Çay Hanı
The Çay Hanı , also Taş Han , is a Seljuk caravanserai in the middle of the city of Çay in the Turkish province of Afyonkarahisar in western Anatolia .
location
The Çay Hanı is located in the center of the city of Çay, on the corner of Inönü Caddesi and Sinema Sokağı. Diagonally opposite on the other side of the street are the Taş Camii mosque (also called Sultan Alâeddin Camii ) and the ruins of Çay Hamamı , which belong to the Han and were built at the same time as it. At this point there was the intersection of two caravan routes that made building a Hans meaningful: from west to east the connection from Afyon to Akşehir and Konya and from north to south from Sivrihisar to Antalya .
Surname
It is unclear whether the city of Çay was named after the Han (the former name of the city was Iulia Ipsos ) or the Han after the city. The local population only calls the Han Taşhan , Turkish taş = stone. An older but no longer common name is Ebûl Mücahid Yusuf bin Yakub Hanı , after the founder of the building.
history
The construction was carried out on behalf of the Seljuk sultan Kai Chosrau III. (Turkish: Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev III. ) in the years 1278 to 1279 under General Ebûl Mücahid Yusuf bin Yakub, the founder of the complex, which also included a medrese and a hammam. The construction time can be read from an inscription above the gate. The Han is thus one of the last Seljuk Hane to be built during the Mongol Ilkhan rule . However, W. Dorn names the Grand Vizier Sahip Ata as the builder of the complex .
In the course of Ottoman rule from the 15th century, the Han lost its importance. By the 19th century at the latest, the outdoor area - the "summer courtyard" - was destroyed and the building - the "winter room" - was used as a granary.
In 1844 the Han was renovated for the first time under Sultan Abdülaziz ; the collapsed dome was not rebuilt, but replaced by a glass roof.
In 1972, during excavations, the remains of the wall of a hammam were found between the madrasah and the Han. Parts of the city of Çay were destroyed by the earthquake in February 2002, but the Han suffered only minor damage. A general renovation took place between 2007 and 2008 to make the Han accessible to the public again. From 2008 there was a bazaar in the Han, but it was closed again after three years. The Han has been used as a restaurant since 2013.
architecture
The inscription above the entrance mentions Oğul Beğ bin Mehmet as the architect. The Han originally consisted of two interconnected structures, the "summer courtyard" and the "winter hall". The caravanserai is oriented from north to south. Today only the outer walls of the north-facing Sommerhof are partially visible. According to the drawings by Kurt Erdmann , the summer courtyard was 30 m wide and 35 m long. What is striking about the winter hall is the square floor plan with an external length of approx. 26 m; he is the only square Seljukshan. The outer walls are strengthened on the west, east and south sides as well as on the south-east and south-west corners by triangular external supports , they are similar to those of Ertokuş Hans . The outer walls are made of jointed uncut stones. Light falls into the interior through three loopholes-like windows in the southern part and through a window of the same type on the east and west side as well as through the glass dome. Inside, the Han can be divided into three transepts and five central aisles.
The barrel vaults are supported by 16 pillars made of hewn stone and bricks. The central nave is higher than the other ships and was crowned by a dome in the center of the Hans, probably similar to that of the Karatay Han . However, the dome collapsed and today there is a glass roof at this point.
art
_von_1278_07.jpg)
Except for the entrance portal, the Han lacks any jewelry, nor the typical muqarnas . The entrance area is striking. Above the door there is a fan arch that is concave. Under the arch, but still above the keystone of the two-colored archway, there is a picture of a lion. A similar lion can be found at the entrance to Taş Cami, which was built by the same architect. The archway is made of alternating gray stones and white marble. The arches inside are designed in this pattern, the space between the arch and the ceiling is bricked with red bricks.
inscription
Above the fan arch at the entrance portal is a marble slab with an Arabic inscription in the middle . It reads in German translation: The construction of this Han was ordered by the helper of the world and of faith, the great Sultan Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev, son of Kilıç Arslan in his time - may Allah protect his rule - may his servant Yusuf, son of Yakub - may Allah forgive his sins - in 677 . 677 corresponds to the year 1278 AD. An alternative translation reads: Has under Sultan Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev, the helper of the world and of faith, the son of Kilıç Arslan, his slave, poor Yusuf, son of Yakub, may Allah bless him with his sins forgiven, the building of this Han was ordered in 677. On the board it is also mentioned that the founder of Hans, Ebûl Mücahit bin Yakup, also donated the madrasah (now a mosque) and a hammam. Oğul Beğ bin Mehmet is named as the architect of the entire complex.
See also
literature
- Kurt Erdmann : The Anatolian Karavansaray of the 13th century. Berlin 1961.
- Wolfgang Dorn: Turkey, Central Anatolia, to the places of worship in Ankara, Phrygia and Cappadocia. DuMont Verlag, Ostfildern 2012
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Wolfgang Dorn: Turkey, Central Anatolia, p. 190; DuMont Verlag, Ostfildern, 2012.
- ↑ https://www.kulturportali.gov.tr/turkiye/afyonkarahisar/gezilecekyer/cay-kervansarayi-tashan
- ^ Kurt and Hanna Erdmann: Das Anatolische Karavansaray of the 13th century, Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 1961
- ^ Translation after Clément Huart, 1897
Coordinates: 38 ° 35 ′ 33.7 ″ N , 31 ° 1 ′ 23.5 ″ E