Conditional Assessment of Historical Structures: Earthquake Performance of Naziresha Mosque

Abstract

The Naziresha Mosque is one of the most important historical buildings built during the Ottoman period, still functional in Albania. It is located in Elbasan, a city in the center of Albania. Naziresha mosque was built during 1590s. It has a square plan and a cubic shaped central hall. Though it is a historical monument with unique architectural properties, the current structural condition of the mosque is observed to be severe. Furthermore, the mosque is found in an active seismic area. In this paper, conditional assessment of the mosque and structural behavior is investigated to identify the weak locations of potential failure in the structure. The static behavior and performance under earthquake load of the mosque have been evaluated using the finite element modeling technique, where the behavior of masonry has been taken into account by proper constitutive assumptions. It is believed that the case studies conclusions are applicable to most of Ottoman period mosques in Albania. As a result, significant information on the understanding of the actual structural behavior of historic buildings is presented to provide effective solutions.