Sultanhanı Caravanserai is the largest in Türkiye and one of the best preserved: a stone fortress built in 1229 in the middle of the steppe between Aksaray and Konya, where Silk Road caravans found a bed, food, stabling and protection. It stands roughly halfway between Cappadocia and Konya, which is why every one of my tours that covers that stretch stops here.
A forty-five-minute visit shows you how medieval trade between China and Europe worked, and why that trade made the Seljuks rich.
A little history
It was built by the Seljuk sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I in 1229, at the height of the Sultanate of Rum, when Konya was its capital. The Seljuks built a chain of caravanserais a day's march apart, roughly 30 to 40 kilometres, along the routes linking Persia with the Mediterranean ports and with Constantinople. The state maintained them, and lodging was free for three days, including the services of a vet and a doctor. Merchants brought silk, spices and porcelain from the East and took away Anatolian wool, alum and silver. The sultan collected customs duties and in return guaranteed the road: if a merchant was robbed on his territory, the treasury covered the loss.
A fire damaged the building in 1278, and it was rebuilt and enlarged. As the overland routes declined it fell out of use, serving as a stable and a shelter for the village that grew up beside it. It was restored in the 20th century and is now a museum.
What to see at Sultanhanı Caravanserai
The portal
A marble gateway thirteen metres high, carved with muqarnas, stars and geometric interlacing: one of the finest examples of Seljuk stone decoration. It is the first thing you see, and the most striking.
The courtyard and the raised mosque
A huge arcaded courtyard where the goods were unloaded, lined with storerooms, a kitchen, a bath and sleeping quarters. In the middle, raised on four arches, stands a small mosque, so that travellers could pray away from the animals.
The winter hall
At the far end is a covered hall of stone vaults, with a central dome that lets in the light, where people and animals sheltered through the snowy months. The stone pillars, the half-light and the echo give you a feel for a night on the caravan trail.
The walls and towers
Stone walls with towers at the corners, like a castle: caravanserais had to defend themselves against bandits. You can walk all the way round the outside in five minutes.
Tips for your visit
Allow about 45 minutes. Everything is flat and accessible except the inside of the raised mosque, which you reach by a staircase.
- It is a roadside stop: there are toilets, cafés and carpet shops around it, and a small village where you can eat well.
- In summer the courtyard is scorching at midday, but the winter hall stays cool.
- If you are travelling with children, the idea of a medieval hotel for camels always goes down well.
- If you are travelling independently, combine the stop with the village mosque and the shops selling wool carpets, which are still woven at home here.
Tickets and prices
There is a small entrance fee of a few euros at the time of writing (2026), and I check it when I plan each trip. On my tours, your guide takes care of the tickets.
Where it is and how to get there
It stands in the village of Sultanhanı, on the road from Aksaray to Konya, about 40 kilometres from Aksaray. It is about two hours' drive from Göreme and an hour and a half from Konya. Without a car or a tour, getting there is not practical.
How I include it in my tours
It is the mid-morning stop on the drive from Cappadocia to Konya on my Classic Türkiye 10 Days tour, and on the other tours that continue to Pamukkale by road, just before the Mevlana Museum. In Konya and the whirling dervishes I describe what comes next.
If you plan to travel this route by road and want the stops well chosen, message me and plan your tailor-made trip.