The way through which the pointed arch travelled to Western Europe is still up to debate. My understanding is that it was used decoratively in Islamic architect

The way through which the pointed arch travelled to Western Europe is still up to debate. My understanding is that it was used decoratively in Islamic architecture, and that a load-bearing form existed in the Near-East but not fully realised. Single, isolated load-bearing pointed arches are still found in Turkey, Syria or Iraq in gates and bridges that predate Gothic architecture. In my opinion that basic design was picked up during the Crusades and expounded upon due to the specific constraints of Christian architecture, that is building up rather than wide. In the end I believe it makes far more sense that they saw something abroad used in large civil engineering and made use of out it, rather than picking a decorative feature of Islamic architecture for structural features.