The Heart of the Seljuk Capital, Alaeddin Hill and Its Surroundings

Start the route at the foot of Alaeddin Hill, right in the middle of the city; according to Wikipedia a tram line runs around the hill, so it is easy to get here by tram. Before you climb, notice the shape of the hill, because the rise in front of you is not a natural hill but a mound formed by thousands of years of settlement piling up layer upon layer. According to Wikipedia the mound measures about 450 by 350 metres, is 20 metres high and has an oval plan. Excavations carried out by the Turkish Historical Society in 1941 showed that the first settlement on the hill was founded in the 3rd millennium BC, in the Early Bronze Age. The hill later passed under Hittite, Phrygian and Lydian rule. It is thought that in the Phrygian period the hill was given the name Kawania, and that the ancient name of the city, Ikonion, derived from it through the similarity of sound. As you pick one of the paths and climb the slope, remember that most of these layers lie beneath your feet, inside the earth.

The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam writes that the first place of settlement in Konya was this small rise, and that when the Turks took the city it lay within the wall that ringed the hill. Having become the capital after 1097, the city grew quickly, and in 1221 Alaeddin Keykubad I surrounded it with a much wider wall. The encyclopedia reports that these walls carried a tower every 30 metres, 108 in all, and that each tower bore the name of the vizier or emir who had built it. Ancient statues and reliefs were set into the towers and gates of the walls almost as if on display; you will see some of them up close at the second stop of the route. No visible line of the walls survives on the hill today, but the avenues that open from the hill in every direction still mark the position of the old centre. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam describes this layout as a radial street system, rare among the cities of Turkey; stand at the edge of the hill and look at how the avenues fan out into the surrounding city.

Then head for the northern slope of the hill, because the Seljuk palace was built on the north side. Here is the site of the remains of the palace pavilion that looked out over the city; the Culture Portal states that the pavilion was built on two floors and that its walls were decorated with tiles and bands of inscription. Who built the pavilion is debated; according to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam most researchers date it to the reign of Kılıçarslan II, while it takes its name from Alaeddin Keykubad I, who repaired it. The pavilion sat on top of one of the towers of the walls and served the palace as a belvedere, a pavilion for viewing the surroundings. The building was abandoned in the 17th century, was in ruins at the beginning of the 19th century, and between 1905 and 1908 it was largely demolished on the governor's orders. According to Wikipedia what remains today are mud brick curtain walls of the wall line and two consoles that carried the pavilion. The reinforced concrete protective roof built over the remains in 1961 was removed in 2016-2017, so you will need to see the current layout of the site in person. Part of the pavilion's figural star tiles went to museums abroad, while those found in the 1941 excavation stayed in Konya; you will see them at the third stop, in the Karatay Medrese.

On the northern edge of the hill rises the Alaeddin Mosque, completed in 1220 as the great mosque of Seljuk Konya; this route mentions it only as the landmark of the hill. Also on the hill are the stone water reservoir, opened in 1902 to collect water brought from the spring at Çayırbağı, and the Martyrs' Monument of 1936. Registered in 1982 as an archaeological, historic and natural protected site, the hill was planted with trees from the 1910s onwards and turned into the city's recreation ground. Take a short break on the benches under the trees; from where you sit you can watch how large a place the hill holds in the daily life of the city's people today. Then walk down the western slope; the Culture Portal notes that the İnce Minareli Medrese is directly opposite the hill, and the walk takes a few minutes.

Source: TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, Alaeddin Köşkü.

When you reach the medrese, give the facade a few minutes before going in, because the building's greatest treasure is outside. The Culture Portal writes that the medrese was built in the reign of the Seljuk Sultan İzzeddin Keykavus II by the vizier Sahib Ata Fahreddin Ali, for the teaching of the science of hadith. Its date of construction is given differently in the sources; the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam notes that the building is mentioned in the endowment deed dated 1265, so the medrese must have been completed before that year. The portal rises in the middle of the facade, on a mass that projects more than five metres forward from the main wall. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam counts it among the most magnificent portals built in Anatolia in the Seljuk period. Follow with your eyes the bands of inscription that frame the portal on both sides and run up to the eaves, tying a knot at the top. The Culture Portal describes this portal as one of the rare designs in which writing is used so intensively. Notice too that the bands are cut off at the top; according to the encyclopedia this shows that the portal is incomplete today and that the eaves originally stood higher. Look closely at the two medallions above the arch; the Culture Portal notes that one reads Amel-i Kelük and the other bin Abdullah, so that together they give the name of the architect.

