Abacıoğlu Inn

As a historical place, the historical Abacıoğlu Inn stands out in the crowd and turbulent life of Kemeraltı bazaar with its peaceful structure and natural architecture.

It is located between the streets of 919 and 920 on the right side of Anafartalar Street leading to Arasta from Kemeraltı Başdurak Mosque. The inn has an asymmetric plan with a courtyard and there are two storey shops surrounding this courtyard. The inn is a structure made of smooth cut stone, rough chipped stone and brick. It is estimated that Abacıoğlu Inn was built by Hacı Mustafa Ağa at the beginning of the eighteenth century. In the first years of the Republic, it was used as a “vegetable and fruit market” on the one hand and on the other hand it was one of the main stops for motor vehicles carrying passengers and cargo to the surrounding districts. It is thought to have nine rooms and seven sub-cellars in its original form. Only the northeastern and southwestern wings have survived to the present day. Today, there are seven shops on the right side of the courtyard.

The inn was restored within a project prepared by Konak Municipality and it took awards in architectural competitions: in 2007 it received Respect to History – local award, and in 2011 the inn was among the best 30 architectural buildings within the Philippe Rotthier European Prize for Architecture competition, which is considered as one of the most important architectural competitions in the world. Today there are 18 shops including restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops, leather shops etc.

Arap Inn

This inn, which is located next to Küçük Karaosmanoğlu Inn on İzmir Anafartalar Street, has no inscription and its exact construction date is not known. The name of the inn is mentioned in the Annuals of Aydın Province dated to 1890–1891. Based on this information and considering its architectural structure, the inn is thought to have been built in the second half of the nineteenth century. Inside the inn there was the printing press of the newspaper “Esperans”, which was published in Jewish language at the end of the same century. However, most of the shops in the inn were specialized in the manufacture and sales of footwear which was a popular activity in the region. Nowadays there are usually shops dealing with drapery.

The inn is made of cut stone, rubble and brick; it has a rectangular plan and a courtyard. There is also a masjid in the courtyard. The entrance facade of the inn has two floors and the courtyard wings are single storeyed. Of the rooms on the second floor, only the one above the entrance has survived and the others are far from their original condition. The rooms on the second floor have doors and windows opening to the corridor, which has wooden ceiling.

Büyük (Great) Kardıçalı Inn

Rumor has it that Halil Onbasi, who lived in Konya centuries ago, had moved with migration movements to the agricultural town of Kardiça in the central region of Greece and his grandson İbrahim Bey migrated to İzmir in 1910, thinking that it was impossible for him and his family to survive in Kardiça. After his migration back to İzmir, his first move was to purchase a building around the passport pier. Ibrahim Bey, becoming one of the first Turkish tobacco traders in Izmir, quickly converted this building, which was a hotel before, into an agricultural products business. Mainly dealing with tobacco, İbrahim Bey also traded figs and grapes. When the capacity of this building was not enough anymore, İbrahim Bey started to build the Great Kardıçalı Inn at the corner of today's 2nd Kordon and Mimar Kemalettin Streets. This building is one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in Türkiye. The timber of the building was brought from Italy, the iron from Germany and the cement from Romania. The inn was completed in 1928 and put into service. The architect of the building is Mehmet Fesçi Bey, one of the most important architects of the Turkish Republic period. According to the records at the time, the building was called as Kardıçalı İbrahim Bey Apartments. The inn, which covers an area of two thousand square meters, is one of the important structures of the First National Architectural Movement. The building has two metal domes on its corners, which oversee Mimar Kemalettin Street and 2nd Kordon Street. On the second floor of the building pointed arched windows were used. Under the domes in the corner of the building there are glazed tile panels.

At the present time, Büyük Kardıçalı Inn has been transformed into an art complex with the introduction of private Art Centers. There is opera, ballet, music, painting, sculpture, puppet, string instrument repair ateliers, and TOBAV İzmir Branch serves also in this inn.

Büyük (Great) Karaosmanoğlu Inn

The inn is located between Fevzi Paşa Boulevard and 913 and 914 Streets in Konak district of İzmir and it is adjacent to Mirkelamoğlu Inn. Since the inscription of the inn could not survive, the construction date could not be known for sure. There is not enough information in the literature about the construction. However, since the inn had a plan in 1850, it is thought to have been built in the late eighteenth century or early nineteenth century.

This inn, which is made of cut stone, rubble stone and brick, has a plan close to a rectangle. The northern section was destroyed during the construction of Fevzi Paşa Boulevard. It is understood that there are three shops in the east of the courtyard downstairs, three separate places with barrel vaults in the south wing, four shops in the west wing and a shop in the southwest corner. Today, a new structure has been added to the northern end of the east wing of this structure. The ruins on the northern end of the western wing indicate that there was an entrance gate and was leading to the courtyard with a corridor.

