Koza Han
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The Koza Han () is a historic
caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...
(''han'') in
Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. It is located in the heart of the city's historic market district.


History

Bursa, the first capital of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, was also its center of
silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
production and trade. Particularly in the 14th to 16th centuries, a large number of commercial structures such as ''han''s (caravanserais), bazaars (covered markets), and a ''
bedesten A bedesten (variants: bezistan, bezisten, bedestan) is a type of covered market or market hall which was historically found in the cities of the Ottoman Empire. It was typically the central building of the commercial district of an Ottoman town o ...
'' were built in the city center, forming a major zone of economic activity. (At least 13 of these structures have survived today despite numerous earthquakes.) It is here, next to the old Orhan Gazi Mosque, that Sultan
Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...
ordered the construction of the Koza Han in February or March of 1490. The architect was a man named Abdul Ula Bin Pulad Shah, and the building opened in September 1491. Through the ''
waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...
'' system, the revenues of the ''han'' were earmarked to finance the upkeep of Bayezid's mosque complex in Istanbul. As a caravanserai, the ''han'' provided lodging for foreign merchants, storage for their animals and goods, housing for the workshops of craftsmen, and/or offices for conducting business. The Koza Han was one of the largest and most important examples in Bursa. In the early 16th century the commercial agent of the Medicis of
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
had his office in this building. It continued to be a center of silk trade throughout its history, with expensive silk shops still present in the building today, although the industry is no longer as prominent as it once was. In addition to silk textiles, its trade also included the production and sale of silk cocoons themselves (hence its name). The ''han'' has also undergone numerous restorations and repairs, including in 1630, 1671 and 1784. The small mosque at its center was most recently restored in 1946 and in 2007.
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
visited the ''han'' in the company of Turkish President
Abdullah Gül Abdullah Gül (; ; born 29 October 1950) is a Turkish politician who served as the 11th president of Turkey from 2007 to 2014. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister of Turkey, Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently s ...
in 2008. Today the ''han'' also contains cafés and tea gardens.


Architecture

The ''han'' is built in alternating layers of brick and stone, which forms part of the decorative visual effect of its exterior. Like most typical caravanserais, it has a rectangular floor plan with a large central courtyard measuring 45.9 by 37.5 metres. Around the courtyard runs a two-story gallery that gives access to small vaulted rooms that ring the complex. The ground floor contains 50 rooms and the upper floor has 54 rooms. At the center of the courtyard is a small octagonal stone mosque or prayer room (''mescit'') which is raised above the ground on 8 pillars and reached by a marble staircase. The reason for this elevation was to make sure the mosque was not soiled by
pack animals A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is a working animal used to transport goods or materials by carrying them, usually on its back. Domestic animals of many species are used in this way, among them alpacas, Bact ...
which were kept by merchants on the ground floor. Under the mosque, at ground level, is a fountain and washing area for ritual ablutions. The ''han'' is entered via a monumental stone and brick portal that projects from the rest of the building's façade. The portal is decorated with a spiral moulding along its edges, as well as with geometric patterns made of inset coloured
tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...
on the
spandrels A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame, between the tops of two adjacent arches, or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fil ...
above the archway.


References


External links


Kozahan official site
(in Turkish; includes galleries of pictures) {{Ottoman architecture Caravanserais in Turkey Buildings and structures in Bursa Ottoman architecture in Bursa