Analyzing the Windows of Churches in Famagusta Walled City

Abstract

There used to be 365 churches in Famagusta in the medieval period. Famagusta was famous as the city of churches and it was the safest and the most important portal city of Cyprus during the 13th to 16th centuries. International tradesmen, merchants, and architects traveled to this prosperous city and built masterpieces particularly churches since the 14th century. There are different numbers of windows at different elevations of these churches and it may have a specific meaning. Also, the differences in height and sizes of the windows may originate from differences at structural systems that exist in the aforementioned churches. Some of these churches are so enlightened while the others are dark and dim. Some of these windows are elaborated and detailed, contrarily, the others are simple and small. This paper aims to analyze the different types of windows of the churches in Famagusta walled city, in particular, the shape, size and the number of windows used in different elevations. The methodology used in this theoretical paper is a comparative one. The objective of this paper is to enable architects who would approach historical buildings with more knowledge in order to preserve and conserve them better for future generations.