Operational modal analysis of Nur-U Osmaniye Mosque in Istanbul

Nur-u Osmaniye Mosque that was built between 1748 and 1755 is one of the enormous monuments of Ottoman capital, Istanbul. The mosque is unique in terms of being first royal religious complex with Ottoman Baroque style and a oval shaped courtyard. The mosque differs from the classical period with its architectural style and construction techniques such as structural use of iron, the design of substructure and wooden pile foundations. This study focuses on the determination of structural dynamic properties of Nur-u Osmaniye Mosque which is an 18th century historic masonry monument through operational modal analysis. The paper includes selection of the locations for instrumentation and process of data recording. The acquired data collected from the structure were used to identify the dynamic parameters of the structure such as main frequencies and corresponding modes.