The İhlasiye Medrese stands in the Taş quarter of central Bitlis. It was built by the Seljuks in 1216, and according to the Şerefname written by Şerefhan V it was repaired by him in 1589. From the Seljuk period onward it was one of the leading places of learning in Bitlis and trained the scholars and artists of its day.
The building carries the features of Seljuk architecture: rectangular in plan, flat-roofed and without a dome, with a drum at the centre and cylindrical towers supporting it at the corners. Entry is through a portal on the north front, a decorated door set within a pointed-arched niche and worked in stone.
The building is open to visitors. In its garden stand the tombs of the Şerefhan family — those of Veli Şemsettin, Ziyaeddin Han I, Şerefhan II and the Three Sisters. The İhlasiye Medrese today also serves as the directorate of culture and tourism.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Bitlis as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from -4.2 °C in January to 23.1 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in June, July, August and September; rainfall is heaviest in March (196 mm) and lightest in August (7 mm). Long-term means for 2011-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
