Küçük Karatay Madrasa

The Küçük Karatay Madrasa is located in the Karatay district, east of the Karatay Madrasa and across the road. It is currently a single iwan; the original state of the madrasa, which is said to have been demolished during road construction works, is unknown.

There is a mihrab on the south wall of the iwan and a pointed-arched window on the east. To its south lies the crypt of the tomb of Kamal al-Din Rumtash, the patron. Built with rubble and bricks the iwan features geometric decoration in glazed brick and cut tiles. Unglazed and turquoise glazed bricks are placed creating a composition and in between cut tile pieces of aubergine purple and turquoise were placed. The panel in the tympanum of the window also features a geometric composition in tile mosaic of the same colours.

During the restoration in 1990, the iwan was covered with a timber and tile roof. Lacking a construction inscription, it is known that its patron was Kamal al-Din Rumtash, the brother of the Seljuk Vizier Jalal al-Din Karatay. In the waqfiyya of the Karatay Madrasa across the street it is stated that “in the capital city of Konya, in the street aligned with the madrasa of his brother Emir Kamal al-Din Rumtash, a madrasa, whose limits are not necessary to describe for it is well-known and stands in solitude...”; thus, it is understood that this madrasa was built before the Karatay Madrasa.