Timber Tie Beam Reinforced Masonry in Ottoman Baths

In this study, some Ottoman baths in Turkey are examined where the support of timber tie beam in masonry construction has been detected, in places where a moderate and high seismic activity is present. The aim is to verify the contribution of these devices to the structural behavior of the buildings under seismic actions. The two case studies: Gazi Mihal Bath and İsmail Bey Bath, which are the Ottoman bath buildings, constructed in 15th century, abandoned and partially ruined were examined. The case study bath structures and the methodological approach were taken from the PhD thesis in “Politecnico di Milano”. The methodology for those study buildings was adapted to static collapse analysis of the timber tie reinforced masonry. The paper concludes with the interpretation of the behavior of the two masonry buildings according to the presence of timber tie beams.