ANKARA ETNOGRAFYA MÜZESİ’NDE SERGİLENEN DİNİ VE TİCARİ YAPILARA AİT KİTÂBELERİN TÜRK HAT SANATI BAKIMINDAN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

The inscriptions carved into the surface of materials such as marble, stone, wood, tiles, etc., which indicate theidentity of a building are called epigraphs. Epigraphs have many fields of information such as the date of construction or repair of the building, the owner, the craftsman, the language of writing and the type of writing. In the backyard of the Ankara Ethnography Museum, a number of building inscriptions of religious and commercial buildings from the 13th to the 15th centuries have been identified. The inscriptions in the museum are written in Arabic, and the Seljuk influence in the art of writing persists in some instances. In all of the inscriptions examined, celi sülüs calligraphy is preferred as a period practice. The material of these inscriptions is high-quality white marble, and the letters are deeply carved and embossed on the surface. It can be inferred that the inscriptions belonging to the museum pertain to buildings in and around Ankara, with the exception of one work. The building to which the inscription belongs has been found from the content of the inscription and old visual sources. Our main aim is to analyse the script of the inscriptions and to relate them to the art of Turkish calligraphy. The material from which these inscriptions were made, their width and length measurements were determined as a result of fieldwork and the photographs were taken by us using the museum’s scale. These inscriptions allow us to identify the type of building, the period in which it was built and the sultan. The inscriptions displayed in the backyard of the Ankara Ethnography Museum can be categorized under religious, commercial, military, and water-related structures. This study aims to evaluatethe architectural inscriptions dating from the 13th to the 15th century in terms of Turkish calligraphy, with the goal of uncovering the lost architectural heritage of Ankara and its surrounding regions under Turkish rule. This period spans from the Seljuk era to the early Ottoman period. The inscriptions that align with this aim have been classified under religious and commercial buildings. Initially, the position of these inscriptions within Turkish calligraphy will be identified, followed by an architectural analysis of the associated structures, including mosques, madrasas, ribats, and caravanserais in the region.