Çifte Minareli Medrese

The Çifte Minareli Medrese was built in the late thirteenth century, in the period when Seljuk authority was giving way to Ilkhanid rule, and it is the largest medrese of its kind in Anatolia. The facade is what everyone photographs: a deeply carved stone portal flanked by two minarets of fluted brick set with turquoise tile, standing on stone bases with the ornament running up them. Around the doorway are palmettes, interlace, a tree of life with double-headed eagles and dragons - the mixed iconography of Anatolian Seljuk carving. Inside is a two-storey courtyard with arcades on all sides, cells for students, four eyvans, and at the far end the Hatuniye türbe, a large domed tomb chamber attached to the building. It stands beside the Ulu Cami and near the citadel in the centre of Erzurum, a city at nineteen hundred metres where winter runs long and the stone looks best under snow.

What you actually see

• The twin minarets - fluted brick with turquoise tile.
• The carved portal - tree of life, eagles and dragons.
• The arcaded courtyard - two storeys of student cells.
• The Hatuniye türbe - the domed tomb at the far end.

When to go

May to September for comfortable weather; December to March if you want the building under snow, which suits it. Erzurum winters are severe.

Honest expectations

The minarets cannot be climbed. Interpretation is limited. Restoration work has closed parts at times. Erzurum is high and cold for much of the year.

Nearby

The Ulu Cami, the Üç Kümbetler tombs and the citadel are within a few minutes' walk; Palandöken's ski slopes are above the city.