Twin Minaret Madrasa, Erzurum
It is also known as Hatuniye Madrasa.
- Type
- Madrasa
- Culture
- Anatolian Seljuk
- Century
- 13th century
- Status
- Accessible
The Twin Minaret Madrasa is a Seljuk work that has become the symbol of Erzurum. It is generally accepted that it was built in the late 13th century.
It is also called Hatuniye Madrasa because it is thought to have been built by Hundi Hatun, the daughter of Seljuk Sultan Alaaddin Keykubat, or by Padişah Hatun from the Ilkhanate dynasty.
The madrasah, which is approximately 35 x 46 m in size, is the most important example of a two-story, four-iwan, and open courtyard madrasah group. Its courtyard, which measures 26 x 10 m, is surrounded by arcades on four sides. Student and teacher rooms are lined up on both sides of the courtyard. The madrasah has nineteen rooms on the ground floor and eighteen on the first floor. The square space to the west of the entrance was used as a prayer room.
The tomb, which is connected to the main iwan in the south and has a mummy underneath, is the largest tomb of its time in Anatolia. The tomb, which has a dodecagonal body, is covered with a cone on the outside and a dome on the inside. Its eaves are decorated with decorative strips and moldings. The decorations, especially on the crown gate of the Twin Minaret Madrasa, are magnificent examples of the depth and aesthetic understanding of Seljuk stone decoration. Plant elements are predominantly used in the decorations. While palmette and rumi motifs are used the most, the harmony of both is remarkable.
On the west side of the crown gate; the double-headed eagle, which is the symbol of the Central Asian Turks, two snakes with open mouths and the tree of life consisting of sliced leaves are carved. On the east side, there are no leaf or eagle carvings in the symmetry. The glazed bricks and minarets decorated with bricks and motifs rising on both sides of the crown gate present a dazzling aesthetic understanding.
The minarets were built up to the balconies. The turquoise panel on the minarets has the Arabic word "Allah" written inside. The madrasah, which was used as a "Tophane" for a while by the order of the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV and later as a "Barracks", served as the Erzurum Museum between 4-1942 and today serves as both a museum and a painting exhibition hall.1
