The Yakutiye Medresesi (a medrese is a Koran School)has been built in 1310 by the Mongol Cemaleddin Hoca Yakut Gazani. It houses a decent although small museum, but I mainly like it’s nice setting in a park, other ancient buildings standing close, and the stone carving on the exterior. As so often it is mainly the ornamental gate that attracts the attention.

There is also a türbe or grave monument at the end of the central hall, that I have never managed to visit, but that can be seen from the outside.

Many Seljuk (and later Seljuk-style) mausolea are a stone evocation of the pre-islamic funeral hills of the nomads of Central Asia. During their lives, prominent clan members had their funeral hill (‘kurgan’) prepared; when death came, a circular tent was erected on top of the kurgan, and the deceased’s body was laid out, in order to be greeted a last time by the clan members. After this greeting period, the body was placed in the burial chamber inside the kurgan.
A ‘tent-style’ Seljuk Türbe has two parts: a circular or polygonal room with a pyramidal or cone roof, where a cenotaph sarcophagus can be visited and honoured; this is the part referring to the funeral tent. Beneath this ornamented construction the real burial chamber (‘cenazelik’ or ‘mumyalık’) is to be found, where the deceased’s remains were buried; this is the part referring to the burial hill.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.