Keykavus Sifahanesi
 
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Keykavus Sifahanesi

Founder: Sultan Izzeddin Keykavus I
Architect: Ahmed bin Ebubekir el Marendli, Mimar Bedreddin
Craftsman: Marendli Bizlioglu Ahmed (glazed tiles)

The Keykavus Sifahanesi (Hospital) is a Seljuk building. Sultan Izzeddin Keykavus I, who spent his last years in a struggle against tuberculosis, was a ruler known for the importance he gave to the construction of hospitals and other medical institutions. The deed of trust for the Keykavus Sifahanesi lists over a hundred shops and farms allocated to provide the necessary revenue for the hospital. An interesting feature is the inclusion of an eye specialist among the doctors.

This is an example of a combination of medrese and hospital. It is one of the largest Seljuk sifahane-medrese complexes, with four aiwans and medrese rooms with hearths surrounding the colonnaded courtyard. Measuring 60-90 m, it is four times the size of buildings of a similar nature. The southern aiwan consists of a ten-sided tomb with a pyramidal roof. The hospital and tomb are monumental examples of brick and mosaic tile technique, with a façade reflecting Great Seljuk artistic influence in the geometrical stars and interlacing and the Cufic inscriptions in blue, white, turquoise and indigo. This influence is thought to have been due to the fact that the architect was a native of the city of Marend not far from Tabriz. The tiles in the Keykavus hospital are a foretaste of the Seljuk tiles belonging to later periods.

The vegetal decoration in the portal of the Keykavus hospital is generally agreed to be a precursor of the Baroque type Seljuk portals of the second half of the 13th century.

Resource :  Ara Altun; "Ortaçag Türk Mimarisinin Anahatları Için Bir Özet", p. 55, Arkeoloji ve Sanat Publications, Istanbul, 1988.
Dogan Kuban; "Selçuklu Çagında Anadolu Sanatı", p. 179-181, Yapı Kredi Publications Istanbul 2002.
Gönül Öney; "Anadolu Selçuklu Mimari Süslemesi ve El Sanatları", p. 10, Türkiye Is Bankası Publications Ankara, 1992.
Oktay Aslanapa; "Anadolu'da Ilk Türk Mimarisi", p. 82, Atatürk Kültür, Dil ve Tarih Yüksek Kurumu Publication, Ankara, 1991.
 
Search Results In The Collection of The Museum of Architecture:   Keykavus Sifahanesi