The 800-Year-Old Caravansary: Reborn as Both a Museum and a Hotel

Konya is frequently on the agenda with sinkholes. Obruk Han, a Seljuk work that was located on the Silk Road and hosted many caravans, takes its name from the Kızören Sinkhole, one of the largest sinkholes in the region. 

The 800-year-old Obruk Caravansary, one of Konya’s historical heritage, has reopened its doors as a museum hotel after a comprehensive restoration process carried out by Karatay Municipality. At the opening of the caravansary, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Nadir Alpaslan thanked Karatay Municipality for bringing the 800-year-old caravansary back to life. While Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay said that “the restoration work is a big step to increase Konya’s tourism potential”, AK Party Konya Deputy Tahir Akyürek stated that “Karatay Municipality protects Konya’s ancient history”. Konya Governor Vahdettin Özkan also noted that “the Caravansary will make a great contribution to tourism and the preservation of cultural heritage”. Karatay Mayor Hasan Kılca said that “we have opened Obruk Caravansary as a museum and hotel and that we are happy to revive an 800-year-old history.”

OPPORTUNITY TO TRAVEL IN THE PAST

Opened with the concept of a museum hotel, Obruk Caravansary will offer visitors accommodation in a historical atmosphere and will also host various exhibitions to promote the cultural heritage of the region. The hotel will offer its guests the opportunity to travel to the past by exhibiting historical artifacts and objects from the period.

PRESERVES THE ORIGINAL TEXTURE

The Seljuk caravansary, built 800 years ago next to the Kızören Sinkhole, located on the seventieth kilometre of the Konya-Aksaray highway, with a depth of 170 meters and a section of 145 meters filled with water, was converted into a 13-room hotel after 4 years of restoration work. With the restoration works, the original texture of the caravansary will be preserved, and it will offer a modern accommodation opportunity to its guests. A Turkish bath with underfloor heating was built in each room of the caravansary, which is equipped with historical materials, from kitchen equipment to tables and chairs.