Obruk Han: A Seljuk Caravanserai on the Konya–Kayseri Route
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Turkey
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Seljuk
- Site type
- Economic
- Remains
- Caravanserai
On this page9 sections
History
Obruk Han is a Seljuk caravanserai in Türkiye, near Konya, built in the classical Seljuk period between approximately 1220 and 1250. The Seljuks were a Turkic Muslim dynasty that ruled much of Anatolia during the medieval period, while caravanserais provided protected lodging and stopping places along major trade routes. Obruk Han stood on the route linking Konya with Kayseri and takes its name from the giant doline behind it, a closed depression formed by the collapse or dissolution of soluble bedrock.
Construction and Early References
The date of construction is not known precisely. Its position between Saddedin Han, built in 1236, and Sultanhanı, built in 1229, has contributed to a proposed erection date between 1220 and 1250. The han’s original name has not survived, but the thirteenth-century religious scholar and mystic Mevlana, also known as Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, was already calling it Obruk Han around 1250.
Obruk Han appears in several historical records from the period of Seljuk rule. Mevlana lived in Anatolia from 1227 to 1273, and Pervane Mu’in al-Din Suleyman, a powerful adviser at the Seljuk court, described fighting near the caravanserai. Records from the reign of Sultan Izz ad-Din Kai Kaus II, who ruled from 1246 to 1256, state that Mongol horsemen captured Obruk Han.
Damage and Conservation
Several earthquakes severely damaged the building, including the collapse of its vaulting. Selçuk University surveyed the han and its surrounding grounds in 1996 and conducted excavations. A comprehensive renovation began in September 2007. The work repaired the exterior walls and entrance portal and rebuilt the destroyed southern section of the wall, leaving the gate as the only entrance. Further renovation had not continued since 2009, according to the condition recorded in 2017.
Remains
Principal Building and Courtyard
Obruk Han has a symmetrical plan formed by two connected buildings, with the entrance facing east-southeast. The principal building is approximately square, with sides measuring about 35 metres. At its centre is a courtyard approximately 20 metres by 15 metres. Five lateral halls, each about 10 metres wide, extend along every side of the courtyard. Most of their arches have collapsed, leaving the surviving arch sections as the clearest remains of these spaces. The courtyard occupies a larger area than the built-up side sections, a characteristic arrangement of a Seljuk han.
Entrance Façade and Gate Rooms
The entrance façade is plain and contains an archway nearly 5 metres high. Byzantine columns support it on both sides, with an antique architrave, the horizontal beam resting above the columns. The portal lacks the tiered muqarnas ornament commonly used in Seljuk architecture and also lacks the customary inscription above the arch. Its height was later reduced by approximately 1 metre.
The gate building rises for two storeys and is unusually crowned with small crenellations. A small mosque occupied the upper floor, receiving light through three small square windows. Its mihrab, the prayer niche indicating the direction of Mecca, was heavily damaged by art thieves. Four square rooms survive in the gate building, with two on each side of the entrance across the ground and first floors. Their probable uses included a treasury for caravan valuables, an infirmary, and accommodation for guards.
Winter Hall
A winter hall adjoins the western side of the principal building. Designed mainly for use during cold weather, it measures approximately 30 metres by 20 metres. Its supporting cross-vault divided the interior into eight aisles, each approximately 3 to 4 metres wide and 9 metres long. The vaulting has collapsed, but the arrangement of the space and the position of animal feeding troughs toward the centre remain part of its physical interpretation.
A small lantern tower once stood in the middle of the third aisle from the west and resembled the lantern tower at Karatay Han. The tower has been completely destroyed. The wall and portal that separated the winter hall from the courtyard have also collapsed. The main passage was supported by fourteen Byzantine columns, ten of which remain standing. The winter hall has slightly thinner walls than the front building and no external towers.
Walls, Columns, and Reused Elements
The exterior walls are almost completely preserved in their original form and have no external decoration. Six buttress towers strengthen the wall of the front building. The portal and the mosque’s three windows are the only external openings. Columns were also used at the entrance, and the courtyard originally contained additional columns.
Many architectural elements in the walls are spolia, meaning pieces reused from earlier buildings. Some came from the ancient city of Perta in Lycaonia, while others came from a Byzantine church and monastery near Kizören. Most carry Greek inscriptions and Christian symbols, although Latin inscriptions also occur. Numerous reused pieces were later lost through art theft. Apart from the mosque’s damaged mihrab, Seljuk artistic motifs are entirely absent from the surviving architectural treatment.
Setting
The giant doline that gave Obruk Han its name lies directly behind the building. An old, disused Ottoman cemetery stands beside the han, forming part of the surviving historical setting around the caravanserai.
