Ağzıkarahan

38.445277777778 34.140555555556Coordinates: 38 ° 26 ′ 43 ″ N , 34 ° 8 ′ 26 ″ E

Ağzıkarahan

Ağzıkarahan from the south

The Ağzıkarahan ( Turkish for "Black Mouth Han" ), also Ağzıkara Han or Hoca Mesud Hanı , is a Seljuk caravanserai in Cappadocia , Turkey . It is located in the town of the same name Ağzıkarahan in the central district of Aksaray province, about 15 km east of the provincial capital .

Emergence

The Han was built in the 13th century. An inscription on the hall portal attests to the completion of the covered part in 1231 during the reign of the Sultan of the Rum Seljuks Kai Kobad I. An inscription on the courtyard portal can be used to date the construction of the courtyard part to 1240 under Kai Chosrau II . Mesud, son of Abdullah, is given as the builder for the latter . The caravanserai is one of many on the Seljuk trade route from Konya via Aksaray to Kayseri . The road was known as Ulu Yol ("Great Road") and split in Kayseri into a north-eastern route via Sivas and Erzurum to Iran and a south-eastern route via Malatya , Diyarbakır and Van to Mesopotamia . Roman and Byzantine spoilage in the Hans on this street make it seem likely that the caravanserais at least partially correspond to military street posts or hostels from this period.

construction

The Ağzıkarahan is roughly north-south and thus parallel to the former and today's road. Its ground plan corresponds to the basic type of the Seljuk Hans, similar to the Sarıhan and the Sultanhan of Aksaray and Kayseri , but in contrast to this it is not axially symmetrical. The entrance to the courtyard is unusually on the west side, facing the street, and not on the same axis as the hall portal.

In the outer wall there are six corner towers and seven side towers, which give the building a fortress-like character. From the main portal, which is richly decorated with geometric ornaments and muqarnas in relief, one enters the courtyard through a relatively long corridor. On its east side there are seven closed and one open room. The entrance wall has arcades in front of it, on the south wall there is another closed room and to the west of it there are also arcades. In the middle of the courtyard there is a kiosk mosque ( mescit ) on four arches , which can be entered via a double staircase in the north. Its 4 × 4 m interior is vaulted by a dome decorated with muqarnas.

The entrance to the covered hall is on the north side of the courtyard. The roughly square building has a central nave and six transepts on each side. The barrel vault of the raised central nave is crowned at the level of the fourth transept by a dome that rests on a drum decorated with muqarnas . The room is illuminated through windows in the east side wall and arched windows in the dome.