KARAMAN
Once a district of Konya, Karaman is in
the south of central Anatolia, Turkey,
at the northern foot of the Taurus mounts. The ancient Laranda, Karaman
was renamed after the chieftain of a Turkic tribe who conquered the city
c.1250 and set up the independent Muslim
state of Karamania, which at one time comprised most of Asia
Minor. A successor state of the Seljuk empire,
Karamania existed until its final subjugation by the Ottoman
Turks in the late 15th century. Karaman has retained ruins of the Karamanid
castle and of two fine mosques.
Its area is 9.237 km², population 217.536 (1990) and traffic code 70.
Karaman is formed by Karaman (center), Ayranci, Ermenek and Kâzimkarabekir
districts. Some sites of Interest and history are; Gökçe forest recreation
area, Maraspoli Cave, Kraman, Ermenek (Firan) and Mennan castles, Binbirkilise,
Hatuniye, Emir Musa, Ibrahim Bey old theological schools (medrese)
for alm and Tol Medrese, Gaferyad (Ermenek, Kâzimkarabekir)
and Yollarbasi (Ilisra) village Grand Mosques,
Haci Beyler, Aktekke (Valide Sultan), Arapzade, Pasha, Dikbasan (Fasih),
Akçasehir, Sipas and Mimar Emir Rüstem Pasha mosques,
Yunus Emre Mosque
and Lodge, small mosque of Seyh
Çelebi and Akça Mescit, Karamanoglu alm house and mausoleum, Biçakçi Bridge
and Ala Bridge, Fountain With Seven Sprouts, Karaman Museum,
Canhasan - Center - Alçatiköyü, Karadag Thousand Churches - Center - Madensehir,
Üçkuyu Village.
This province is also famous with its special breed of sheep and delicious
yogurt.
Some significant dates for the city are:
Culture and Art Week, Karaman, 5-12 May
Commemoration Ceremonies for General Kazim Karabekir, Kazim Karabekir,
26 Ocak
Commemoration Ceremonies for Mader'i Mevlana,
Karaman, 10 December
Celebrations of Language Day, Karaman, 13 May
Celebrations of Day of the Province, Karaman, 21 June
On March 29, 2006, Total Solar Eclipse
will be seen in Karaman as well at 13:59pm local time.
KARAMAN MUSEUM
The museum is located at the city center on the former Hastahane Caddesi
now named as the Turgut Özal Caddesi and behind
the Hatuniye Medresse which is one of the best
examples of the architecture of the Karamanogullari
Principality Era.
In Karaman and its environs traces of a large number of civilizations
both from the pre-historic and historic periods are evident. Today both
Karaman and the nearby region display a large number of mounds and historical
sites. However as museum activity had a late start in Karaman, many
of the portable works discovered at these sites were removed to other museums.
Motivated by the notion that this rich archaeological and ethnographic
heritage should be protected at its place of
origin, the first museum was established in 1961 at the Tourism Association
and Library with the support of some local administrators and prominent
members of the Karaman community. In 1963 it was moved to a building in
the market area, in 1966 to Imaret (alm house) of Ibrahim Bey, in 1968
to a rented house and was finally opened to public in its present building
in 1971.
The museum is a two storey building where each floor has a usable floor
space of 550 m². At the lower floor there is a second exhibition hall which
can be opened to visitors in the future, storage areas, a photography laboratory,
workshop and the library.
The exhibition hall on the upper floor consists of two sections and
the material is exhibited in 33 cases. In the archaeological section there
are works from the Neolothic Age to the late Byzantine.
In the ethnographic section there are material from the Seljuk,
Anatolian principalities, Ottoman
and the Republican periods.
In the museum garden stone works belonging to the Byzantine
and the Turkish - Islamic period are arranged on
grass with Roman tomb steles making up the bulk of the material displayed.
