Investigation of the preservation problems of the Mescid and Türbe of Akşebe Sultan in Alanya

Abstract

The monument selected to be studied is a Seljuk building composed of a masjid and a türbeh located in the inner fortress of Alanya which was an important settlement during Anatolian Seljuk Period. The aim of the study is the documentation of the building by examining its architectural characteristics and construction techniques, to reveal its missing or altered parts and elements, to determine its structural and material problems occurred by the interventions carried out in the past and to propose solutions to sustain it with its original properties as much as possible. For this purpose, existing conditions, alterations, construction techniques and materials that form the building were determined by measured drawings and observations through fieldwork. For the restitution scheme, other masjids and turbehs of the same period have been evaluated in the light of the information obtained from the literature and archival research. Comparison of Akşebe Sultan with the other Anatolian Seljuk masjids has also been done for the missing and altered parts of the building for a reliable restitution scheme. The building was subjected to some interventions in the past and lost many of its original features. Due to the difficulties in finding reliable information about previous interventions, a restitution-based restoration proposal could not be proposed. Instead, long term studies and minimum interventions are proposed to prolong its life and to save original properties of the monument.