A mesmerizing image of the richly decorated pendentive and interior of the dome of the Büyük Karatay Medresesi, now a museum. The intensity and richness of this decorative style is beyond any description, and is without doubt an excellent specimen of the intricacy of Selcuk ornamentation and tilework, being a beautiful marriage of two main components of the Islamic decorative canon: arabesque and geometric patterns (the third being calligraphy, which is also to be found in other parts of the museum). -MA
The medrese was constructed in 1251 and endowed by Emir Jelaleddin Karatay, one of the Seljuk Turkish empire's greatest generals, statesmen and grand vezirs. The entrance portal of this building is a fine exhibition of Seljuq ornamentation. One of its notable aspects is the slightly truncated muqarnas niche, its form derived from "a formula developed by the Great Selcuks of Isfahan in Persia." The alternating light and dark marble stones along with geometric patterns and Arabic calligraphy in low-relief contribute to the magnificent overall decorative style of the monument, which was adoped as the standard for "both the madarsas and the caravanserais of the thirteenth century." Today, the madrasa serves as a museum, exhibiting Selcuk tilework. -MA
Stierlin, Henri, and Anne Stierlin. "Turkey, from the Selçuks to the Ottomans." Köln: Taschen, 1998.
"Büyük Karatay Medresesi." Archnet. https://www.archnet.org/sites/2050
Creation date unknown. Photograph processed September 1967. Formerly catalogued as B42.004. Notes written on the slide or index: Büyük Karatay.
