkans. It is derived from the word cardak, which is a component of Ottoman Turkish house design. This term, which is also called sofa, denotes an open hall of a house's upper living floor.

Description
The chardak is timber-framed and usually include a hayat. The design has been described as "Greek-Oriental," Southern European," and "Mediterranean". It has a fortified  ground floor and a wooden upper floor. This dwelling was used as a protective small fort.

Chardak can also refer to the space – a part of the central hall area – that connects the rooms of the house.

Chardaks were also used as fortifications in the early modern period.