Sifaiye Madrasah and Hospital The Sifaiye Madrasah in Sivas, Turkey, was commissioned by Anatolian Seljuk ruler Izzeddin Keykavus in 1217. The building served as a hospital and is considered to be one of the oldest hospitals in the world that has survived for centuries. Even after it was converted to a madrasah during the Ottoman period, the building's innovations in brickwork, tiles, inscriptions, and relief figures continued to impress visitors. The southern iwan of the madrasah was designed as a tomb for Izzeddin Keykavus, who died of tuberculosis in 1220. However, the identity of the hospital's architect remains unknown. The Sifaiye Madrasah suffered significant damage during events such as the defeat of Kösedağ and Timur's occupation of Anatolia after the fall of Kadı Burhaneddin. It was later used as a classical madrasah that provided religious education to people living in Sivas under Ottoman rule. During World War I, the building was used as a military warehouse for goods and supplies. The Turkish Historical Society restored the madrasah in 1937. Made of single-storey cut stone, the building's courtyard measures 690 m² and has thirty rooms surrounding the porticoed area. The construction features stone, brick material, and tiles, and it emphasizes decoration on the portal, window borders, and central iwan. Lions at the corners of the entrance arch represent strength and health, while the door is adorned with elegant motifs in the form of intertwined stars. A corridor leads to the madrasah's courtyard and another door. Opposite the inner door was originally used as a physician's practice section, and there are reliefs of human faces on both sides of this main iwan. A female head with her hair knitted in the front can be seen on one side, while a bearded male on his knees with sun rays emerging from him can be seen on the other side. The phrase where God's name is mentioned is written around both the male and female reliefs, emphasizing the importance of the building's Islamic heritage.