Aynalı Çarşı

Aynalı Çarşı, (or Halyo Çarşısı) is an indoor bazaar located in Çanakkale. It was commissioned in 1890 by Eliyau Hallio, a leading member of the city's Jewish community. The door lintel bears two inscriptions in Ottoman Turkish and Ladino written in Hebrew letters. In the Ottoman Turkish inscription it is stated that the bazaar was commissioned by "Elya Halyo bendeleri, from the faithful Jewish community, under the benevolent and protective patronage of our lord Abdulhamid Khan-i Sani El Gazi (II. Abdulhamid)." In the Ladino inscription it is written that the bazaar was commissioned in the month of Tishri of the year 5650 of the Jewish calendar "by Eliyau Hallio on the occasion of the 14th year of Sultan Abdulhamid II's reign." The original name of the bazaar is "Passage Hallio." However, because of the mirrors on both sides at its entrance it became famous as Aynalı Çarşı. The name of Aynalı Çarşı also appears in Çanakkale's famous Çanakkale Song.

The bazaar was bombed during the Gallipoli Campaign and was reduced to ruins by fires. After the Armistice of Mudros, the British who occupied Çanakkale considered the bazaar a stable for their horses, a "stable," during the occupation (1918-1921). After 1921 it remained a ruin (except for the entrance gate) for a while and was not used. Later shops were built on the area that appears in the land registry as a bazaar plot. In 1934, during attacks and looting of Jews, the lintel at the gate was plastered over, and in 1967, under the mayoralty of Sadi Fenercigil, it acquired its present form. The building belongs to the Çanakkale Municipality.