Spatial Analysis of the Use of Iwan in Turkish Architecture from Central Asia to Anatolia

Abstract

The iwan, whose use dates back to ancient times in Iran, Mesopotamia and Central Asia, is an architectural element with functional and semantic qualities and is usually seen on a monumental scale. At the same time, the iwan emphasizes the four-direction design within the Asian central space tradition, strengthens the centrality and carries symbolic value. The iwan, which has an important place in Turkish architecture due to these features, is an architectural element with historical continuity. In the process from Central Asia to Anatolia, it is observed that the iwan is seen in almost all kinds of architectural functions and generally in monumental-scale buildings. Still, especially when the Ottoman period passed, it lost its importance and disappeared to a large extent. The aims of this study, in examining the historical development of the iwan, are to determine in which periods, buildings and functions it was used, to define its role in the spatial organization and to reveal the changes it underwent in this process. In the study, the buildings in which the iwan is seen in Turkish architecture were examined according to historical periods and building groups, the place of the iwan in the plan typologies was examined, and it was discussed how the iwan gave direction to the space design in mosques, madrasas, khanqahs, caravanserais, palaces, kiosks, baths and tombs. The continuity, feature of monumentality and function of the iwan in Turkish architecture are examined. It has been observed that iwan serves various purposes in buildings with different functions.

Keywords

• Iwan
• Eyvan
• Four-Iwan
• Central Space
• Spatial analysis

References

1. [1] Godard, A. (1965). The Art of Iran. New York, NY: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc, Publishers.
2. [2] Pope, A. U. (1965). Persian Architecture. New York: George Braziller.
3. [3] Keall, E. J. (1974). Some Thoughts on the Early Eyvan. In D. K. Kouymjian (Ed.), Near Eastern Numismatics, Iconography, Epigraphy and History. Studies in Honor of George C. Miles (pp. 123–130). Beirut.
4. [4] Henning, W. B. (1977). Bráhman (TPS, 1944, PP.108-118). In Selected Papers II (pp. 193–203). Le den : T h ran-L ge: D ffus on E.J. Br ll ; B bl oth que Pahlav . Retrieved from https://dlib.nyu.edu/ancientworld/books/brill_awdl000099/1
5. [5] Rezaeinia, A. A. (2022). The Form of Iwan in the Context of Iranian Architecture, From the Beginning to the Early Islamic Centuries. Journal of Iranian Architecture Studies, 6(11), 125–144. Retrieved from https://jias.kashanu.ac.ir/article_111784.html
6. [6] Godard, A. (1951). L‟origine de la madrasa, de la mosqu e et du caravans rail à quatre īwāns. Ars Islamica, 15/16, 1–9.
7. [7] Rabbat, N. (1997). Al-Iwan Its meaning is spatial and its memorial significance ,(وان اإلي: ناه مع from Retrieved 267.–249 49, ,Orientales études’d Bulletin .)ال تذكاري مدل ول و و ال فزاغي http://www.jstor.org/stable/41608434
8. [8] Gasche, H. (2011). Mod les de l‟iwan dans l‟architecture ach m nide. In C. Lippolis & S. De Martino (Eds.), Un impaziente desiderio di scorrere il mondo. Studi in onore di Antonio Invernizziper il suo settantesimo compleanno (pp. 177–185). Firenze: Le lettere.

9. [9] Peker, A. U. (1991). The Monumental Iwan: A Symbolic Space or A Functional Device? Metu Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, 11, 5–19. Retrieved from http://jfa.arch.metu.edu.tr/content/view/26/29/
10. [10] Paskaleva, E. (2010). The Architecture of the Four-Īwān Building Tradition As A Representation of Paradise and Dynastic Power Aspirations. Leiden University.