Conical Houses of the East and Elsewhere!

Did you know that one half of the world's population on six continents, lives or works in buildings that are constructed of earth?  This is quite a substantial sum of people living in simply made structures. 

The above picture is beehive houses in Syria.  Can you imagine living in a home like this.  No windows to speak of and no indoor heating or air conditioning. However, I have heard that they can be very cool in the summer when the air outside is stiffling.

Then there are the conical houses of Haran, Turkey.  I rather like this view.  It looks clean and inviting.  I can imagine myself sitting outside with a glass of mint tea and talking with neighbors.

The first recorded beehive or conical houses were recorded about 3,700 BC.  In Aleppo, Syria there is an entire village of these type of homes.  Where did the idea to build one of these gems originate? 

Do you think that travelers would see one of these homes and take the idea back with them to build for themselves?

Would you belive that these huts were made without mortar?  Yes, and they were lived in by monks in Skellig Michael, Ireland.

Native Americans had their own version of the conical hut, but not made with mud or stone but animal hides.  My home is quite simple and needing a thick coat of paint.  Anyway, a home is your castle or maybe a hut.