Kurşunlu Han

Rüstem Pasha Inn is a historic caravanserai located in the Karaköy district of Beyoğlu, Istanbul.

History

Kurşunlu Inn is located on Kardeşim Street in the Karaköy Thursday Market. It was built between 1544 and 1550. Also known as Rüstem Pasha Caravanserai, this inn was situated at that time within the old Galata walls, between the Balıkpazarı and Yağkapanı gates opening to the Golden Horn, east of the Galata Bedesten.

Researchers, based on the fact that many structures endowed by Rüstem Pasha were built by Mimar Sinan, think that Kurşunlu Inn was also converted by Mimar Sinan from the Saint Michel Church.

Petrus Gyllius, when he arrived in Istanbul in 1544, mentions that on the site of Kurşunlu Inn there was the Saint Michel Church dated to the 13th century, and that during his second visit in 1550 a building named Rüstem Pasha Inn stood on that spot. According to archival documents from 1896 to 1909, in the 20th century Kurşunlu Inn served as a workplace for non‑Muslim printers. Having frequently changed its identity from its construction to the present day, Kurşunlu Inn today brings together hardware craftsmen’s workshops, an art studio and a gallery.

Architectural features

Kurşunlu Inn is a two‑storey caravanserai‑type inn where traders staying in the city for commerce lodged. At the entrance of the building there is a Corinthian column capital from the early Byzantine period. The acanthus leaf decorations on it were carved into a wellhead, dated to the 5th century, and it is still actively used today.

The classic style narrow and long courtyard of Kurşunlu Han measures 8.25 m × 47 m. The ground floor of the han has 27 rooms and 2 eyvans, while the upper floor has 30 rooms. Because of the differences in construction technique between the arches and vaults of the first and second floors, it is thought that both floors were built in different periods.