Seljuk Palace Reveals More of Itself

türkçe links to original Turkish article

(Milliyet Newspaper, 28 August 2018)


       Ruins of Kubadabad Palace-by-the-sea.

additional info from a 2015 article in Hürriyet newspaper.

A hunting lodge and a barracks are the latest finds in an excavation
ongoing at Kubadabad Palace on the shore of Lake Beyşehir, one of
the Seljuk treasures that we still have today.  The excavation chief is
Dr. Muharrem Çeken of Ankara University, who said that "the palace
is not made up of only of the structures on land, there are also six
islands in the lake which have structures associated with the palace.
Kubadabad is the mirror for understanding Seljuk culture and
civilization."


                            In those days...

Seljuk Emperor Aladdin Keykubad built Kubadabad Palace in 1236
and scholars have been studying it for the past 38 years.  The palace,
in today's Gölyaka village, covers a 40,000-square meter area and is
the most magnificent work reflecting the Turks' permanence in
Anatolia, which began 800 years ago.  Kubadabad Palace is different
than the palaces the Seljuks built in Turkmenistan, Iran, Sivas, Kayseri
and Alanya and it can be characterized as the predecessor of Topkapı,
the Ottoman Sultans' palace in Istanbul.

Dr. Çeken explained that so far the remnants of 22 structures have
been uncovered in the excavation and he added that "on an inscription
on a mosque nearby in Kütler village,  the city of Kubadabad and the
governor who had the mosque built are mentioned. Hunting was one
of the most important social activities in daily life in the Middle Ages.
The hunting lodge at Kubadabad is one of the best examples.  In
addition, the chateau on Kız Kalesi island is related to the palace
and there are ruins of structures of various sizes on the other islands
in the lake and on the slopes of Mt. Anamas."



The deputy chief of the project, Dr. Alptekin Yavaş from 18 Mart
University in Çanakkale, explained that "the palace was used up
until the first half of the 14th century. Excellent porcelain plates,
plaster containers, panels, ceramics and glass objects from the palace's
decoration have been found and are on display at the Konya Karatay
Medresesi Porcelain Works Museum.  Kubadabad Palace, together
with the buildings on a number of islands in Lake Beyşehir and
those on the slopes of Mt. Anamas, was a city-palace that spread
over a wide area."

Kubadabad Palace is on the west side of the lake.


Lake Beyşehir is in the west of Konya province.