|
Sultan Han (Kayseri)
 It is located
in the village of Sultanhan (Tuzhisar), 45km along the
Kayseri-Sivas road. It is understood from the
inscription on the portal of the hall that the Han was
built between 1232-1236 upon the orders of Alaaddin
Keykubat.
Kayseri
Sultanhan, covering an area of 3900 m square, is rather
similar to Aksaray Sultanhan in terms of plan.
On both sides
of the portal of Sultanhan, the entrance of which faces
north, are towers , the lower parts of which are square
whereas the bodies are semi-circle columns. Although its
partially collapsed portal is an example of the
classical Seljuk portals, it has a monumental appearance
between these towers.
A square
courtyard is reached through a hall with a high arch.
The kö?k mescid, located right in the centre of the
courtyard, is seated on four piers with arches. Access
to the mescid is gained up two flights of stairs on the
northern side. The decorations composed of geometrical
motifs, rosettes, borders with double knots, and designs
of symmetrical dragons on the fronts of the mescid and
the arches are examples of expert stonemasonry. The
terrace where the calls to prayer were done is reached
by a flight of stairs from a niche in the mescid, the
sanctuary of which is square planned and barrel vaulted.
 The
domed bath
house, to the northwest of the courtyard, is composed of
five divisions. The bath house is reached from the door
on the northwest corner of the portico on the right hand
side. First the entrance hall and the dressing room,
then the domed bathing place with basins is reached. The
cistern of the bath house,heated using underground
heating, is in a rectangular plan and barrel vaulted.
The other places with porticoes on this side belonged to
guests and their animals. Opposite this section are the
places also used in summer time.
The fronts of
the porticoes and vaults facing the courtyard are
equilateral arches. The portal of the winter hall,
protruding about 2 m into the courtyard, has a
monumental appearance, like the outer portal, due to the
embellished decorations on its front and the workmanship,
although its sides have no decorations.
Above the
entrance of the portal, the outer border of which is
composed of geometrical decorations, is a nine lined
mukarnas. The entrance door is a basket-handled arch.
Across the entrance is the middle nave and on the sides
are 24 high vaulted arches with square piers in six
lines in groups of four.
At the piers
of the arches are the 60-70 cm high platforms separating
the areas for people and animals. Places close to the
walls were for the animals whereas places close to the
middle nave were used by travellers and the middle nave
was communal for services. The oculus, 6 m in width and
quite high, is seated on pendentives. In this section
also is a prayer written in a scattered way.
Kayseri
Sultanhan was restored to its present state in 1951.
go back
|
