{"id":713,"date":"2016-07-08T18:15:46","date_gmt":"2016-07-08T17:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/courtauld.org.uk\/crossingfrontiers\/?page_id=713"},"modified":"2019-12-30T11:10:02","modified_gmt":"2019-12-30T11:10:02","slug":"gok-medrese","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.courtauld.ac.uk\/crossingfrontiers\/crossing-frontiers\/turkey\/sivas\/gok-medrese\/","title":{"rendered":"G\u00f6k Medrese"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maxime Durocher<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0G\u00f6k Medrese was built in 671\/1271 but, unlike the Buruciye and the \u00c7ifte Minare medreses, it is located at the foot of the upper citadel. Like other medreses in medieval Anatolia, its name (G\u00f6k meaning \u2018Sky blue\u2019) refers to the tile decoration of the building. The patron was S\u0101\u1e25ib \u2018At\u0101 Fakhr al-D\u012bn \u2018Al\u012b (d. 685\/1285), a powerful Seljuk vizier during the first decades of Ilkhanid rule over Anatolia. He is known for his prolific architectural patronage, mostly in Konya and Kayseri, and his name is mentioned in different inscriptions throughout the building. It is interesting to note that he mentions the Seljuk sultan Ghiy\u0101th al-D\u012bn Kaykhusraw III in the inscription located on the portal (RCEA 4640), but omits such a reference to his suzerain in another one located inside the courtyard (RCEA 4641).<\/p>\n

Despite important restorations during the 19th<\/sup> century (one is dated to 1239\/1923-4 by an inscription) and the 20th<\/sup> century, the fa\u00e7ade of the medrese and a large part of its architecture and decoration are still preserved. Constructed in limestone and brick, it is a typical 4-\u012bw\u0101n structure organised around an open courtyard. The main \u012bw\u0101n has collapsed, however, and was replaced by a wall constructed with rubble from the monument at an unknown date. The entrance \u012bw\u0101n is covered with a star vault and flanked by two domed chambers (the south one is a masjid i.e. <\/em>a prayer hall recognisable with the presence of a mihrab<\/em>), like at the Buruciye Medrese. Two porticos run along the north and the south sides of the courtyard and the lateral iw\u0101ns are flanked by three vaulted rooms on each side.<\/p>\n

The portal, prominent on the western wall, dominates the fa\u00e7ade of the building and has impressive carved decoration concentrated on its marble cladding. The frame of the door consists of alternating blocks of coloured marble with animal heads springing from scrolls carved on each end stone. Such a zodiacal iconography is a common feature of Seljuk portal decoration. Two niches flank the door and a muqarnas vault, contained in a four-centred archivolt, surmounts it. Four different rectangular frames surround the portal, each with different geometrical or vegetal carved motifs. The use of bichrome marble and several motifs, like the plastic high-relief leaves and thick mouldings on the side of the portal, recalls the decoration of the mosque-complex built by S\u0101\u1e25ib \u2018At\u0101\u2019 at Konya in 1258. The decoration of the angle buttresses, consisting of palmettes carved on the fine cut limestone, is very similar to the design on the buttresses of the \u00c7ifte Minare Medrese in the same town and to the sculpture carved on the Turumtay t\u00fcrbe in Amasya (1278).<\/p>\n

Two brick minarets surmount the portal composition, a feature introduced from Iran where it survives from the 12th<\/sup> century onwards. It is noteworthy that the earliest example of twin minarets in Anatolia appears on the portal of the mosque-complex built by the same patron in Konya. Both minarets, with sections identical to the minaret of the \u0130nce Minare Medrese, also built by S\u0101\u1e25ib \u2018At\u0101\u2018 in Konya, are decorated with turquoise and black glazed bricks and tiles. However, the tile decoration is concentrated on the lateral \u012bw\u0101ns with geometric interlacing patterns forming eight-pointed stars on the lunette and in the masjid<\/em> flanking the entrance passageway. Here an inscription is designed in black on turquoise tiles at the bottom of the dome. The dome itself, like the triangles in the transitional zone, is decorated with turquoise and black glazed bricks.<\/p>\n

Finally, a rare example of an architect\u2019s signature, K\u0101l\u016by\u0101n al-Qunaw\u012b, is carved on the G\u00f6k Medrese (RCEA 4646). The identification of this signature with other examples found on buildings commissioned by S\u0101\u1e25ib \u2018At\u0101\u2019 (his mosque and the \u0130nce Minare Medrese in Konya, for instance) raises the question of the mobility of architects and craftsmen in medieval Anatolia and their link to their patrons. Nevertheless, the identification of the same architect in other signature inscriptions is difficult because of variation in the Arabic script.<\/p>\n

Interactive Plan<\/h4>\n
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Image Gallery<\/h4>\n