Kızılören Küçük Han

The Küçük Kızılören Hanı (German: “kleiner Kizilören Han”) is a Seljuk caravanserai in the Turkish province of Konya in Anatolia.

Location

The Küçük Kızılören Hanı is located near the village of Kızılören in the district of Meram in the eponymous county, south of national road D 330 between Beyşehir and Konya. Coming from Konya, one turns left after 39 km onto a small unpaved road and reaches the Kızılören Hanı after 200 m. There one turns onto the field path heading north. The han lies on a small hill to which no road leads. At the time of its construction it was close to the historic Via Sebastia from Isparta to Konya. The han can currently (2020) only be visited from the outside. The next han towards Konya was the Altinapa Han (now lying in the Altinapa reservoir) thirteen kilometres away, and towards Beyşehir the Kuruçeşme Hanı, whose exact location is no longer known.

Name

The han is today named after the nearest settlement Kızılören (German: “red ruin”), which lies about two kilometres away. It is also known under the name Küçük Kızılviran Hanı. Kızılviran is the synonymous former place name of Kızılören. The “red” refers to the colour of the han’s stones. The original name of the han is unknown. In investigations from 1992 the small han was still referred to as “building next to the Kızılören Hanı”. Previously the han was equated with the Kuruçeşme Hanı. New research, however, has shown that the Kuruçeşme Hanı lies about 15 km further southwest.

History

Who the patron of the building and the architect were remains unknown to this day. Based on the construction method of the building and the techniques used, a construction date in the early or middle 13th century is assumed; probably under the Seljuk rulers Kaykaus I (Turkish: I. İzzeddin Kaykaus) or Kayqubad (Turkish: Alaeddin Kaykubad). The construction likely took place shortly after the completion of the Kızılören Hanı.

Over the centuries the han lost its significance and the caravanserai gradually fell into decay. Because the han was located away from settlements, it escaped the fate of being used as a quarry for other buildings (as happened, for example, with the Eğirdir Han). That the han was already a ruin at the beginning of the 20th century is shown by travel records of Gertrude Bell from 1907. The inhabitants of the surrounding area used the han as emergency shelter and as a stable for their animals. Rudolf Meyer Riefstahl also speaks of a ruin in 1930.

From April 2008 to June 2009 the han together with the Kızılören Hanı was renovated for approximately one million euros (conversion based on 2008).

Architecture

The han is a rectangular building with a width of just under 15 m and a length of 21 m. Thus it is one of the smallest Seljuk hans. It also lacks the usual division into summer courtyard and winter hall.

The entrance is oriented north‑north‑east and is very plain. The preceding gate structure is about 4.5 m wide and is framed by a low Seljuk arch without ornamentation. The gate itself is only 1.5 m wide and was constructed so that, when locked, it could be opened only from the inside.

The main room was originally divided into two levels; the first floor is missing today. The room is supported by a two‑aisled barrel vault, which is supported in the middle by three low column arches.

The windows are striking. Instead of the usual narrow slit windows, four asymmetrically arranged rectangular, relatively large windows—one per nave on the south wall and one on the east and west walls—illuminate the room.

Today one sees in the han either an additional accommodation option as an alternative quarter, if the Kızılören Hanı should be fully occupied, or as a special quarter for soldiers and messengers of the Seljuks.

A similar combination of a large han with a small annex is now only found at the Kurum Han in Afşin.