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Karatay Medrese

Karatay Medrese

Highlight • Historical Site

Karatay Medrese

Name: Karatay Medrese
Rating: 2

Recommended by 12 hikers

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Location: Turkey

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Best Hikes to Karatay Medrese

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2. Yivli Minaret and Mosque – Antalya Old Harbor loop from Pınarbaşı Mah.

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3. Kaleiçi (Old Town) – Antalya Old Harbor loop from Balbey Mah.

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Tips

Stephan N

August 20, 2025

The term "madrasah" refers to an Islamic theological school or college, institutions that were important centers of learning during Seljuk and Ottoman rule. The Karatay Madrasa in Antalya is one such important structure, demonstrating the distinctive architectural style and artistic skill of the Seljuks who ruled Anatolia before the rise of the Ottomans.
The Karatay Madrasa in Antalya-Kaleiçi was built in 1250 by Celaleddin Karatay.
The building known as the Karatay Madrasa in Antalya-Kaleiçi is not in very good condition today. Only the Crown Gate has survived from the western front to the present day. A row of windows and doors on the walls on the north and south sides of the courtyard, incorporated by the entrance iwan after the Crown Gate, were covered with bricks. No trace of the units that would have been located in the courtyard remains to this day. At the eastern end of the courtyard, some traces indicate that there is another iwan next to the two that have survived to this day. The arched eyes of these two iwans, which have survived to this day, were closed in a later period. It was used for a time as a student dormitory and Quran course.
Source:
anadoluselcuklumimarisi.com/std/veri-tabani/karatay-medresesi

Translated by Google •

Stephan N

August 20, 2025

The term "madrasah" refers to an Islamic theological school or college, institutions that were important centers of learning during Seljuk and Ottoman rule. The Karatay Madrasa in Antalya is one such significant structure, demonstrating the distinctive architectural style and artistic skills of the Seljuks, who ruled Anatolia before the rise of the Ottomans.
The Karatay Madrasa in Antalya-Kaleiçi was built by Celaleddin Karatay in 1250.
The Karatay Madrasa, the only Seljuk-period madrasa in Antalya, was built on a plot of approximately fifteen hectares, surrounded by streets on four sides, with a rectangular floor plan and entirely hand-carved stone. The building, which still reflects the aesthetics and elegance of the Seljuks in architecture, was designed as a complete educational and teaching center with its double mihrab museum crown door, three iwans, a courtyard pool, student, mudarris, and guest rooms, a dining hall, library, bathroom, and toilets. It was named "Dâru's-sulehâ" (House of the Righteous), meaning "the place where beautiful people are educated."
The middle iwan, whose roof is higher than that of the other two iwans, also served as a mosque, where it is performed during the five daily prayers open to the public, with its broken stone museum mihrab on the qibla side. Due to this feature, it was also known throughout history as the "Karatay or Karadayi Mosque."
Source:
turkiyenintarihieserleri.com/?oku=2589

Translated by Google •

Johannes

July 21, 2024

Medieval school from the Seljuk period with a well-preserved, richly decorated portal with geometric and plant ornaments. The inscription states that Vizier Cemaleddin Karatay built this madrasa in 1250, under the rule of the Sultan of Rum Kai Kaus II, a few decades after the Turkish-Muslim conquest of the previously Byzantine-Christian Antalya. Kai Kaus II was the son of Sultan Kai Chosrau II and a Byzantine Christian.

Translated by Google •

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Elevation 60 m

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Thursday 11 December

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Max wind speed: 13.0 km/h

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Location: Turkey

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Karatay Medrese

1. Antalya Old Harbor – Kaleiçi (Old Town) loop from Kılınçarslan Mah.

2. Yivli Minaret and Mosque – Antalya Old Harbor loop from Pınarbaşı Mah.

3. Kaleiçi (Old Town) – Antalya Old Harbor loop from Balbey Mah.

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