Sırçalı Madrasa

The 1243 Battle of Kösedag between the Anatolian Seljuk State and the Mongols brings with it a major trauma. The Mongols win the war and weaken the Seljuks. In this dark year of war, a promising development is also witnessed. Sırçalı Madrasa, built-in Konya by the leading statesman Bedreddin Muslih, has been opened and students are taught. The statesman, who also undertook important tasks in the following years, has given Konya a public structure that acts as a higher education institution of his time. In the following centuries, the beginning of Ottoman dominance in the city and continuing the function of education in the process, Sırçalı Madrasah, began to lose its importance by the 1600s. In the 1800s, it is no longer an educational place, it is used as adobe rooms. After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, the building was first renovated in 1943 and opened in 1960. Finally, in 1969, it underwent a generic restoration and it regained its present appearance. The Madrasa, which has a rectangular plan and a structure with an open courtyard, measures 17 x 30.50 meters. The two-storey madrasa stands out in the eastern part of the crown gate. The sections near the crown gate, which includes various plant and motif decorations, are shown among the precious examples of Seljuk stonework. On the inside of the entrance door, there is an inscription on the top. The courtyard of the madrasa, the students cubicle, the main iwan, the stairs, the altar, and the mosque are among the other highlights. There is also a squarely planned shrine belonging to Bedreddin Muslih, near the madrassa.