Beyşehir

Beyşehir stands at the southeastern end of its great freshwater lake, beneath the mountains of western Anatolia. The lake and its islands lie beside fertile plains, and the town grew at the meeting of routes toward Konya and the Mediterranean. In the late thirteenth century it became the seat of the Eşrefoğlu principality as Seljuk authority weakened.

Süleyman Bey built the Eşrefoğlu Mosque between 1296 and 1299, close to the lake and the town's citadel. Its stone exterior encloses rows of wooden columns supporting a painted timber roof, while coloured tile decorates the prayer niche. A tomb, caravanserai and bath formed part of the complex. The principality later disappeared, but its mosque remained a remarkable example of Anatolia's wooden-columned architecture under subsequent rulers.