NEWS & VIEWS
A Study Tour in East Anatolia
from
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Alberto Boralevi reports: Travelling in East Anatolia after the ICOC
in Istanbul with a group of twenty Italian friends, I had the
opportunity of visiting some of the most interesting Seljuk
architectural monuments of Turkey. This included the outstanding
Mosque of Divrigi, where some of the most important rugs of Istanbul
Vakiflar Museum were discovered.
>From our Istanbul we flew to Sivas where a bus was waiting to take us
to our first stop: Tokat. There we visited the old town and the newly
opened Vakiflar Museum in a recently restored building, formerly a
dervishes house. We got to see some interesting pieces, mainly of
Kurdish work from the Sivas and Tokat area
In Sivas we admired the 13th century Buruciye Medrese, the Sifaiye
Medrese, the Cifte Minare Medrese and the Gok (blu) Medrese with its
extraordinary blue tilework and brick designs. From Sivas we drove to
the World Heritage Site of Divrigi, a mountain village that possesses
a beautifully restored complex of 13th century Seljuk buildings. The
complex is made up of the Ulu Camii and Darussifa (hospital). The
northern entrance to the Ulu Camii is one of the most spectacular
architectural sites in Anatolia. Inside there are still many carpets,
but these are sadly modern and not worth any consideration.
Driving eastwards we stopped in Kemah on the river Eufrathes to visit
an ancient Seljuk Mausoleum, the Sultan Melik Gazi Türbesi. We then
spent the night in Erzincan.
On route to Erzurum we will stopped in Tercan to visit the 12th
century Hatun Kumbet, the only Seljuk tomb in Anatolia, built in a
rosette shape. This tomb belongs to a Seljuk Princess who helped
Saladin. In Erzurum we saw the 12th century Ulu Camii built in a
simple and elegant style. The mosque has an impressive stalactite
ceiling. Next to the Ulu Camii is the Cifte Minareli Medrese (Double
Minarets Madrasa). This Seljuk building has a wonderful façade and
interior main courtyard. The Yakutiye Medrese with its 13th century
Mongolian seminary was our next stop. This building now hosts the
Erzurum’s Turkish and Islamic art Museum. It has no connection to the
Istanbul museum of the samename, but it was still interesting even if
there were no carpets, just few semi-antique kilims.
The following day we arrived at the border with Iran near the Ararat
Mountain. Here we went to the Ishak Pasa Palace in Dogubeyazit. Built
in the late 18th century as a small replica of Topkapi Saray, it is
located in an outstanding mountain surrounding.
Our last stop was Van with its beautiful lake, its strange cats with
two-coloured eyes and the splendid Akdamar Island with the newly
restored outstanding Armenian Church.
It was a gorgeous trip, not considering the three days spent in
Istanbul visiting the many ICOC official and private exhibitions. The
weather was incredibly good and we have been very lucky all the
time. I will never forget the beauty of the Akdamar Island with its
flowering almond and peach trees, surrounded by the emerald green
water of Lake Van, and with white, snow covered mountains in the
background. All the friends travelling with me had a similar feeling
and they were very satisfied with the tour.