Konya Karatay Tile Works Museum

KARATAY MADRASA TILE WORKS MUSEUM

Karatay Madrasa was built by Emir Celaleddin Karatay during the reign of Izzettin Keykavus II, in 649 Hijri (1251 Gregorian). Its architect is unknown. The madrasah, which was also used during the Ottoman period, was abandoned at the end of the 19th century.

Karatay Madrasa, which has an important place in the tile workmanship of the Anatolian Seljuk period, was opened to visitors in 1955 as the "Tile Works Museum".

The madrasah was built in the plan type of "madrasah with a closed courtyard" with a single iwan and a single story in order to teach hadith and exegetics during the Seljuk period. The entrance is provided from the east by a door made of sky and white marble and is a unique example of Seljuk period stone workmanship. There is an inscription on the door about its construction. On the other surfaces of the door, there are selected verses and hadiths.

From the door, first a courtyard covered with a dome (now open) is entered into the madrasah with a door from here. The courtyard of the madrasah is covered with a dome with a luminous lantern in the center and covered with mosaic tiles. Verses are written on the curbs on the upper parts of the walls on the dome pulley and on the panels on the cell doors. The Basmala and Ayet-el Kursi are located in the arch of the main sink with a cradle vault in the western direction of the building. On the triangles, which are the transition element to the dome, there are the names of the prophets Muhammad, Jesus, Moses, and David, as well as the names of the four caliphs Abu Bakr, Omar, Osman, and Ali.

The domed cell to the south of the iwan is the tomb of Celaleddin Karatay.

The domed cell to the north of the iwan was demolished earlier and was completed after the rescue excavation and restoration works were carried out in 2006.

A large part of the mosaic tiles on the walls of the madrasa was poured in the past. The colors used in the tiles are turquoise (turquoise blue), navy blue, and black.

During the rescue excavation carried out in 2006, a channel closed with wooden lines in the east-west direction was uncovered in the main iwan. In addition, in the cell located to the north of the iwan, a blunt channel made for the purpose of draining the water drain located on the edge of the central courtyard was detected and a part of it was covered with glass and displayed.

in 2006-2007-2008, the exhibition system was renewed by carrying out restoration and display-arrangement works.

In the showcases of the Karatay Museum, wall tiles, tile, and glass plates, among the Kubad-Abad Palace excavation finds by the Beyşehir Lake, and tile and ceramic plates, oil lamps, and plaster finds from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods in Konya and its surroundings are exhibited.

The museum building is located in the central Karatay district, Şemsitebrizi district, Ankara Street No.1.