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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. |