Divan Cukurhan

The brick and stone building with wooden planks and bays has a tile roof and is supposed to have been built in the late 16th or early 17th century. The Çukurhan functioned as a typical Ottoman city caravanserai: in other words it was an Inn with a marketplace in the courtyard. It retained its commercial importance through the years with many shops and workplaces that sold a vast range of goods including mohair, wool, grains, dried fruits, vegetables, etc.

The Han, also placed in the “Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites of the World” announced by World Monuments Fund (WMF), was leased on a “Renovate-Operate- Transfer” basis in October 2006 by Çengelhan Inc., which is a company of the Rahmi M. Koç Foundation for Museology and Culture, from the Turkish Prime Ministry General Directorate of Foundations, Ankara Regional Directorate. The restoration period of the Çukurhan began in October 2007 and lasted to May 2010. Throughout the two-and-a-half-year restoration process enormous care and attention was paid to the preservation of the original state of the building. This extended to glassing the entire courtyard area.