This ‘Yivli Minare' (= fluted or grooved minaret) is Antalya's most prominent landmark and became the symbol of the city.
The minaret and its mosque were built around 1230, during the reign of the Seljuk sultan Alaeddin Keykubat I (1220-1237); the original mosque was destroyed in the 14th century and replaced by a new one in 1373. But the minaret survived, to become one of Anatolia's most beautiful Seljuk minarets.
For its construction both stone (the base and the balcony) and bricks were used. Some outer bricks had one side glazed in blue and were inserted in such way that they formed the names of Allah and Mohammed in Kufic script. The enamel has largely disappeared since, unfortunately.
Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Source: ‘Türkiye Tarihi Yerler Kılavuzu’ – M.Orhan Bayrak, Inkılâp Kitabevi, Istanbul, 1994.