Sultanhani Caravanserai

Seljuk sultans lined the Anatolian trade roads with fortified inns roughly a day's travel apart, and this one, built in 1229 and rebuilt after a fire, is the biggest of them. Caravans passed through a marble portal carved into tiers of stalactite vaulting into a walled courtyard with rooms, baths and a smithy around the edges, and a small mosque raised on four arches in the middle so the yard could still be used beneath it. Behind lay a covered hall of stone aisles under a raised lantern, where animals and goods sheltered through the winter. Lodging was free for three days by custom, whoever you were, which is the detail most visitors remember.

What to look for

• The portal - deep muqarnas carving in white marble on a plain stone wall.
• The courtyard mosque - a small prayer room lifted on four arches.
• The covered hall - stone aisles and the raised lantern above the centre.
• The courtyard rooms - the ranges of cells, stables and service spaces.

When to go

Any month is workable since the visit is short and half of it is indoors, but the covered hall is cold in winter and the courtyard glares in July. Late afternoon light suits the portal carving. An hour is enough, which makes it a natural stop on the drive between Konya and Cappadocia.

Practical notes

The town around it is plain and there is nothing else to do here. Restoration has left some surfaces looking newly cut, which flattens the age. The interior hall is dim, so carving photographs poorly. Souvenir stalls and carpet sellers crowd the entrance and can be persistent.

Nearby

The Ihlara valley and Aksaray on the road east to Cappadocia.