Knowra Architecture of Turkey Architecture of Turkey Architecture of Turkey encompasses the region’s buildings and traditions, shaped by Anatolian, Byzantine, Seljuk, Ottoman, and modern influences across changing political and cultural settings.
Hittite architecture : The monumental building traditions of the Hittite kingdoms, known for fortified capitals, temples, and carved gateways. Hittite capitals and gateways preserve some of Anatolia’s earliest monumental architecture.
Byzantine dome : A domed roof system developed in Byzantine architecture, often carried on pendentives above a square space. Pendentives made it possible to set a large circular dome over a square church interior.
Hagia Sophia : A monumental building in Istanbul completed as a Byzantine cathedral in 537 and later used as a mosque and museum. Its dome and changing religious uses embody the overlap of Byzantine and Ottoman histories.
Ottoman revival architecture : An architectural movement that revived Ottoman forms and motifs in buildings of the late Ottoman and Republican periods. It reinterpreted historic styles rather than continuing classical Ottoman construction unchanged.
Ottoman külliye : A charitable and religious complex organized around a mosque, often including schools, kitchens, baths, and hospitals. Külliyes made architecture a framework for worship, education, health care, and public welfare.
Ancient Greek architecture : The architectural tradition of ancient Greek communities, characterized by temples, civic spaces, and systems of columns and proportion. Greek cities on the Aegean coast established enduring urban and monumental forms.
Pendentive : A concave triangular masonry surface that transitions from a square bay to the circular base of a dome. This structural transition is central to the spatial effect of major Byzantine and Ottoman interiors.
Selimiye Mosque : An Ottoman imperial mosque in Edirne, designed by Mimar Sinan and completed in 1575. Its dome and unified interior represent a peak of classical Ottoman mosque design.
First National Architectural Movement : An early twentieth-century Turkish movement that adapted Seljuk and Ottoman motifs to modern building types. Its architects sought a national style amid late imperial and early Republican change.
Turkish house : A traditional domestic building type found across Turkey, often organized around a central hall and projecting upper floor. Its domestic plan records everyday life beyond imperial monuments.
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