Rahmi M. Koc Museum

HISTORY

The Çengelhan Rahmi M Koç Museum is fortunate to be housed in a splendid, historical building just outside the entrance to the Citadel, at the heart of old Ankara. This building is itself an icon of commercial archaeology, which makes it all the more appropriate that it now hosts our collections of industrial exhibits.

The Çengelhan
The Çengel Han [Çengel: hook, Han: caravanserai] was built in 1522 during the reign of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman by Damat Rüstem Paşa who was married to the Sultan’s daughter Mihrimah Sultan. Though it was built close to 500 years ago, the Çengel Han Still stands and is one of the few buildings of the Han district of Ankara to have retained its original form.
The Çengel Han functioned as a typical Anatolian Caravanserai: in other words it was an Inn with a market place in the courtyard. This particular Han was amongst the foremost in Ankara, which in the 16th and 17th centuries was a crossroads for international trade. It was one of the four largest (and most expensive) Hans of the period, with over 26 rooms for the inn side of the business. During the first half of the 20th century the Han was still a bustling centre for trade and had shops that sold a vast range of goods, including textiles, mohair, wool, rope, vegetables, grains, hardware, rawhide and even carriage harnesses. However, with the gradual march of progress, the Han fell into disuse and ended up as a tannery, warehouse and store selling mohair, wool and rawhide before being finally abandoned at the end of the 1990s.
Surmounting the entrance to the Çengel Han is the ceiling with pointed vaults. Its supporting walls are built using a Roman technique in which three rows of brick are then alternated with a lager layer of rough- hewn stone. Its roof is covered with traditional Turkish clay roofing tiles rings the rectangular courtyard to form the traditional Han floor plan.

The Restoration
Mr Rahmi M. Koç created the Rahmi M. Koç Foundation for Museology and Culture in 1990 to encompass his Museum in Istanbul and further developments such as the Han, and it is to this philanthropic vehicle that Government has kindly permitted the building to be leased from the Turkish Ministry of Foundations. In 2003 extensive restoration of the Çengel Han was begun by Çengel Han Hotel Keeping, Tourism, Construction and Restoration Inc. This restoration period lasted until 2005 and throughout the two-year process enormous care and attention has been paid to the preservation of the original state of the building. This extended to glassing the entire courtyard area. In April 2005 the Museum was opened to the public as an affiliate of the Rahmi M. Koç Foundation for Museology and Culture.

Surroundings
While you’re in the area, why not take the opportunity to visit one of Ankara’s oldest and most interesting districts, the Citadel and Zone of Hans?

The Ankara Citadel stands on a hill above a stream called Bentderesi or Hatip Çayı, a superb site for defence. Throughout history Ankara has been the capital for a variety of civilizations, and here the citadel has been used both for defence and everyday life, with the result that it still stands today. The two rows of defensive walls date from the seventh century, with the inner walls having been built before the outer.
Starting in the 16th century the citadel was visited by European and Turkish travellers, and they inform us about the physical make-up of the citadel, saying that four layers of white stone were used, one above the other, with each stone measuring 4.5 meters in length. They also tell us that within the citadel there were a number of important houses.
Most of the buildings in the Han district were constructed when the Ottoman Empire was at its zenith in the 16th and 17th centuries. This led to the creation of the Han district, to accommodate the caravans of merchants travelling along the ancient silk road between China and Europe. The level ground between the Ankara Citadel’s southern entrance and the Çengel Han was the main horse market in the 13th and 14th centuries.The Ottoman economy was adversely affected by the impact of the industrial revolution, and Ankara textiles became less competitive in the face of the challenge from English textiles and goods exported by other European countries.