Ağzıkara Han is a historic

Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * Seljuk (warlord) (di ...

-era

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...

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 ...

. It is located in the Ağzıkarahan village in the province of Aksaray.

History

The caravanserai is considered one of the most important and richly-decorated examples of ordinary caravanserais built by non-royal patrons. Foundation inscriptions attest that the covered/roofed section of the building was completed in June 1231 during the reign of Sultan Ala ad-Din Kayqubad I, while the courtyard was completed in February 1240 during the reign of his successor

Kaykhusraw II Ghiyath al-Din Kaykhusraw ibn Kayqubād or Kaykhusraw II ( fa, غياث الدين كيخسرو بن كيقباد) was the sultan of the Seljuqs of Rûm from 1237 until his death in 1246. He ruled at the time of the Babai uprising and the Mongol ...

. The patron who commissioned the construction was named Mes’ud, son of Abdullah.

Architecture

Like other major caravanserais of this period, it consists of two sections: one centered around a main courtyard, and an indoors section. The caravanserai is entered via a monumental entrance portal ('' pishtaq'') projecting from the plain exterior walls of the building, with stone-carved decoration and a vaulted canopy of '' muqarnas''. It leads to the main courtyard, around which are numerous chambers. In the middle of the courtyard is a small

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

consisting of a square stone chamber raised on four pillars and reached by stairs, considered an excellent example of this feature (which recurs in other caravanserais). The indoors section consists of a

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

nave with a central dome (though the dome itself has been lost), from which vaulted chambers open on either side. File:Ağzıkarahan 01.jpg, General view of the exterior File:Ağzıkarahan 04.jpg, Details of the stone carving in the main entrance portal File:Ağzıkarahan 10.jpg, The main courtyard with the elevated mosque File:Ağzıkarahan 07.jpg, The mosque, seen from its entrance side File:Ağzıkarahan 11.jpg, The entrance portal of the covered or indoors section File:Ağzıkarahan 13.jpg, The interior of the covered section File:Ağzıkarahan 15.jpg, The base and '' muqarnas''-carved

squinches In architecture, a squinch is a triangular corner that supports the base of a dome. Its visual purpose is to translate a rectangle into an octagon. See also: pendentive. Construction A squinch is typically formed by a masonry arch that spans ...

of the central dome in the covered section (the dome itself has been lost)

References

{{Turkey-struct-stub Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century Buildings and structures in Aksaray Province Buildings and structures of the Sultanate of Rum Caravanserais in Turkey History of Aksaray Province Seljuk architecture