Hekim Han

The Seljuk Han of Anatolia

HEKIM HAN

DISTRICT (IL)

inscription plaque over main entrance

entry to hamam from side

rear view

entry to hamam

countryside near Hekimhan

44 MALATYA

LOCATION
The han is located on the Malatya-Kangal-Sivas Road, about 50 miles northwest of Malatya, in the middle of the town of the same name, Hekimhan.
[map]

OTHER NAMES
The han is known to the locals as the Taş Han. It is also known as the Malatya Hekim Han, after the the doctor who donated it.

DATE
1218-20 (dated by the inscription over the covered section portal)

REIGN OF

This han was built during the reign of Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I (courtyard) and Izzeddin Kaykavus I for the hall. It was restored in the Ottoman period by the famous Mehmed Köprülü, vizier of Sultan Mehmed IV, in 1660.

PATRON
This complex was founded by Alaeddin Keykubad I's doctor Ebu Salim Ben Ebil-Hasan el-Sammas from Malatya. He also appears to have been a Christian, active in religious affairs (Hekim = doctor; al sammas = deacon).

BUILDING TYPE

Covered with open courtyard (COC)
Covered section is smaller than the courtyard

Covered section with a central aisle and 2 side aisle running perpendicular to the back wall

6 bays of vaults

DESCRIPTION
The Ottoman period Köprülü Hamam (1660) is located contiguous to the eastern wall of the han, and the Köprülü Mehmet Pasha Mosque is located 50 m to the southeast.

Facing northwest, this han is in two sections of undecorated stone. It consists of a square summer courtyard and a three-aisled winter hall. The center aisle measures 7.10m wide. In the first section there is an inner courtyard surrounded by small rooms.

In the hall on the covered section portal there is an entirely unique inscription plaque in three languages: Arabic in the middle, Armenian on the left and Syriac on the right. The Arabic inscription, written in large nakshi lettering, gives the construction date of 615 (1218). This inscription establishes the fact that the founder was a Syriac-Christian, states his profession and indicates that the han was built as a commercial inn for private gain.

Above the main entry door to the han (2.6m wide) is another inscription which states that the hand was built during the reign of Alaeddin Keykubad, but no date is given (reign: 1220-1236).

A third inscription is found to the right of the covered section portal dating from 1070 (1660) and which concerns the renovation work. It was restored in 1660-65 under the orders of Sadrazam Abü Salim ibn Abıl Hasan Köprülü Mehmet Paşa of Malatya, the famous vizier of Mehmet IV. The architect for the restoration was Hasan Ağa.

Although it follows the typical plan of sultan hans, two unusual features distinguish it: firstly, it is extremely plain and almost devoid of decoration; secondly, the trilingual inscription in Arabic, Armenian and Syriac located in an inconspicuous part of the hall.

The mosque was probably a room on the courtyard, but following the renovations during the Ottoman period, its traces have been lost. There is a bath with accompanying furnace room in the northwest corner of the courtyard, reached from an outside entry at the rear.

DECORATION

There are numerous geometrical decorations and mason marks on the building stones.

DIMENSIONS
1,700m2 (total internal area)
Area of hall: 550m2
Area of courtyard: 870m2 (15 wide x 17.5 deep)

STATE OF CONSERVATION, CURRENT USAGE
The han is located in the middle of the town, in the center of a nest of shops which form a small bazaar. It is currently (2007) undergoing a renovation and is in good condition. All visits and photographs of the han are currently forbidden due to private nature of the renovation. The han plans to reopen in 2008 with shops for tourist items.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

Altun, p. 200
Bayrak, p. 470
Bektaş, p. 130-131
Erdmann, p. 63-67, no. 18
Ertuğ, p. 78
Hillenbrand, fig. 6.41, p. 552

Kuban, p. 242

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