Çukur Han

Çukur Han; a historic caravanserai located in the Atpazarı area of the Altındağ district of Ankara. It is situated near the main entrance gate of Ankara Castle, northwest of Çengel Han. It is known that it was endowed by the period’s chief mufti of Ankara, Mehmet Emin Efendi, together with several other structures such as Suluhan. Çukur Han, whose construction year is dated between the 16th and 17th centuries, underwent two major repairs in 1791 and 1801. By the 2000s, because it had not been used for a long time and had not undergone any significant strengthening work, it was listed by the World Monuments Fund as a structure “in urgent need of rescue.”

History

In the first century of its construction, Çukur Han became one of the centers of trade in Ankara together with other commercial buildings around it; with the decline of the sof trade, it gradually lost its former importance and value. During the Turkish War of Independence it was used for a period as a military headquarters and after the proclamation of the Republic it functioned as a prison.

After the prison was closed, it was used again for a while as a business center with shops; following a fire disaster in 1950 it remained abandoned and ruined for about 50 years. In 2006 it was leased from the General Directorate of Foundations on the condition that it be restored by Koç Holding, and the renovation was completed between 2007 and 2010, after which it opened as a hotel.

Architecture

Originally built as a two‑storey structure, Çukur Han became partially three‑storey by adding a basement, taking advantage of the sloping terrain on the western side of the building. It bears the traces of classical Ottoman architecture and was constructed with brick on a stone foundation. Wooden supports used on the upper floors were intended to achieve an aesthetic beauty.

There is a rectangular-plan courtyard in the middle of the inn, with entrances and exits provided from the north side door. The sides of the building facing the interior courtyard are surrounded by aisles opening to the rooms. After the renovations of the structure, the aisles of the north wing of the upper floor and the north‑south and west wings of the lower floor have been closed.