Sultanhanı Caravanserai

Sultanhanı Caravanserai stands in the town of Sultanhanı, about 42 km west of Aksaray on the road to Konya. Its inscription dates it to 1229, in the reign of the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Kayqubad I. Covering about 4,900 m², it is the largest medieval caravanserai in Turkey.

Considered one of the finest examples of Seljuk architecture in Turkey, it is one of three monumental caravanserais around Aksaray, together with Ağzıkarahan and Öresin Han.

History

Seljuk caravanserais were built roughly a day’s caravan journey apart along the trade route known as the “Long Road” (Uzun Yol), linking the capital Konya via Aksaray to Kayseri, Sivas and Persia. Funded by pious endowments, they offered travellers free food, fodder for their animals and lodging.

Sultanhanı is the grandest stop on the Konya–Aksaray stretch of the Long Road. After a fire partly destroyed the fortress-like building, it was restored and extended in 1278 by the governor Seraceddin Ahmed Kerimeddin bin El Hasan, during the reign of Sultan Kaykhusraw III.

The caravanserai also gave its name to the Battle of Sultanhanı, fought in 1256 between the Mongol commander Baiju and the Seljuk army.

Architecture and what to see

Like other Seljuk caravanserais it has two parts: an open courtyard used in summer and a covered hall for winter.

The marble portal

The east entrance is a 13-metre-high marble portal projecting from the 50-metre-wide façade. Its pointed arch is decorated with muqarnas corbels and geometric interlace; just below the arch is the inscription “El-minnetü lillah” — “Power belongs to God”.

Courtyard and kiosk mosque

In the middle of the 44×58 m courtyard rises a square kiosk mosque raised on four arches — the oldest example of its kind in Turkey and one of the finest pieces of Seljuk decoration. Arcades for carts line one side of the courtyard; rooms for travellers, halls, two baths and storerooms line the other.

The winter hall

A second portal, as richly carved as the entrance, leads into the covered hall. Divided into five aisles, the vaulted hall has a dome on pendentives and an octagonal drum at its centre, crowned with a lantern for light and air.

Getting there from Neva Apart

Neva Apart is in Aksaray city centre, a few minutes’ walk from the Zinciriye Madrasa and the Grand Mosque; the distances below are measured from our aparthotel.

Sultanhanı is on the Aksaray–Konya road (D300), about 42 km from Neva Apart — a 35–40-minute drive, with an hourly bus from the city centre.

Tips for your visit

The portal’s carving looks best in afternoon light. Take care on the stairs of the kiosk mosque.

Opening hours and admission fees change seasonally; please check the official sources of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism (muze.gov.tr, kulturportali.gov.tr) before you set off.

Pair Sultanhanı with Lake Tuz on the same day, and follow the whole Seljuk caravan road in our guide to the Seljuk caravanserais.

Other places nearby

• Lake Tuz (Salt Lake) – Turkey’s second-largest lake: walk on a dazzling white salt crust in summer, watch flamingo colonies and sunsets, reached from Aksaray via Eskil.
• Acemhöyük (Purušhattum) – Seat of a “Great King” in the Assyrian Trade Colony Period, identified with Purušhattum of Akkadian and Hittite texts — one of Anatolia’s largest mounds, with the Sarıkaya Palace.
• Ağzıkarahan Caravanserai – Built in 1231–1240 for Mes’ud son of Abdullah, with a richly carved portal and a kiosk mosque on four piers — a Seljuk inn on UNESCO’s tentative list.
• Aksaray Museum – Home to a 10,500-year-old skull bearing the earliest known brain surgery, the Ihlara and Çanlı Kilise mummies and the Luwian Aksaray Stele — 10,000 years of local history.

Sources

• Kültür Portalı – Sultanhan (T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı)
• Wikipedia – Sultan Han
• T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı – Müzeler ve Ören Yerleri

Image credits

• The ashlar façade and towers of the Sultanhanı Caravanserai – José Luis Filpo Cabana, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
• The muqarnas portal of the Sultanhanı Caravanserai – zolakoma, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
• The courtyard of the Sultanhanı Caravanserai with its kiosk mosque – Robert Cutts from Bristol, England, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons