April

With the Seljuk period, Ankara ceased to be merely a political and military center and gained the quality of an important city where Turkish-Islamic identity became visible in space. The most concrete traces of this transformation are read especially in the Seljuk works concentrated in and around Ulus. In this context, Aslanhane (Ahi Şerafettin) Mosque is one of the strongest representatives of the Seljuk heritage in Ankara. Its wooden-columned structure, its minbar made with the kundekari technique, and its rich mihrab where plaster and tile mosaic techniques were used together clearly reflect the aesthetic and technical level of Anatolian Seljuk art.

Although limited in number, the Seljuk works in Ankara carry an extremely intense meaning in terms of their representative power. Aslanhane Mosque is not only a place of worship; it is an architectural document of the process of the Seljuks reorganizing Ankara as a Turkish-Islamic city.

The zawiya (lodge) and tomb structures developing around this building also show that Ankara was handled not only as a physical but also as a social and spiritual center during the Seljuk period. In particular, the Ahi Şerafettin Zawiya constitutes a unique example in terms of Turkish architectural history because it is among the rare zawiya-planned structures seen in the Seljuk and Beyliks periods. With its multi-functional structure, this architectural work reflects the period’s understanding of faith, education, and social solidarity together.

Seljuk aesthetics represents the founding phase of Turkish art in Anatolia through these works seen in Ankara. This aesthetic language observed in Aslanhane Mosque should be considered together with other important structures of the Seljuk heritage in Ankara. While Akkale, located within the Ankara Castle, reflects the city’s military and strategic dimension, Alaaddin Mosque represents the early religious architecture of the Seljuk period. Akköprü, positioned on the western axis of the city, is an important infrastructure work revealing that the Seljuks conceived of Ankara as a city planned, organized, and developed within a spatial integrity.

Although these structures have different functions, they are the product of a common world of aesthetics and mentality. This texture taken from the mihrab of Aslanhane Mosque essentially creates a holistic reference area pointing to all these Seljuk works in Ankara. It unites the city’s religious, civil, military, and transportation layers in the Seljuk period within a single aesthetic memory. The understanding of geometric ornamentation, mastery in the use of materials, and the integration of architecture with spiritual meaning form the basis of a long-lasting aesthetic tradition that can be traced in later Ottoman and even Republican period architecture. Therefore, Seljuk period works in Ankara offer an indispensable reference area not only as a local historical layer but also for understanding the formal and intellectual continuity of Turkish art. These structures make the Seljuk period visible in Ankara’s urban memory, making one of the most important thresholds of Turkish art history concrete and readable.

Ankara Chamber of Commerce

Söğütözü District 2180. Street No: 5/A 06530
Çankaya/ANKARA
iletisim@atonet.org.tr

Ankara Chamber of Commerce

Söğütözü District 2180. Street No: 5/A 06530 Çankaya/ANKARA iletisim@atonet.org.tr

Söğütözü District 2180. Street No: 5/A 06530
Çankaya/ANKARA
iletisim@atonet.org.tr