In a museum housing the donated private collection of what must have been a compulsive collector, the Koyunoğlu (Sheep's son) Museum houses some fine, Seljuk, tiles, many good kilims and carpets, some Roman and other early finds, and a series of rooms kept in the old style in an adjacent building. I have often found that the museum did seem closed, but was open (even notices to the contrary notwithstanding), so try to get in. Give a tip for being shown the old style rooms.

This is a Seljuk tile.

From the sultan’s summer residence at Kubadabat, near Beyşehir. Since the residence was built by sultan Alaaddin Keykubad I (1220–1236), this tile - painted with an underglaze - must be dated from that period.

Underglaze is a method of decorating ceramic articles; the decoration is applied to the surface before it is glazed. As the glaze will subsequently cover it such decoration is completely durable, but because the subsequent glost firing is at a higher temperature than used in on-glaze decoration the range of available colours is more limited. It uses pigments derived from oxides which fuse with the glaze when the piece is fired in a kiln.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Sources: Wikipedia & Personal visit (2001).