Ulukişla Mehmet Paşa Külliyesi

The Sadrazam Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai, known as the largest caravanserai in our country, is in Ulukışla. The külliye, which has a mosque with a single-domed, nearly square plan; its courtyard, its arasta in the appearance of a street at the center, 23 shops on both sides of the arasta, its rectangular-plan bath with many lighting windows in its domes, the south stable on the south façade of the arasta and the hearths and niches in its walls that add movement to this space, and its stables to the north of the nearly square courtyard and arcades symmetrical to each other in the east and west directions, is a menzil külliye.

The pointed-arched, open-vaulted space at the east entrance of the courtyard belongs to the inn officials. The north stable is entered from the entrance iwan placed in the middle of the north side of the courtyard.

The north stable is a two-aisled space with a transverse rectangular plan. The stable is divided into two aisles of equal width by six piers lined up along an east-west axis. The aisles are covered with pointed-arched barrel vaults. The piers, connected to each other by pointed arches extending in the east-west direction, have a square section. The support edges connecting the piers to the north and south walls of the stable rest on pilasters projecting about 0,30 meters from the wall surface. Iron rings used for tying animals were fixed onto the square-section piers measuring 1.70 meters x 1.70 meters, at a height of approximately 1.00 meter from the ground. There are pyramidal-shaped hoods in the north stable. On the north wall of the north stable, it is seen that two hearths were placed between the pilasters. There are a total of fourteen hearths on this wall.

The south stable was built on a flat area between the mosque and the bath. One of the narrow sides is adjacent to the south façade of the arasta. The entrance of this stable, which is largely a copy of the north stable, is, unlike the other stables, on one of the narrow sides. The arrangement of the east and west façades of the south stable resembles each other. On both façades, there are four buttresses each, rectangular in section and measuring 1.00 meter x 1.50 meters. Between the buttresses, a small loophole window placed in the upper sections is seen. If we analyze the north and south stables comparatively (courtyard, north and south stables), although the north stable and the south stable resemble each other, they differ from each other in terms of position and the area they occupy. The stable in the south is smaller in size than the one in the north. The north stable space is placed on the north side of the courtyard and is in a horizontal position. As for the stable in the south, one of its short sides leans against the south wall of the arasta. There are arcades on the east and west sides of the courtyard located between the two stables.

On the north side of the courtyard are the spaces in front of the north stable, and in the south stable is the arasta. Both stables are rectangular in plan and have two aisles. The aisles, separated from each other by a row of piers, are covered with pointed-arched barrel vaults. It is reported that this külliye was used as barracks by soldiers setting out on campaign as well as by caravan travelers. One feature of the külliye, built in 1619, is that it was the source of inspiration for the poem Han Duvarları by the great Turkish poet Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel.

How to Get to Ulukışla Mehmet Paşa Külliyesi?

The Han in the Ulukışla district center can be reached by Ulukışla buses departing from Niğde Center.

Places to Visit in Niğde Address: İsmet İnönü Caddesi Ulukışla/Niğde