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]
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Description
editThe 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]
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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]
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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- ^ a b c "Sultanhanı Kervansarayı". www.kayseri.gov.tr. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
- ^ a b c d e "Sultan Han Kayseri". www.turkishhan.org. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
- ^ Municipality, Selcuklu. "SULTAN HAN, TUZHİSAR". www.selcuklumirasi.com. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
- ^ 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.
- Ayşe, Denknalbant (2009). "SULTAN HANI". İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
- Gierlichs, Joachim (2011). "Anatolian Seljuks; Architecture". In Hattstein, Markus; Delius, Peter (eds.). Islam: Art and Architecture. h.f.ullmann. pp. 375–376. ISBN 9783848003808.
- Hillenbrand, Robert (1994). Islamic Architecture: Form, function, and meaning. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 347–350. ISBN 9780231101332.
- Ettinghausen, Richard; Grabar, Oleg; Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn (2001). Islamic Art and Architecture: 650–1250 (2nd ed.). Yale University Press. pp. 240–242. ISBN 9780300088670.
External links
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Media related to Sultan Han (Kayseri) at Wikimedia Commons
38°58′22.5″N 35°53′43″E / 38.972917°N 35.89528°E
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