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Sultan Han (Kayseri)

Summary

Sultan Han is a historic Seljuk-era caravanserai in Turkey, located 47 km northeast of Kayseri on the road to Sivas, in an area also known as Tuzhisar.[1][2][3] It was built between 1232 and 1237 CE by Sultan Ala ad-Din Kayqubad I.[4][2][1]

Courtyard of the caravanserai, with the elevated prayer room in the center

Description edit

The caravanserai covers an area of 3,900 square meters, making it the second-largest medieval caravanserai in Turkey after the other Sultan Han near Aksaray.[4][2] Like other Seljuk caravanserais, it served as a stop for travelers and merchants along the major trade routes of the region, providing lodging and other basic services.[4]

 
Entrance portal of the winter hall
 
Interior of the winter hall

It shares a similar layout to the other Sultan Han. Its exterior has a fortified appearance and the entrance is marked by a monumental portal with rich stone-carved decoration including a vaulted canopy of muqarnas. This entrance leads to a large interior courtyard surrounded by arcades, at the middle of which is a small square stone chamber elevated on four pillars, which served as a small mosque. Opposite the entrance, at the other end of the courtyard, is another portal which leads to the "winter hall": a main vaulted nave with a central dome (marked by a conical roof on the outside), from which other vaulted chambers open on either side.[2][4][1]

 
Downspout in the shape of a lion's head

The building also contains notable examples of Seljuk stone-carved animal motifs, including drain spouts resembling lion heads and serpentine dragon motifs along the lower arches of the elevated mosque in the courtyard.[2][4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Sultanhanı Kervansarayı". www.kayseri.gov.tr. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Sultan Han Kayseri". www.turkishhan.org. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  3. ^ Municipality, Selcuklu. "SULTAN HAN, TUZHİSAR". www.selcuklumirasi.com. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Sultan Han". Archnet. Retrieved 2020-07-04.

Further reading edit

  • Yavuz, Aysil Tükel (1997). "The Concepts that Shape Anatolian Seljuq Caravanserais". Muqarnas. 14: 80–95.

External links edit

  Media related to Sultan Han (Kayseri) at Wikimedia Commons

38°58′22.5″N 35°53′43″E / 38.972917°N 35.89528°E / 38.972917; 35.89528