Çakaloğlu Inn

Çakaloğlu Inn is located in the Halimağa Bazaar (Kasap Hızır Neighborhood) between 895 and 861 streets. There are two fountains on the east and west sides of the entrance on the northern façade of the historical Çakaloğlu Inn and on these fountains we can see the dates 1805 and 1806. Therefore, the building must have been built in this period, during the reign of Selim III. Located in Konak Kemeraltı, right next to the Kızlarağası Inn, this 18th century Ottoman monument is made of cut stone, rubble and brick, and has a rectangular plan, with a corridor in the middle and eighteen rooms in total with 9 rooms on each side of the corridor. It is a rectangular structure extending in the north-south direction. The entrance to the inn is through two large doors opening from the North and South facades.

There is a fountain adjacent to the façade on the right side of the entrance to the inn and it looks like a five-sided independent structure, but its date of construction is simultaneous with the inn.

Kızlarağası Inn

Kızlarağası Inn is located in the area called Halim Ağa Çarşısı in İzmir Kemeraltı and it is surrounded by 871- 906 Streets and Hisar Mosque. According to the inscription of the inn, it was built by Hacı Beşir Ağa in 1156 with hijri calendar (1743). It is believed that the building, which is located just behind İzmir Port Castle, was completed in 1745.

The inn, which is one of the few examples of Ottoman architecture in İzmir surviving to present day, is made of cut stone, rough chipped stone and brick and has a rectangular plan, courtyard and two floors. The northern façade of the inn was closed with the Bakır Bedesten and the southern façade with shops. The inn has sixteen windows on the eastern façade overlooking the Hisar Mosque, seven on the top and nine on the bottom. These windows have rectangular jambs and covered with iron railings. The facade except the windows was built with a row of cut stone and two rows of brick beams. Geometric ornaments were added on some of the joints.

The courtyard is surrounded by rooms of equal size from west, north and south. The rooms on the east-west axis show a symmetrical arrangement. There are also eight more rooms of equal size on each side of the courtyard. There are also four rooms in the east wing. On the upper floor, in the rooms that opened to the gallery, there were mansions for those who wanted to sleep over, and on the ground floor, in contrast to the calm life on the upper floor, there were rooms where merchants and servants could stay with their baggage and camels. There were shops where the goods were unloaded and marketed, and people were bargaining in this part of the inn. The inn has always remained active due to its proximity to the harbor.

The Inn also worked as a stock market in a certain period, especially in the shops facing the inner courtyard these businesses were carried out intensively. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Kızlarağası Han gradually lost its importance as technology led to various changes in the field of transportation and as the economic life changed its location from time to time. After the overnight stays ended, the inn has become a place where only the goods are unloaded and stored. Kizlaragasi Inn was restored in 1993 and now serves as a touristic bazaar, where you can find a wide range of handicraft products, carpets, leather clothes and stunning souvenirs and you might rest in the authentic atmosphere of the tea and café shops which are located in and around the inn.

Note: “Kızlarağası”, “Harem ağası” or “Darüssaade ağası” was the name given to the high-ranking official in charge of the harem in the Ottoman Empire. After the sultan and the grand vizier, the agha was the third highest official in the Ottoman Empire.

Mirkelamoğlu Inn

Mirkelamoğlu Inn is located at 914 Street in İzmir Kemeraltı. Since its inscription could not survive, the construction date can not be determined. However, it is thought to have been built towards the end of the eighteenth century due to its architectural structure and connection with other inns.

The inn, which is made of smooth cut stone, rough chipped stone and brick, has a non-symmetrical plan close to a rectangle. Mirkelâmoğlu Inn, which could survive thoroughly in its original form, is a typical example of classical Ottoman urban inns with its two-storey and a courtyard structure.

The eastern façade of the inn is adjacent to Karaosmanoglu Inn. Here, the lower part of the southern façade is covered with shops which were established lately. There is a semi-circular pediment above them. The four windows on the facade have rectangular jambs.

There is a round arched entrance door on the west side of the inn and two shops on the south side and four shops on the north side. On the facades facing the rectangular courtyard of the inn, there are shops at the lower floor and the porticoes of the second floor at the top. The eastern end of the northern façade is in the form of an iwan and has a door opening from each of the two side walls of the iwan. On the east side of the building facing the courtyard, five shops are located below. And on the south side facing the courtyard there are three shops below. A marble fountain was added to the inn at the eastern end. “Maşallah” was written on the arch of this fountain and a picture of an anchor was placed on the top of the arch.