Sabuncuoglu Medical and Surgical History Museum
Sabuncuoglu Medical and Surgical History Museum
Darüşşifa (Hospital) - Bimarhane (Asylum)
According to the epigraph placed upon the rather ornate portal, the hospital and the asylum were built in the name of Sultan Olcayto and his wife İldiz Hatun by Anber Bin Abdullah in 1308, during the Ilkhanate reign
in Amasya. The building is modeled after the classical Seljuk medresseh with iwans - vaulted rooms with one side open to a court – facing each other, a courtyard with archways on two opposing sides beyond the iwans and additional vaulted rooms beyond the archways. The facade, the iwans and the archways are built of hewn stone whereas the rest is built of broken stones. All the adornments of the otherwise plain building
concentrate on the monumental portal on the facade and the windows placed on both sides of it. The portal is placed high on the facade, which stresses its monumental beauty. The geometrical and plastic patterned stonework, which is typical of Seljuk architecture, are among the most beautiful samples of the period they belong to. Many patterns, typical of stone craftsmanship of the early Seljuk architecture, observed frequently in the buildings in Sivas, Konya and Divriği can be seen on the portal of the building. The relief of a kneeling man on the keystone of the arch of the portal, which is surrounded with a triangular niche, adorned with muqarnas edging was first used in this building. The aesthetic quality of the facade is complemented with the grand windows on both sides of the portal.
