What is a Archway?

The carrier architectural element that transfers the load in two directions from top to bottom is called an arch.

Arches, which are located on wall surfaces or above openings such as doors and windows and often have curved profiles, are in the form of an arc and can be semicircular, flat, pointed or segmented. Arch shapes, which vary according to region, period, building type and culture, generally play a fundamental role in the identity of an architectural style. In every case, an archway that has structural value constitutes the transition part between the carrier element and the covering elements. Sometimes blind arches, which have a purely decorative value, are also used to enliven the plain facades.

The first real arches emerged in Mesopotamia, where adobe material was widely used, and then the same technique was applied with stone material in Egypt. The basic principle of the first real arch emerged when many adobe or stone blocks relied on each other to complete the arch arch. Based on this principle, rich shapes have been obtained by changing the number, diameters and directions of rotation of the springs that form the rotation movement of the arch from time to time.

In Islamic architecture, the arch has found a wide range of use in almost all types of buildings. In brick and stone architecture, even the facades that do not provide openness have been tried to be given movement with a slightly recessed decorative arch. This application, called "deaf arch", is especially seen on the facades of tombs. The type of arch called "Bursa arch", which is common in Ottoman architecture, is based on old wooden buildings. Two praçols, which reinforce the horizontal beam overlapping two pillars in wooden structures, were used as a form in stone architecture over time.