Historic 507-Year-Old Gön Han to Reopen in Kayseri

🇹🇷 In the historic Grand Bazaar of Kayseri, restoration work is underway on Gön Han — an Ottoman roadside inn built in 1519 by Grand Vizier Piri Mehmet Pasha during the reign of Sultan Selim I.

The historic building is now 507 years old. For almost five decades, a significant part of the inn remained buried underground and inaccessible to visitors.

🏛️ How did the inn end up underground?

Gön Han was built to accommodate caravans travelling along the Silk Road. The ground floor contained commercial spaces, while the upper floor had rooms for travellers.

After an earthquake in Kayseri in 1940, part of the structure collapsed. Later, storage buildings were constructed over the ruins, causing a large section of the historic inn to gradually become buried underground.

The Melikgazi Municipality began restoration work on the site in 2021. The inn covers an area of approximately 1,400 square metres.

⛏️ Thousands of truckloads of soil removed

During the restoration, workers cleared soil from depths of 5 to 7 metres. Heavy machinery such as trucks and excavators could not be brought into the historic bazaar, so the soil had to be removed manually.

“We removed an amount of soil equivalent to approximately 7,000 truckloads and uncovered traces of the building. With every new discovery, another part of the structure emerged.”

Restoration work is now in its final stage. Interior arrangements will begin once the structural restoration is completed.

🕌 What has been preserved inside Gön Han?

The inn includes commercial spaces on the ground floor, small rooms of around 8 square metres on the upper floor and two large vaulted rooms.

The building is an important part of Kayseri's historic Grand Bazaar and reflects the city's role in trade along the Silk Road.

🎭 The inn will become a cultural space

Following the restoration, Gön Han is expected to welcome both local and international visitors. The municipality plans to use the historic site not only as a tourist attraction but also as a centre for social and cultural events.

• poetry evenings;
• musical performances;
• lectures and discussions;
• exhibitions;
• carpet auctions.

Thanks to its location in the historic centre of Kayseri, the restored inn is expected to become a new stop for visitors exploring the Grand Bazaar and other attractions in the city.

✨ A new historic landmark for Kayseri

Once restoration is complete, the 507-year-old Gön Han will reopen to visitors. The historic building, hidden underground for decades, will take on a new role as part of Kayseri's cultural life.

The restoration of Gön Han will help preserve a unique piece of Ottoman heritage while creating a new cultural space for residents and visitors.