Exploring Ottoman, Seljuk Architecture in Konya

Seljuk and Ottoman architecture is woven into the urban fabric of Konya, a center of science, culture and commerce that offers a visual feast to visitors

The central Anatolian province of Konya, the former capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, is a center of science, culture and trade in Turkey and offers many attractions. The city is the second-most populated province in the country after the capital Ankara.

Konya features some of the most artistic mosques and madrassas in Turkey and is known as the country’s pearl of Islamic tourism. These mosques and madrassas bear traces of Seljuk and Ottoman architecture and add an authentic atmosphere to the urban texture of the city, taking visitors on a historical journey with their spellbinding appearances decorated with fascinating ornaments.

Buildings such as the Alaeddin and Sahip Ata Mosques, which are the most important examples of Seljuk architecture that have survived to the present day, and the Karatay and Ince Minareli Madrassas, used as museums today, attract attention as the most-visited landmarks of the city.

Necmettin Erbakan University Seljuk Research Center Director professor Ahmet Çaycı told that the Seljuks started to build historical structures in Konya after making the city their capital.

He added that the Alaeddin Mosque is in the center of the city and many madrassas, which were the universities of the period, are located around it. The construction of the Alaeddin Mosque was started on what is now dubbed Alaeddin hill during the reign of Anatolian Seljuk Sultan Mesud I. It took its final form, which is very close to the mosque’s current appearance, and was opened for worship during the time of Kayqubad I. The courtyard of the mosque contains the tombs, covered in small cenotaphs, of the Anatolian Seljuk rulers who made great sacrifices to make Anatolia their homeland, including Mesud I, Kilij Arslan II, Suleiman II, Kaykhusraw I, Kayqubad I, Kaykhusraw II, Kilij Arslan IV and Kaykhusraw III.

The Ince Minareli Madrassa, which means literally "the madrassa with the slender minaret," is one of the structures situated near the Alaeddin Mosque. Çaycı said that the madrassa is among the earliest universities in Anatolia and is considered one of the most outstanding examples of Turkish-Islamic architecture. As such, it has long been on UNESCO's World Heritage Tentative List. According to the professor, the building mesmerizes visitors with its dazzling gates, tile decorations and geometric and floral motif stonework.

The crown gate of the madrassa is one of the best examples of Seljuk stone masonry. The inside of the minaret of the madrassa is decorated with floral and geometric motifs. The inscription "El Mülkü Lillah" ("The property of God") and the Quranic verse Ayat al-Kursi are written on it in Kufic script.

The madrassa catches the eye with its turquoise minaret decorated with white-paste bricks from the outside. Turned into a masonry museum in 1956, it showcases some of the best-preserved examples of Seljuk symbolism in architecture, including double-headed eagles and winged angels.