The architecture of Turkey includes heritage from the ancient era of Anatolia to the present day. Significant remains from the Greco-Roman period are located throughout the country. The Byzantine period produced, among other monuments, the celebrated Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). Following the arrival of the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century, Seljuk architecture mixed Islamic architecture with other styles of local architecture in Anatolia. The Ottoman Empire ushered in a centuries-long tradition of Ottoman architecture up until the early 20th century.
In the first years of the Turkish republic (after 1923), Turkish architecture was influenced by earlier Seljuk and Ottoman architecture, in particular during the First National Architectural Movement (also called the Turkish Neoclassical architecture movement). However, starting from the 1930s, architectural styles began to differ from traditional architecture, also as a result of an increasing number of foreign architects being invited to work in the country, mostly from Germany and Austria. The Second World War was a period of isolation, during which the Second National Architectural Movement emerged. Similar to Fascist architecture, the movement aimed to create a modern but nationalistic architecture.
From the 1950s the nation became more internationally connected, which enabled Turkish architects to experiment with new styles and become increasingly inspired by their counterparts in the rest of the world. However, they were largely constrained by the lack of technological infrastructure or insufficient financial resources until the 1980s. Thereafter, the liberalization of the economy and the shift towards export-led growth paved the way for the private sector to become the leading influence on architecture in Turkey.
Pre-modern era Greco-Roman era
The ancient Greeks founded many city-states along the Aegean shores in western Anatolia and beyond. During the Hellenistic period, the Kingdom of Pergamon was one of the most powerful and the site of the city of Pergamon is one of Turkey's UNESCO World Heritage Sites today. Anatolia continued to prosper in the Roman era and cities such as Ephesus and Sardis, in addition to Pergamon, grew considerably during this time. Many of the Greco-Roman sites in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions of present-day Turkey thus preserve substantially, if not primarily, Roman constructions.
Byzantine era
The Byzantine era followed the division of the old Roman Empire into eastern and western halves in the late 4th century. The Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, had its capital at Constantinople, present-day Istanbul. Byzantine architecture started as a continuation of late Roman architecture but it further developed over the following millennium. The Hagia Sophia, a massive domed church completed in 537 under Justinian I, is the greatest achievement of Byzantine architecture. It exercised significant influence on subsequent Byzantine church architecture and eventually on Ottoman architecture. The Byzantine style is also known for its sophisticated mosaic art. A major example of this art in the late Byzantine period is the 14th-century Chora Church (present-day Kariye Mosque) in Istanbul.
Seljuk and Beyliks era
Architecture under the Anatolian Seljuks incorporated an eclectic mix of influences, adopting local Byzantine, Armenian, and Georgian elements and combining them with designs from Islamic Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Central Asia. Their monuments were largely built in dressed stone, with brick used for minarets. Decoration was concentrated around certain elements like entrance portals and took the form of elaborate stone carving (e.g. the Ince Minareli Medrese and the Divriği complex), occasional ablaq stonework (e.g. Alâeddin Mosque in Konya), and large surfaces covered in tilework (e.g. Karatay Medrese).
As Anatolia fragmented into Beyliks during the later 13th and 14th centuries, architecture became even more diverse, particularly in western Anatolia, where proximity to the Byzantine and Mediterranean worlds encouraged further experimentation and syncretism.
Ottoman era (14th to early 20th centuries)
The architecture of the early Ottomans experimented with different building types, including single-domed mosques, multi-domed buildings, and religious buildings with T-shaped floor plans. This eventually evolved into the Classical Ottoman style that was consolidated during the 16th and 17th centuries. This style, drawing strong influence from the Hagia Sophia, produced grand imperial mosques designed around a central dome and a varying number of semi-domes. This period is also associated with the most famous Ottoman architect, Mimar Sinan (d. 1588). Among his over 300 designs across the empire, his most important works include the Şehzade Mosque in Istanbul, the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, and the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne. In decorative arts, Iznik tiles reached their artistic peak and were used in many buildings.
After the 17th century, Ottoman architecture was increasingly open to outside influences. Shifts during the Tulip Period were followed by the appearance of the Ottoman Baroque style in the 1740s. In the 19th century, Western European influences increased and architects such as the Balyans produced eclectic works like the luxurious Dolmabaçe Palace. In the early 20th century, a kind of Ottoman revivalism known as the First National Architectural Movement was led by architects like Mimar Kemaleddin and Vedat Tek.
1920s to early 1930s: First national architectural movement
The First National Architecture Movement (Turkish: Birinci Ulusal Mimarlık Akımı) was an architectural movement led by Turkish architects Vedat Tek (1873–1942) and Mimar Kemaleddin Bey (1870–1927). Followers of the movement wanted to create a new and "national" architecture, which was based on motifs from Seljuk and Ottoman architecture. The movement was also labelled Turkish Neoclassical architecture, or the National Architectural Renaissance. Other prominent followers of this movement were Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu (1888–1982) and Giulio Mongeri (1873–1953). Notable buildings from this era are the Istanbul Main Post Office (1905–1909), Tayyare Apartments (1919–1922), Istanbul 4th Vakıf Han (1911–1926), State Art and Sculpture Museum (1927–1930), Ethnography Museum of Ankara (1925–1928), Bebek Mosque, and Kamer Hatun Mosque.
Italian architect Raimondo D'Aronco served as the chief palace architect to the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II in Istanbul for 16 years. D'Aronco designed and built a large number of buildings of various types in Istanbul. The stylistic features of his works can be classified in three groups: Revivalism, reinterpretation of the Ottoman forms, Art Nouveau and Vienna Secession. Art Nouveau was first introduced to Istanbul by D'Aronco, and his designs reveal that he drew freely on Byzantine and Ottoman decorations. D'Aronco also mixed Western and Oriental styles in his work, which was likewise a notable characteristic of the designs of Alexander Vallaury in the same period.Manfredi Nicoletti, Raimondo D'Aronco, Milano 1955.
1930s to 1950s: Modernism and foreign influence
The Bauhaus style Florya Atatürk Marine Mansion (1935) and the Art Deco style Ankara Central Station (1937) are among the notable examples of this era. As there were not enough architects in Turkey until the 1950s, various architects were invited by the government from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France, in order to manage the rapid construction of the new capital Ankara. About 40 architects and urban planners designed and oversaw various projects (mostly in Ankara, and to a lesser extent in Istanbul and İzmir) between 1924 and 1942. Among them were Gudrun Baudisch, Rudolf Belling, Paul Bonatz, Ernst Arnold Egli, Martin Elsaesser, Anton Hanak, Franz Hillinger, Clemens Holzmeister, Henri Prost, Paolo Vietti-Violi, Werner Issel, Hermann Jansen, Theodor Jost, Heinrich Krippel, Carl Christoph Lörcher, Robert Oerley, Bernhard Pfau, Bruno Taut and Josef Thorak.
Selected examples of buildings from this era are the Bauhaus style Florya Atatürk Marine Mansion (1935) designed by Seyfi Arkan; the Art Deco style Ankara railway station (1937) designed by Şekip Akalın; the Court of Cassation building (1933–35) designed by Clemens Holzmeister; the Faculty of Languages, History and Geography building (1937) of Ankara University designed by Bruno Taut; and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey building (1938–63) designed by Clemens Holzmeister.
Second national architectural movement
The Stripped Classicism movement of the late 1930s and early 1940s in Europe and North America sought a modern interpretation of Neoclassical architecture. The movement had a particularly notable impact on Fascist architecture in Italy and Nazi architecture in Germany, which aimed to develop the modern versions of the architecture of the Roman (Italy) and Holy Roman (Germany) empires, according to their ideologies. In the same period, there was a trend towards creating a new national architecture in Turkey, which was called the Second National Architectural Movement (Turkish: İkinci Ulusal Mimarlık Akımı). The foreign architects employed in Turkey in this period (especially from Germany and Austria) played an important role in the introduction of this architectural movement and its style. The pioneers of the movement in Turkey were Sedad Hakkı Eldem, Ekrem Hakkı Ayverdi and Emin Halid Onat. To lead this movement, Professor Sedad Hakkı Eldem held National Architecture seminars at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, focusing on traditional Turkish house styles.
Like their contemporary equivalents in Europe and North America, the government buildings of this style in Ankara and Istanbul typically had large proportions (high ceilings, high windows, etc.) to give the impression of a strong state authority. Some of them also had monumental facade designs reminiscent of Neoclassical architecture; but with more modern and plain rectangular shapes, symmetry, simplicity, and a general lack of ornateness.
Some of the buildings in this style are the Ankara Opera House, designed by Şevki Balmumcu (1933–34) and renovated by Paul Bonatz (1946–47); the TCDD General Headquarters Building designed by Bedri Uçar in 1938; Istanbul University Faculty of Science and Faculty of Literature buildings (1944–52); Anıtkabir (1944–53); Istanbul Radio Headquarters (1945–49); Şişli Mosque (1945–49); and the Çanakkale Martyrs' Memorial (1954–60). The movement was particularly influential between 1935 and 1950. From the 1950s, the influence of this style diminished due to the next wave, especially International Style and Rationalism.
1950s and more Western influence
At the beginning of the 1950s, a new generation of architects such as Nevzat Erol, Turgut Cansever, Abdurrahman Hancı, Cengiz Bektaş, Hayati Tabanlıoğlu, Enver Tokay, İlhan Tayman and Yılmaz Sanlı became more influential in the architectural arena. These were architects who either studied in Europe or had information of the modernist architecture of the time. Their quest for modernist architecture was in line with the International Style and Rationalism. However, the development of the Turkish economy was an important factor as well. Even though Turkish architects were able to follow up on the modern design of important architects of the time, they were constrained by the lack of technological infrastructure or insufficient financial resources.