Nail Çakırhan (1910 – 2008) was a poet, journalist, political activist and self taught architect. He had reached his forties before he first became interested in construction, while accompanying his archaeologist wife Halet Çambel on her field work of excavation and restoration works in Karatepe-Aslantas. He worked for a decade as a supervisor of construction projects and also restored his mother's old vernacular house in Gokabad, working with two traditionally skilled local carpenters. He expanded his knowledge of traditional building techniques while preserving a yalı in the Istanbul quarter of Arnavutköy on the European shore of The Bosphorus. This lead to recognition and commissions including the building of the Turkish Historical Society and the German High School in Ankara. He contributed to the design and construction of several projects in Muğla Province region, notably the restoration of the 18th Konakaltı Caravanserai in the province center, as well as private houses, hotels and other buildings for the tourism industry. In 1970 he acquired a plot of land in Akyaka, a small town at the head of the Gulf of Gokova and built his own home using the techniques and traditional materials that were now familiar to him. The quality of Çakırhan ‘s work was recognised, leading to legislation that all new building in the town had to adhere to similar principles and style. He received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1983, principally on the basis of his legacy in Akyaka. He also built a gallery in the grounds for events and art exhibitions and this continues to be actively used by the community. Since his death in 2008 the house has been preserved as he left it and is in the custodianship of the Yücelen Otel, Akyaka.