Balkapanı Hanı

Balkapanı Hanı (in Turkish: literally "Caravanserai of the honey balance") is a large historic han (caravanserai) located in the European part of Istanbul, in Turkey.

Location

Balkapanı Hanı is situated in the district of Fatih, in the commercial quarter of Tahtakale, a few hundred meters west of the Egyptian Bazaar. It is accessed from Balkapanı Sokak No. 15, through a passage surmounted by a barrel vault.

Origin of the name

The appellation Balkapanı ("honey balance") has two possible origins: it may derive either from the honey trade, or from the hypothesized presence at this site of the Bailo of Constantinople, i.e., the Venetian ambassador in Constantinople, from which the original name Balyos Kapanı ("Balance of the Bailo") comes.

History

The origin of the building is probably Byzantine, as suggested by the masonry remains in the vaulted brick cellars of the structure. The han was located in what was the Venetian settlement area in the 12th–13th century. After the conquest of Constantinople, the caravanserai followed the fate of other buildings that had survived the siege intact, being donated by Mehmed II to the foundation associated with the Hagia Sophia mosque. According to Evliya Çelebi, in the 17th century the han was used by various Egyptian merchants, and was intended for the trade of honey and other goods such as olive oil and cotton, which partly supplied the Topkapı Palace and partly the city's population. Under the entrance vault, until the fire of 1952 that reduced it to a heap of scrap metal, stood the large state iron balance on which all the city’s balances (in Turkish Kapan) were regulated. The merchants of the caravanserai were among the richest in the city, and they were all Muslims. The warehouse was damaged by the earthquake of 1766, and burned several times, including in 1688, 1807 and 1952, but despite various modifications and additions, including a small mosque in the southern part of the courtyard, it is still used for commercial purposes.

Architecture

The building has a rectangular plan, two stories with basements covered by brick vaults. While the underground levels remained as in the Byzantine era, the upper part of the structure underwent numerous modifications that altered it. In the 1960s, the Han had 85 domed rooms and 35 shops. Until the fire of 1952, the courtyard of the caravanserai was covered by a wooden roof.