Basakpinar Ispile Han

The Seljuk Han of Anatolia

BASAKPINAR (ISPILE) HAN

The ruins of this large han, located on the same road as the Kayseri Sultan Han, now lie in the middle of a field outside of Kayseri.

DISTRICT

38 KAYSERI

LOCATION

38.678692, 35.638756

The Ispile Han is located 17 km from Kayseri on the Tomarza Road, to the northeast of the village of Başakpinar. It is located in the middle of a field, some 400 meters from the road, inaccessible by vehicle.

On the Kayseri-Elbistan-Aleppo caravan route, the first destination after exiting Kayseri was the Ispile Han.

NAMES

Basakpinar Han

Ispile Han

DATE

It is dated to the 13th century. As it is located on the same road as the Kayseri Sultan Han, this han is considered a relay station, perhaps for mail and diplomatic messages.

INSCRIPTION

Due to the current ruined state of the han, it is not possible to determine if it originally had an inscription plaque.

DESCRIPTION

The majority of the walls of the han have collapsed.

It is believed that it had the covered section with an open courtyard plan, but again, the current state of the ruins make the determination of the exact plan problematic. The entry to the han was probably from the north. There are two small rooms at what is believed to be the entrance to the covered section.

The construction was of rubble faced with finely-cut blocks of limestone. Some stones were found which were decorated with acanthus leaves and other vegetal motifs, which were perhaps a part of a crown portal. These stones are similar to examples from the Kayseri Sultan Han.

DIMENSIONS

The walls of the ruins measure approximately 18 x 49m.

STATE OF CONSERVATION, CURRENT USE

The majority of the walls have collapsed. Only a few sections remain. The ruins are located in the middle of a field some 500 meters from the road.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

Özbek, Yıldıray & Arslan, C. Kayseri Taşinmaz Kültür Varliklari Envanteri. (Vol. 1-3). Kayseri, 2008, pp. 1169-1170.