This fortified structure was built in 1229 (dated by inscription), during the reign of the Seljuk sultan Kayqubad I (r. 1220-1237), by the Syrian architect Muhammad ibn Khalwan al-Dimashqi[1] (Dimashqi meaning from Damascus) along the Uzun Yolu (lit. long road) trade route leading from Konya to Aksaray and continuing into Persia. After it was partially destroyed by a fire, it was restored and extended in 1278 by the governor Seraceddin Ahmed Kerimeddin bin El Hasan during the reign of the sultan Kaykhusraw III.