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Dick Osseman | all galleries >> Bileçik >> Vezirhan > Vezirhan 1722.jpg
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17-DEC-2007

Vezirhan 1722.jpg

I visited a nearby village first, Vezirhan, where the han that gave it its name was under a restoration that will probably result in a brand-new han in a year or so. Maybe after some weathering it will begin to look decently old.

This Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Kervansarayı dates from the 17th century and was built on initiative of Köprülü Mehmet Paşa, the founder of the Albanian Köprülü political dynasty, a family of viziers, warriors, and statesmen who dominated the administration of the Ottoman Empire during the last half of the 17th century, an era known as the Köprülü era.
The building is 101 m long and 27 m wide. The entrance (a porch with three arches) lies in the middle of the long facade and leads to a central hall (20 x 26 m). On both sides are two large rooms, about 40 m in length. The enormous wooden gable roof that covered the han (reportedly) held out for some 250 years (until 1917). Numerous hearths along the walls provided places to cook, and warmed the kervanserai during winter.

On the picture: The porch with three arches, seen from within the central hall.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Sources: ‘Turquie – Guide Fodor’ 1980 , Wikipedia & Personal visits (1996-1998).

Nikon D2x
1/30s f/5.0 at 18.0mm iso320 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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