Introduction

In their homeland in Central Asia, Turks lived in dome-like tents appropriate to their natural surroundings, and they were nomads. These tents later influenced Turkish architecture and ornamental arts. At the time when the Seljuk Turks first came to Iran, they encountered an architecture based on old traditions. Integrating this with elements from their own traditions, the Seljuks produced new types of structures. Turkish architecture reached its peak during the Ottoman period. Ottoman architecture, influenced by Seljuk, Byzantine and Arab architecture, came to develop a style all of its own.