Traditional Wall Construction Technology of the Ottoman Empire in Relation to the Seismic Resistance of Bath Structures in the Marmara Region

Abstract

In the Ottoman Empire, traditional masonry structures were distributed all around the border lines of the country. Anatolian architecture reveals many different construction styles imported by nomad craftsman. The craftsman brought these construction styles from remote areas for the ever growing needs of the Ottoman Empire. Some of the traditional structures were constructed in cities that were in high seismic areas. The masonry walls were the main structural parts of the buildings which were naturally resistant to lateral forces. The whole structures of the buildings, as well as the walls, were affected by seismic forces. The collapse of the wall structures can be associated with many factors that include the type of stone as well as the forces that were applied to the structure and the materials used for joining the elements. From that point of view, the research question of this paper was to determine the evidence for traditional wall construction technology intended to withstand seismic activity. The answer to these questions would be clarified by the investigation of the construction techniques of the historical structures according to the seismic circumstances of the different locations of the case studies. The methodology of the research for the paper was the analysis of the morphology of the masonry wall structures in different regions with the support of typological tables. This research is a part of a study which was done during my PhD studies in Politecnico Di Milano.