Then turn to the minaret that gives the building its name; its brick shaft, rising on a square base of cut stone, is decorated with glazed bricks and cut tiles. The minaret originally had two balconies and was quite tall in proportion to the building. In 1901 a lightning strike destroyed the part of the minaret above the first balcony, and the short shaft you see today dates from that day. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam reports that old photographs show the fluted shaft of the minaret continuing in the same form up to the second balcony. Following the zigzag pattern of the turquoise glazed bricks on the shaft from bottom to top is the best way to picture its height before the lightning.

On entering you first pass through an entrance hall with a cross vault; according to the encyclopedia this hall was built to create symmetry with the main iwan opposite. You then reach the square courtyard, about 11 metres on each side. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam notes that the building is one of three medreses in Konya whose courtyard is covered by a dome. There is a pool in the middle of the courtyard; old photographs show that the top of the dome once had a large lantern, and today the opening is covered with glass. Raise your head and look at the dome; the building is stone outside and brick inside, and the dome is decorated with turquoise, brown and dark blue glazed bricks laid to form endless geometric patterns. The encyclopedia says that these rows of zigzags and lozenges recall kilim motifs, and that the plain interior forms a contrast with the richness of the portal.

Since 1956 the medrese has been used as the Museum of Stone and Wood Works. On the walls and in the cases are construction and repair inscriptions of the Seljuk and Karamanid periods, wooden door and window shutters decorated with carving, and wooden ceiling roundels. The pieces to look for above all are the high reliefs that came from the Konya Citadel; here you see up close the stones that decorated the towers of the walls mentioned at the first stop. The Culture Portal states that the largest and finest marble relief examples of the double headed eagle, regarded as the emblem of the Seljuks, and of winged figures are also in this museum. After going round the reliefs, think again of the portal; you will have seen together two faces of the stone craftsmanship of the same period, one in architecture and one in free standing works. The medrese is among the buildings added in 2014 to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List under the heading Anatolian Seljuk Madrasas. Check the visiting days and hours on the page of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism; it is also a good idea to ask the attendant before photographing the works inside. On leaving, follow the foot of the hill and walk to the Karatay Medrese; the way between the two medreses takes a few minutes.

Source: Kültür Portalı, İnce Minareli Medrese.

You enter the Karatay Medrese through the portal on the east; the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam notes that the portal does not stand exactly in the middle of the facade but is pulled towards one corner. The Culture Portal writes that the building was commissioned in 1251 by Emir Celaleddin Karatay in the time of the Seljuk Sultan İzzeddin Keykavus II. According to the encyclopedia, the broad inscription at the very top of the portal gives the date of construction and the name of Karatay. The portal is made of grey and white marble; look at the knot motif formed by the two coloured stone and at the geometric panels on the sides that recall kilim patterns. The sources differ on the architect; the Culture Portal mentions the name Muhammed bin Havlan as a guess, while the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam writes that the architect is unknown. Passing through the portal you enter an area that is open to the sky today and looks like a garden. According to the encyclopedia this was originally a square domed space of about 7.6 metres. Traces of triangular transition elements on the upper level of the main building prove that this covering existed; look for them on the wall before going in.

From here a small door leads into the large domed central space that is the heart of the building. The central space measures about 12 by 12 metres and has come down to us with all its structural elements and decoration. Stand still for a while and raise your eyes; the turquoise and dark blue tiles covering the dome and the white plaster bands between them recall the sky, in the encyclopedia's words. The composition is built of twenty four pointed stars stacked in an orderly way from the bottom up to the opening at the top, and the stars are linked to one another by different knots. The weight of the dome is carried by fan shaped transition elements made of triangular panels in the corners. These elements bear the load and at the same time gather the colour coming down from the dome into the four corners. Right beneath the opening at the top of the dome is a water arrangement made of a square pool, a round basin and a winding channel. The encyclopedia reports that because of this opening and the pool some have attributed the identity of an observatory to the building; this is an interpretation, not established fact.

