Atabek Ayaz and Denizli Çardak Han with its Decorative Figures

Abstract

This article deals with the Çardak Han situated in Çardak, Denizli, and its patron Reşidü'd-din Ayaz. The article also discusses that that he would be the same person as the patron of Fortress Tower of Sinop. i.e. Esedü'd-din Ayaz el-Galibi, whose name was also mentioned in the inscription of Alaeddin Mosque in Konya as Atabek Ayaz. The supervisor of the construction, Atabek Ayaz, was from the Principality of Artuklu and served the Seljuk State as a military commander, as a chieftain (atabek) and as a construction supervisor. His cultural background in reference to the history of the era, along with the Çardak Han's architectural features and its decorative figures are taken up in this article.

As an earliest example of five sectioned vaulted spaces, the Çardak Han is also distinguished by its domeless roof which is not the case for the inns built later on two sides of the inscription panel, there are sculptures of lions and in the interior of the building there are relieves of a bull's head, two fishes and a head of a bearded man symbolizing signs of the Zodiac and planets. Five planets and three zodiac signs were depicted in the Çardak Han emphasize the idea of universe.