Building History in Turkey

Building History in Turkey
Due to the reason that Turkey has a variety of climate types and geographical features, we see
different kinds of local materials on use in the general architecture. Therefore, a building in Mardin, a
building in Safranbolu or a building in Konya has distinctive characteristics.
Midyat House...
Safranbolu House….
Buldan House…
Kemaliye House…
Especially, local stones are very common and important in the general architecture. We can say that
Historical Peninsula has lots of varieties of local stones.
1-Bakırköy küfeki stone
2- Marmara Marble
3- İstanbul black limestone
4- Gebze rudist limestone
5- Gebze red and beige marl limestone
6- Hereke pudding stone
7- Bilecik Vezirhan stone
8- Bandırma marble
9- Armutlu granite
10- Şirinçavuş tuff
11- Kestanbol granite
12- Adapazarı black limestone
13- Afyon marble
14- Kozak granite
15- Iasos marble
16- Karamürsel stone
17- Bilecik Gülümbe limestone
Most common stones are Bakırköy Küfeki and Marmara Marble.
Bakırköy Küfeki Stone
AC 3rd century, Gots Column Marmara Marble
Dokimeion (Afyon ) Marble Quarry
Hereke pudding stone
Afyon Pavonazetto Marble, Ayasofya
Frigya (Iassos) Marble, Ayasofya
Kestanbol granite columns , Basilica Cistern
Marmara Marble, floor coverd, Topkapı Palace
Küfeki Stone
Küfeki stone was generally used in İstanbul and Trakya during the Roman and Byzantine period. It
was also known as “ lümaşelli kalker” and “maktralı kalker ” or” Bakırköy Taşı” and it is the only
kind of stone which could resist for 2000-2500 years long. It is composed of seashells and mainly of
oyster shell and it is a kind of limestone.
Küfeki stone had been the main stone of inside and outside of all buildings since the construction of
Süleymaniye Building Compound after Byzantine’s construction of Hagia Sophia and City Walls.
Around The Bakırköy, Küfeki Quarry, 1962.
During Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman
periods this stone was obtained from quarries
nearby Bakırköy, and accordingly it was named
as ” Bakırköy Taşı” .Although it is limited to
a great extent, today küfeki stone production
continues.
Usage of Küfeki Stone in aqueduct Valens
( Bozdoğan ) 4th century) ( Dilek D.BİLGİLİ, 2010)
Usage of küfeki stone in indoor arch
Şehit Ali Paşa Kütüphanesi, Vefa Lisesi (18.yy başı ) ( Dilek D. BİLGİLİ, 2010 )
Usage of Küfeki Stone on consols and Flemish cross bond Şehit Ali Paşa Kütüphanesi, Vefa Lisesi (
18.yy başı ) ( Dilek D. BİLGİLİ, 2010 )
Mimar Sinan monument Şehzade Mehmet Mosque and Guesthouse (16.yy ) ( Dilek D. BİLGİLİ, 2010 )
Features of Küfeki Stone
It is an organic sedimantary stone. It is composed of limestone, fossil (such as oyster and mussel)
and silica subsidence. Küfeki is a stone which has a color of light beige, light yellow, in grey tones.
It looks as sandy and it is fine grained,with fossil, cavernous and crystalized compacted stone. Küfeki
stone was used as the main building element in many important architectural assets during the
Byzantine and Ottoman. Fo example, İstanbul City Walls, Silivri Bidge, Aqueducts, Topkapı Palace,
Süleymaniye Mosque. Mimar Sinan(The Great Architect Sinan), had made specific researches on
küfeki stone and he used this material in his architecture owing to the fact that its easy processability,
esthetic and durability features. We can understand the places of usage and fineness of küfeki stone
in Mimar Sinan’s monuments which are still regarded the most remarkable examples of Turkish
architecture. Not only as a material for facades, küfeki stone was also used in indoors, floor
coverings, arches, columnes, cases, oriels, wall coping, fire places, landscape, reliefs, portal, mehrab
and mimbar. It is used in the restoration of old buildings in nowadays architecture. Furthermore,
researches have been carried out for discovering quarries which has the same quality of Küfeki
Stone. It is found out that küfeki stone can be used in cement sector as pozzolana.
EXAMPLES OF COUNTRY SPECIFIC PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION
TECHNIQUES IN TURKEY
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Malakari
Çini ( The art of Turkish tile )
Kündekari
Kalemişi ( Edirnekari, sıva üstü, deri üstü…vb.)
Revzen ( müzeyyen and fevkalade müzeyyen )( traditional stained-glass in Turkey)
Kubbe kurşun kaplama ( lead-lined dome )
Horasan harcı ve sıvası ( Horasan mortar and plaster ( grog) )
Malakari
Tomb of Barbaros, 16 th century, Malakari works.
Malakari is a traditional decoration technique greatly used in Ottoman period on domes, ceilings and
walls. Malakari is a kind of plaster ornament applied through reliefing plaster. There are four main
types of Malakari: normal malakari, müzeyyen malakari, relief malakari, hendese malakari. Firstly, it
started to develop in 8th and 9th century in the works of Uygur Turks. 1Later on it was seen on the
works of Seljuks, Ottomans and it continued to be the one of the most significant examples of
Turkish art till Republican period. 2
1
2
MEGEP(Mesleki Eğitim ve Öğretim Sisteminin Güçlendirilmesi Projesi),İnşaat Teknolojisi, Malakari
Alçıdergi Yıl: 2 Sayı:9 , http://www.alcider.org.tr/docs/alcidergi_Haziran2011.pdf, p.15
Çini ( The art of Turkish tile)
In this world-wide known art technique of Turkish building history, painted patterns are applied to
ceramic surfaces. There are several types of patters in this art ; hatayi, rumi, clouds, contours,
semi-stylate flower patterns, naturalist flowers, margents, geometric patterns. Turkish tile art is
divided into two main parts : Seljuks period and Ottoman period. During Seljuks period, especially in
mid 13th century, botanical and Rumi patterns took significant part in this art. In this period main
colors used in this art were purple, violet, black, gren, gold, brown and different tones of blue. Bluewhite tiles are the most significant examples of this early Ottoman period. Ottomans later developed
this technique. 15th and 16th century was a new period in the history of Turkish tile. In this period,
tulips, carnations, roses started to become prominent through a more naturalistic style. Today,
Kutahya has been became an important center of tile and ceramic-making.3
Kündekari
Kündekari is one of the Turkish traditional wooden ornament arts. Kündekari is an adornment
technique which is acquired by interlocking small geometric wooden pieces. It was improved during
the Seljuks period in Anatolia. In Seljuks period wooden assets, which were altar, mosque doors,
cabinet doors, were made through compressing sprits and sash bars by grooves without using glue
and nail. First examples of Kündekari were seen in the 12th. Century in Anatolia, Egypt and Halep.
3
MEGEP(Mesleki Eğitim ve Öğretim Sisteminin Güçlendirilmesi Projesi), İnşaat Teknolojisi, Çini
Walnut, pear, ebony, buxus, cedrus libani, rose, apple trees are used for this special technique. There
are two types of kündekari : original kündekari, imitation kündekari, embossing kündekari, nailing
and cementing kündekari.4
4
MEGEP(Mesleki Eğitim ve Öğretim Sisteminin Güçlendirilmesi Projesi),İnşaat Teknolojisi, Kündekari