Aizikarahan

According to an inscription this impressive caravanserai with seven-sided corner towers, about 15km/9mi east of Aksaray on the old caravan route from Konya to Kayseri, was built between 1231 and 1238 during the reign of Alaeddin Keykubad I. Also known as the Hoca Mesut Kervansarai it is one of three exceptionally well preserved Seljuk halts between Sivas and Konya.

The arcaded courtyard has a small mosque (mesçid) in the middle. At right-angles to the huge entrance gate stands a vast hall with half a dozen transept-like bays either side of a central area. Daylight floods in through a dome over the penultimate "crossing". Both the main entrance and the hall portal are richly ornamented.