Kurşunlu Han

Kurşunlu Han; a historic caravanserai located in the Altındağ district of Ankara, near Ankara Castle. Although it has no inscription, it is thought to have been commissioned in 1471 by Rum Mehmed Pasha, one of the chief viziers of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. Because it shows the same architectural features as the Mahmut Pasha Bedesten located to its south, there are opinions that they were built at almost the same time. The coins from the reign of Murad II taken during the 1946 repair are evidence that the han existed in the first half of the 15th century.

As can be easily understood, the han took its name from the lead plates covering its roof; in its first century it experienced a very busy period and became one of the centers of trade in Ankara. Sof, a type of fabric made from the wool of the Ankara goat, was one of the city’s most important market products. Kurşunlu Han, where merchants dealing in sof also stored their goods and opened shops, was the place with the highest rent prices in Ankara at that time. While a shop in Tuz Han cost 1,800 akçe and in Çengel Han 28,000 akçe, shops in Kurşunlu Han were rented for 41,500 akçe.

History

After the fire of 1881 it was abandoned and left idle until the Republic was founded. When the collection of the Eti Museum, the first museum of Ankara and the Republic opened in 1921, it began to outgrow its original location at Akkale; the cultural director of the period, Hamiz Zübeyr Koşay, proposed that the unused Kurşunlu Han and Mahmut Pasha Bedesten be restored and the museum moved there. From 1938 to 1968, together with the bedesten building, a large and comprehensive restoration was undertaken, and the building was gradually repaired and opened for use as a museum. The renovation project of the han was carried out by architect Salim Ülgen. Today Kurşunlu Han is used as the administrative building of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.

Architecture

Kurşunlu Han; a two‑storey, rectangular‑plan, brick building. Generally rubble stone was used in its construction; the entrance façade and the arcades in the courtyard are built with double‑triple brick ribs and yonu stone. With the entrance, the inn consists of two floors, and on both floors the parts facing the courtyard are surrounded by arcades, with seven round brick arches on the west and south, and six on the other two sides. Actually, the two‑storey inn has an L‑shaped basement added, taking advantage of the slope of the terrain, to serve as a stable, warehouse and carriage house.

On the north and south façades of the inn there are eleven shops each, and on the east and west façades nine shops each. Inside the entrance iwan, together with four opposite shops; there are 28 rooms on the ground floor and 30 rooms on the first floor. Each room has a stove and the rooms open onto the arcade with a door and a window. In addition, inside the main entrance there are two small opposite shops.

Kurşunlu Han underwent some changes during its restorations. The gaps of the arcades on the ground and first floors were closed with glass, and the lower part of the western section of the central courtyard was slightly excavated to create a small storage area. Some interior walls of rooms were removed and passages opened to create a larger space. Today, the ground‑floor rooms contain storages, kitchen, dining hall, workshop and similar sections; the upper floor houses administration, archive, conference hall and library.