The Seljuk Han of Anatolia

DURAGAN HAN 

Inscription plaque (kitabesi) over main portal

Cells in main courtyard

Portal leading to the covered section

DISTRICT (IL)
57 SINOP

LOCATION
The han is located 30 km east of Boyabat on the Vezirköprü Road, at the spot where the Gök Irmak and the Kızıl Irmak Rivers meet in the village of Durak.

[map]

OTHER NAMES
Durak Han

Boyabat-Vezirköprü Han

Pervane Süleyman Hanı

DATE
1266

REIGN OF

Giyaseddin Keyhüsrev III (dated by inscription)

PATRON
The courtyard portal has an inscription of 7 lines which states that it was built in the time of Keyhüsrev by the Pervane Muineddin Suleyman bin Ali in 664 [H]. It also indicates the name of the architect, Gevherbaş bin Abdullah.

At this time Pervane was the virtual ruler of this part of the Sultanate of Rum (see "History" section).

BUILDING TYPE

Covered with open courtyard (COC)
Covered section smaller than the courtyard
Covered section with a central aisle and 1 aisle on each side running perpendicular to the back wall

5 bays of vaults

DESCRIPTION
This han has a very wide courtyard in relation to the hall.
Like the Kesikköprü, Zazadin and Ağzikara Hans, this han has an excentric entrance (the two portal doors are not in the same axis as is generally the case for open courtyard and covered plan hans). The orientation of the courtyard (east) and the hall (south) is not the same, and was apparently not due to the site requirements.
The mosque was a room in the doorway passage to the right of the courtyard.

DECORATION

The portal and most of the hall have been entirely rebuilt. The courtyard arches are in an atypical Anatolian shape: broken pointed arches in the Persian style. Could Pervane have commissioned a Persian architect to build this han like he did for the mosque at Sinop (built in 1256)?

DIMENSIONS
Total external area: 1435 m2.  The han is quite large in size.
Area of hall: 330m2
Area of courtyard: 925m2

STATE OF CONSERVATION, CURRENT USAGE
The han was restored starting in 1992 and was finished in 2007. It will have a commercial use.
 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

Acun, p. 492

Altun, p. 200
Erdmann, p. 72-74, no. 20 (plan, photos)
Karpuz, Kuş, Dıvarcı and Şimşek (2008), vol. 2, p. 302

Rice, p. 206


 

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