Gökmedrese or Gök Medrese (literally: "Celestial Madrasah" or "Blue Madrasah"; fa, گوک مدرسه), also known as Sahibiye Medresesi, is a 13th-century medrese, an

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic educational institution, in Sivas, Turkey.

History

The medrese was commissioned by Sahip Ata Fahrettin Ali, a vizier and the de facto ruler of Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm after the death of

Pervane Mu'in al-Din Suleiman Parwana ( fa, معین الدین سلیمان پروانه), better known as Parwana ( fa, پروانه) was a Persian statesman, who was for a time (especially between 1261–1277) a key player in Anatolian politics involvi ...

in 1277. Up to 1271, he was usually in good terms with Pervane. He commissioned many buildings in Anatolia. Gökmedrese is one of the most imposing of all. The original name of the medrese is ''Sahibiye'', referring to Sahip Ata. But it is usually known as Gökmedrese, because of the sky-blue tiles used at the building. The medrese was constructed by an architect known as "Kaloyan" (

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...

: , "Kalo Yianni," literally 'good John') from Konya. Originally, it was a two-story building. There were also a

hamam A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited f ...

(Turkish bath) and a soup kitchen for 30 people. But presently, only the 13 rooms of the lower floor exist. It was restored in 1823 and was in use up until 1926.http://eskidergi.cumhuriyet.edu.tr/makale/1290.pdf

Technical details

There are two high minarets, one at each side of the portal. The width of the building is . The dimensions of the courtyard is . There are two divisions, one leading to the mescit (prayer room) and the other to class rooms.

Vakıf

In middle age Islamic countries '' Vakıf'' was a source of revenue, endowed for the exploitation and the maintenance of the foundations as well as for the salaries of the staff. In Gökmedrese case, there were 85 markets, nine villages, two farms and some other sources endowed as vakfiye.

Gallery

Image:Gok Medresesi2.jpg,

Muqarna Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...

s on the portal. Image:Gok Medresesi1.jpg File:GÖk Medrese during restoration 8335.jpg, Gök Medrese during restoration shot from right side File:GÖk Medrese during restoration 8367.jpg, Gök Medrese before restoration Portal from left side File:GÖk Medrese during restoration 8332.jpg, Gök Medrese before restoration Decoration corner File:GÖk Medrese during restoration 8357.jpg, Gök Medrese before restoration Ceiling inside File:GÖk Medrese during restoration 8309.jpg, Gök Medrese during restoration Minarets File:GÖk Medrese before restoration 044.jpg, Gök Medrese before restoration Portal File:GÖk Medrese before restoration 048.jpg, Gök Medrese before restoration Portal detail File:GÖk Medrese before restoration 049.jpg, Gök Medrese before restoration Portal detail File:GÖk Medrese before restoration 050.jpg, Gök Medrese before restoration Portal detail closer up File:GÖk Medrese before restoration 052.jpg, Gök Medrese before restoration Portal side File:GÖk Medrese before restoration 059.jpg, Gök Medrese before restoration Decoration File:GÖk Medrese before restoration 2258.jpg, Gök Medrese before restoration shot from side

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gokmedrese Buildings and structures in Sivas Seljuk architecture Buildings and structures completed in 1271 Madrasas in Turkey Buildings and structures of the Sultanate of Rum World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey 13th-century madrasas