Cannabis

thcscience_admin
For the building of the same name in Aksaray province, see Sultan Han.
Courtyard of the caravanserai, with the elevated prayer room in the center

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]

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]

A large stone gate with stone-carved decoration
Entrance portal of the winter hall
A long stone chamber with a curved vaulted roof and other rooms opening on either side
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.
  • 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.
[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

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Han_(Kayseri)

Leave a Reply