Among the material exhibited, the Neolithic - Calcolithic Age findings
from the Canhasan Mound excavations are particularly interesting. Canhasan
Calcolithic age findings displayed in cases numbered 1, 2, 3, 14 and 17
consist of baked earth cups and pots, human and animal figurines, stone
axes, obsidian arrow heads, scrapers made of bones, small
artifacts such as bracelets and necklaces,
sea shells ornaments, necklaces made with blue apatit stone and grinding
stones from basalt.
In case no. 4 where material from the Bronze Age are exhibited, besides
the pottery found at the Sisanin Mound and the Gökçe village, there are
also black and dark gray colored polished pottery belonging to the Western
Anatolia Yortan culture.
In case no. 5, the exhibited Hellenistic Period findings are from Mersin
- Gelindere, Mugla - Iasos, Adiyaman
regions and from around Karaman. Most of them are lekistos and plates.
The majority of the Roman Period material exhibited in case no.6 are
collected from Karaman - Taskale, Bayir, Karacaören and Kazimkarabekir
area. They include human and animal figurines from baked earth, oil lamps,
small pitchers and plates.
In case no. 7 lachrymatories and perfume bottles from the Roman and
Byzantine periods are exhibited. Some of these
are plain and without any motifs while others are very colorful and richly
decorated.
In cases no. 8 and 9 wood lids, box sections, cosmetic boxes, bronze
roses, gold jewelry, bronze oil lamps from the Byzantine
period and samples of Byzantine ceramics are exhibited.
In cases no. 12, 13, 18 and 19 coins are displayed from the Greek, Venetian,
Roman, Byzantine, Princedom, Karaman Dynasty,
Ottoman and the Republican periods, respectively.
In case no. 15, Urartian bronze bracelets,
figurines and offering plates are displayed. These materials were generally
obtained through purchases and added to the museum collection.
In case no. 16 there are stone stamp seals and cylindrical seals from
the early and late Hittite periods and the case
also contains the photographs of the inscriptions made with the seals on
display.
In case no. 20 in the Ethnographical section there are tiles and mosaics,
enameled and over and under glazed tiles, plaster relieves, and tiles from
Çanakkale and Kütahya
from the Seljuk and Ottoman
periods.
In cases no. 21 and 22 cauldron, tray, plates, medicine cups, mortar,
lunch box and ewer with geometrical design and plant decorations from the
14th and 19th century Seljuk and Ottoman
periods are exhibited which were collected from the vicinity of Karaman.
In cases no. 24 and 25 among the wood work displayed there is mother
of pearl inlayed coffer, clogs, spinning wheel, hand mill for grinding
coffee, coffee coolers, mirror cases, spoon container,
measuring cups, musical instruments
and similar objects.
In cases no. 28 and 29 there are gold inlayed Korans
from the Karaman Dynasty and Ottoman periods,
decrees written in the courtly style, religious court decisions and Ahi
Evran Fütüvetname, the document which defines the rules which governed
the guilds.
Case no. 30 has various samples of oil lamps in different forms.
Case no. 30 holds samples of silver jewelry, hair ornaments, coined fez and pocket watches.
In case no. 32 there are examples of hand knitted socks and gloves which
are still reproduced in the region.
In case no. 33 there are samples of bells of various size used for different
animals.
Apart from these, in two table cases there are examples of objects such
as weapons, gunpowder containers, candle cutters, spoons, door handles,
whips, seals, cigarette holders and worry beads.
The museum also displays traditional rug and
kilim samples which are hung as panels between
the display cases, an Aesculapius
statute in the Archeological Materials Hall, one facade of a Sidemara type
sarcophagus and a mummified female body from the Byzantine
period.
In the lower floor section of the museum, which started to be restored
last year, there are cupboards, doors, shelves and fireplaces removed from
Karaman houses and they are all mounted
onto the walls. This section also contains some agricultural tools. However
this part of the museum is not yet opened to visitors.
In the upper floor, besides the administrative offices, there is a gallery
where the artistic works of the students and the citizens of Karaman are
exhibited periodically. The material and visitor status of the Museum as
of the end of 1997 is as follows.
1- Number of archaeological materials: 3911
2- Number of ethnographic materials: 2067
3- Number of coins: 6079
4- Number of visitors: 10637