Discovering Seljuk Art in Konya

Bilkent UniversityThe Department of Archaeology & History of Art

Newsletter No. 3 - 2004

Discovering Seljuk Art in

KonyaOur trip to Konya took place on Saturday October 18th, 2003. It was a required day trip as part of the Islamic Art and Architecture class (HART 323) during the Fall 2003 semester. The trip was a success and well attended by almost everyone taking the class, guest professors and students from our department as well as others. The interested crowd, despite sleepy eyes, boarded the Bilkent bus early in the morning.With a few stops on our way we were able to gather everyone, thanks to our cellular phones. Our naps on the bus were hardly disrupted and we were finally awakened towards the end of our trip. On the bus before we arrived at our destination we were enlightened by Taylan Taşbaşı, who lectured to us on the history of Konya, as well as by my readings from Gertrude Bell, who was a female traveler to Konya in the early 20th century. By 11 o’clock we were already looking at our first monument, Horozlu Han.

Fig. 1 Horozlu Han

Despite the difficulty in finding a published plan of the building Ece Eryıldız gave a nice presentation on this little studied but largely restored Seljuk kervansaray. She guided us through its large decorated portal and

spacious interior. The building is today used as a large restaurant and was filled with hungry tourists when we were there. Since we had made lunch plans in the city we tried to concentrate on the monument rather than food. The dark interior illuminated only by arrow-slit windows, the sturdy stone structure, and its decoration gave us a good glimpse of such buildings when they were used in Seljuk times as inns for travelers with pack animals. A roof over your Fig. 2 Sırçalı Medrese

head, protection from thieves, some heat from the horses that happen to share the room with you, and a bowl of soup seem today a little less than a five star hotel. Hey it was free, thanks to the Seljuk sultans and viziers who made large endowments to sustain such mercantile activities. After a short ride we were already in the city center. After asking a deaf man for street instructions we found ourselves miraculously in front of the famous Şifa Lokantası for lunch.

Fig. 3 The highly decorated portal of the Sırçalı Medrese

We were hungry and quickly devoured the hearty meals at reasonable prices at this traditional restaurant with no menus but smart waiters who could recite you all the dishes at once. We appreciated their food, service, and clean bathrooms and left for the long afternoon tour. After a few!! unplanned turns around Alaeddin Tepesi people started to feel they knew Konya quite well. Through a tiny street which we missed a couple of times, our midi-bus turned and stopped short of the Sırçalı Medrese Museum. To our disappointment the museum was closed so we were only able to see it from the outside. Hüseyin Eryurt’s nice plans and introduction to this two-storied medrese with an open courtyard made us appreciate the planning and the highly decorated portal of the building. Even though the museum was closed, the grills of the gate and windows allowed us partial views of the exquisite tiles that decorated the main eyvan and the interior walls.

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Fig. 4 Hüseyin’s introduction

One wonders which college buildings from our times will survive eight hundred years and be appreciated as works of art.

Fig. 5 Sahip Ata Complex

After a short walk we came to the Sahip Ata Complex. The magnificent portal with two minarets welcomed us from a distance. We gathered across the street to have a full view of the façade and Emine

Fig. 6 … Byzantine sarcophagi were incorporated….

Cevatemre nicely presented the complex to us despite the noise from the passing motorbikes.

Sahip Ata complex is located in a busy mercantile part of the present day city center. When we crossed the

Fig. 7 Sahip Ata Complex

street to see the portal [up close] we noticed that Byzantine sarcophagi were incorporated into the bottom of the façade wall. Although the original mosque is largely replaced by new construction the mihrab looked magnificent with its cut mosaic tiles in turquoise and purple. While we were appreciating the mihrab, the helpful imam guided us to look through the window grills in order to see the hanikah and the tomb. These parts are still closed to visitors. Despite the narrow angle we could see the nicely laid brickwork in the large dome. Later we had a chance to go outside and have a look around those closed parts. After the Sahip Ata complex we got back to our bus and another short ride took us to the Museum of İnce Manareli Medrese. The slender minaret that gives its name to the building is now only half preserved as lightning struck the building in the early 20th century. Tuba Ertekin guided us through the building although many of us were

lured by the museum displays, which include many nice pieces of wood and stonework from Seljuk times. The building itself is a good example of the closed type medreses but many changes took place in order to convert the building into a museum.As time was running out fast we needed to head towards the Alaeddin mosque.

Fig. 8 … the Seljuk palace…

On the way we saw the unassuming remains of the Seljuk palace, once decorated with magnificent tiles and relief work in stucco. It is sad that so little is preserved today even though the kiosk was in good shape as late as the beginning of the 20th

century. When we reached

Fig. 9 Aslı Çatay’s introduction

the mosque Aslı Çatay had already put together plans and pictures of the building for us. We actually sat across the northern façade and looked at it closely as we listened to her. The façade had various parts which looked impressive yet eclectic. The interior of the mosque also had irregular sections, which clearly belonged to different phases of the building. As we were

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Fig. 10 …the northern façade…

heading towards two tombs the imam told us that he was going to start the call for prayer.We had not organized this but his recitation was a very nice addition to our mosque tour as we had a tranquil time listening to his voice. Later inside we looked at the tiled mihrab and the excellent wooden mimber next to it. The knotted stone columns of the mosque (also Byzantine spolia) spurred some discussion among us.Our tour continued with the much-celebrated Karatay Medrese which is also a museum today. The magnificent portal, work of a

Fig. 11 The Mevlana Museum

Syrian artist, greeted us on the street. The interior was even more spectacular with mosaic tiles entirely covering the walls and the large dome. It was similar in shape to the İnce Minareli Medrese but more lavishly decorated,

especially the many stars in the dome that make you feel as if you are under a starry sky.

Fig. 12 The Karatay Medrese

The museum also houses tiles recently excavated from Kubadabad, the Seljuk palace. Our last stop was the Mevlana Museum and we were greeted by the assistant director of the Museum, Dr. Naci Bakırcı. He gave us an excellent tour of the museum in a lively manner and pointed out the unstudied or controversial parts in the building, its decoration, and the objects in the museum. The collection of metalwork, woodwork, and especially manuscripts was very impressive and we really felt we needed another day to enjoy everything we saw. We applauded Naci Bey for his knowledge, courtesy and enthusiasm and left the Mevlana Museum after 6 o’clock.

By the time we made it back to Ankara it was quite late. We were tired but what we saw gave us a good idea of medieval Konya and Seljuk architecture. Writing this from New York makes the memories of our trip even sweeter. I once again thank those who attended and patiently followed a busy schedule, and those who gave

presentations. I hope this trip kindled enough interest in you that you will explore the Islamic sites in Turkey and abroad even on your own.

Fig. 13 The Mevlana Museum

Fig. 14 Sırçalı Medrese

Dr. Ayşin Yoltar-Yıldırım

Photos: B. Claasz Coockson2003

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Discovering Seljuk Art in Konya