Tercan (formerly Mama Hatun, and Derzene; , in the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

era; ; ) is a town and seat of Tercan District of

Erzincan Province Erzincan Province (; ; ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. In Turkey, its capital is also called Erzincan. Its area is 11,815 km2, and its population is 239,223 (2022). Geography Erzincan is trav ...

in the Eastern Anatolia region of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It had a population of 4,846 in 2021. Located on the north bank of the Tuzla Su, a tributary of the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

, Tercan is especially notable for the 12th century complex of buildings built by the Saltukid female ruler Melike Mama Hatun, which comprises her tomb, a mosque, a

hammam A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, 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 from the model ...

and an impressive

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

which was heavily restored in recent years.

Neighborhoods

The town is divided into the neighborhoods of Ahmet Yesevi, Atatürk, Fatih, Kazımkarabekir, Mamahatun and Yavuz Selim.

History

Originally, the main town in the region of Derzene was Pekeriç. Tercan superseded it in perhaps the early Ottoman period. In the middle ages and early Ottoman period, two routes converged at Tercan. The first was the one connecting

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

with

Erzincan Erzincan (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni w ...

and

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

. The second was coming from the upper

Kelkit Kelkit ( is a town in Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea Region, Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Kelkit District. The 17th century Ottoman traveller

Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

visited the place in 1647, calling it ''Mamahatun''. He wrote about the Saltukid complex and described the town as ''"a Muslim village containing two hundred houses"''.

Climate

Monuments

Caravanserai

Located just east of the town center, the caravanserai is a roughly square building arranged around a central courtyard. There two rows of five separate rooms on the courtyard's north and south sides - these were used by better-off travelers. These are bordered by two long rooms that take up the entire north and south sides of the building; these served as stables and sleeping quarters for most guests. The monumental entrance is located on the building's east side. Each side of the entryway is flanked by a vaulted recess with a raised floor; this was where guards were posted. Inside the portal is an entrance hall leading to the courtyard. On either side of the hall there are several rooms that were used to store merchandise. A staircase leading up to the roof is on the right side. At the west end of the building are three tall

iwan An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

s, which are awkwardly out of place in the building's design - the builders may have copied them wholesale from another building, such as a

medrese Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

. The iwans were used as places to sleep in the summer and possibly also as stables. Two large rooms border the iwans, one on the north and one on the south; like the rooms by the entrance hall, these were used to store merchandise. The caravanserai was changed significantly during the early Ottoman period. The original design had included two

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

s on the north and south sides of the courtyard, in front of the first-class rooms; these no longer exist. There had also originally been six first-class rooms on each side; the two at the west end were later converted into iwans.

Türbe

The türbe is located in the middle of a circular courtyard surrounded by a thick wall. A walkway goes around the top of the outer wall, behind a small

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

. The entrance portal, which is on the southwest side, is richly decorated and is framed by a

muqarnas Muqarnas (), also known in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe (from ), is a form of three-dimensional decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like elements are projected over others below. It is an archetypal form of I ...

. The wall is raised around the portal, and the upper walkway would have originally gone through a tunnel at this point. On the inside of the wall, beneath the walkway, are a series of wide arched niches. These were originally designed to accommodate tombs for family members. The wall above them overhangs slightly and probably represent the remains of a vaulted portico. One of these niches has since been replaced with a fountain. The türbe's main tower is a relatively simple structure without windows. Inside, a staircase leads down to the burial chamber, which is partly below ground. File:Tercan Mama Hatun Türbesi interior 2770.jpg, Tomb of Melike Mama Hatun. File:Tercan,kümbet4.jpg, Entrance portal to the tomb complex. File:Tercan Mama Hatun Türbesi interior 9115.jpg, Interior view of the walkway on top of the outer wall. Tercan Mama Hatun Türbesi interior 9111.jpg, Interior of the tomb

Other nearby sights

* Kötür bridge * Pekeriç fortress * Abrenk (Vank) church * Kefrenci temple

Gallery

File:Tercan town view 2731.jpg, The main road running through Tercan File:Tercan area on hill 2809.jpg, View of Tercan File:Tercan town view 2724.jpg, Town hall building File:Tercan town view 2727.jpg, Street scene File:Tercan area on hill 2821.jpg, View of Tercan File:Tercan town view 9128.jpg, View of Tercan File:Tercan area on hill 2803.jpg, View showing both the caravanserai and türbe File:Tercan town view 2722.jpg, Outdoor seating area in the middle of town File:Tercan town view 2836.jpg, View of Tercan

References

External links

* * * District municipalities in Turkey Populated places in Tercan District {{Erzincan-geo-stub