The building was abandoned towards the end of the 19th century, repaired in 1954, and opened as the Museum of Tile Works on 17 December 1955. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam attributes the main reason for setting up the museum in this building to the fact that, with its own tiles, the building is a museum in itself. First head for the large iwan on the west; the cases here display the tiles of the palace pavilion whose remains you saw at the first stop, found in the 1941 excavation. On these six pointed star, cross shaped and lozenge shaped tiles you see figures of women and men, mounted hunters and plant ornament. Then move on to the rooms on the south; this section is devoted to the tiles of the Kubadabad Palace on the shore of Lake Beyşehir, and the tiles are arranged according to their original layout in the palace. Each of the eight pointed star tiles is 24 centimetres across, and turquoise and aubergine purple connecting tiles fill the spaces between them. The panels show cross legged courtiers, hunting scenes, double headed eagles, sphinxes, sirens and many animals, from hunting dogs to wild goats. Look closely at the oval faces, large almond eyes and small mouths of the figures; the encyclopedia traces the origin of this facial type to Central Asia.

The Culture Portal states that the museum also displays tiles and ceramics of the Seljuk, Beylik and Ottoman periods, plaster decoration, tiled plates and lamps. The Karatay Medrese was also added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2014 under the heading Anatolian Seljuk Madrasas. The domed hall can get crowded during the day; if you want to study the tiles in peace, starting the route early will make it easier. Check the visiting days and hours on the page of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. On leaving the museum walk south around the hill; you reach the Archaeological Museum in Sahibata neighbourhood after a walk of less than a kilometre.

Source: TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi, Konya Karatay Medresesi Çini Eserleri Müzesi.

According to the address given by the Culture Portal, the Konya Archaeological Museum is in Sahibata neighbourhood in the district of Meram; the portal also notes that the museum is close to the Atatürk Monument, one of the well known points of the city. The museum's story is older than its building. The Culture Portal writes that the museum first opened in 1901, while Wikipedia, relying on the correspondence of the time, dates the opening to 10 December 1899. The collection was first displayed in a one room building in a school garden, then in other buildings, and in 1962 it moved to the present building. Wikipedia describes the museum as the first archaeological museum founded in Anatolia. In the portico at the entrance you are greeted by Byzantine architectural fragments from Sille and the city centre and by Roman funerary stelae.

First head for the hall of prehistoric works, where Neolithic finds from the excavations at Çatalhöyük, Erbaba and Süberde are on display. The ministry's museum page dates this period to between 6500 and 5300 BC and highlights handmade pottery and arrowheads and spearheads of obsidian and flint. Look closely at the obsidian points; these small tools, flaked from volcanic glass, are among the most tangible evidence of how far back life goes on the Konya plain. The works in the Early Bronze Age cases come mostly from the excavations at Sızma and Karahöyük; grooved pottery from around Lake Beyşehir is also in this section. The Middle Bronze Age section shows finds from the excavations carried out since 1952 at Karahöyük, one of the stations of the trade network set up by Assyrian merchants. Here you see wheel made pots, animal shaped vessels, lamps shaped like bunches of grapes and cylinder seals. In the Iron Age hall, look for the figural Phrygian pottery fragments found on Alaeddin Hill; that way you meet what came out of the very mound you walked on in the morning. The same hall displays painted Phrygian and Lydian pots from Kıcıkışla north of Karapınar and Urartian bronze pins.

When you move into the Roman hall, the museum's most famous work, the Heracles Sarcophagus, comes into view. The sarcophagus was found in 1958 in the village of Yunuslar near Beyşehir, among the ruins of the ancient city of Tiberiopolis, while a field was being ploughed. Wikipedia dates the sarcophagus to the middle of the 3rd century AD and writes that together with its lid it weighs about eight tonnes. Walk around all four sides of the sarcophagus; the high reliefs tell the twelve labours of Heracles in order, from the Nemean lion to the apples of the Hesperides. Finding the scenes one by one means going round the sarcophagus several times, so do not hurry. The same hall holds columned and garlanded marble sarcophagi from the ancient necropolis of Konya, a statue of Poseidon, and small finds ranging from glass bottles to gold earrings. In the Byzantine section, a floor mosaic of 6.30 by 3.50 metres, dated to the 6th century AD and found in the 1990 excavation at Tatköy near Sille, is displayed together with mosaics from the excavations at Alibeyhöyük in Çumra.

At the end of the visit go out into the garden, where Roman statues, sarcophagi, funerary lions, ash urns, column capitals and inscriptions are displayed in the open air. The garden is also a good corner for sitting down and resting at the end of the route. The Governorship of Konya states that the museum is open to visitors every day except Monday; check the current hours and entry conditions on the ministry's page. If you are planning to go to Çatalhöyük, you can also treat the museum as preparation, because part of the finds from the excavations are in these halls. On leaving the museum you can return to the city centre on foot or by the tram that runs around the hill.

Source: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı, Konya Arkeoloji Müzesi.