Öküz Mehmet Pasha Complex ( tr, Öküz Mehmet Paşa Külliyesi), alternatively known as Öküz Mehmet Pasha Caravanserai, is a

külliye A külliye ( ota, كلية) is a complex of buildings associated with Turkish architecture centered on a mosque and managed within a single institution, often based on a waqf (charitable foundation) and composed of a madrasa, a Dar al-Shifa ("cl ...

(building complex) in

Ulukışla Ulukışla is a town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It covers an area of 1,502 km², and the altitude is 1,427 m. Population is 22,728 of which 5,594 live in the town of Ulukışla. The town of Uluk ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. According to Ulukışla municipality page the name Ulukışla refers to the complex. In the past a part of the complex was used as military barracks ( tr, kışla) and the Ulukışla citizens called the complex Ulukışla ("Great barracks") which eventually became the name of the settlement.

Location

The complex is situated in the center of Ulukışla district of

Niğde Province Niğde Province ( tr, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in the southern part of Central Anatolia, Turkey. Population is 341,412 (2013 est) of which 141,360 live in the city of Niğde. The population was 348,081 in 2000 and 305,861 in 1990. It ...

about north of the main state highway D750.

History

The commissioner of the complex was Öküz Mehmet Pasha (died in 1619), a

grand vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. (There is another caravanserai bearing his name in

Kuşadası Kuşadası () is a large resort town on Turkey's Aegean Sea, Aegean coast, and the center of the seaside district of the same name within Aydın Province. Kuşadası is south of İzmir, and about from Aydın. The municipality's primary industry ...

) During his campaign to

Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

(modern Iran) in 1615, he decided to spend the winter in Ulukışla. But he was unable to find adequate barracks for his soldiers and he had to distribute the troops to nearby towns. To solve the problem for the future campaigns he had the complex built in 1616. According to another theory about the origin of the complex, Ulukışla was the birth place of Öküz Mehmet Pasha and he tried to rebuild his home town. The complex underwent a renovation in 1753. In 2011 it was restored by the Directorate of Foundations.Online news agency
/ref> Presently the complex is used as a market place . Both the governorship and the municipality have offices in the building.

The complex

The complex is situated on a gentle slope from the north. The main building is a rectangular arasta (Ottoman

bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...

) situated in west to east direction. North of the bazaar, there is a square-plan courtyard with

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

. The dormitories encircle the courtyard.Niğde Tourism Directory
/ref> South of the bazaar there is a hamam (

Turkish bath A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

) and a mosque. Originally there was a golden

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

in the bath. But it was later stolen. The heated water in the hamam was used to heat the complex. The complex had a sewage system. The total ground area of the complex is .Ulukışa page
/ref>

In literature

''Han Duvarları'' ("Walls of Caravansarai") is a well-known poem of the renowned Turkish poet

Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel (18 May 1898 – 8 November 1973) was a leading Turkish poet, author and later politician. Biography Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel was born in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire, on 18 May 1898. His mother, Fatma Ruhiye, was the daugh ...

(1898–1973). Çamlıbel wrote this poem in 1925 after his travel from Ulukışla to another city. It is claimed that Çamlıbel was inspired by Öküz Mehmet Pasha Complex.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okuz Mehmet Pasha Complex Buildings and structures in Niğde Province Ulukışla District Buildings and structures completed in 1616 Caravanserais in Turkey Buildings and structures of the Ottoman Empire Ottoman caravanserais Commercial buildings completed in the 17th century 1616 establishments in the Ottoman Empire