Taşhan (Ottoman Caravanserai)

The Taşhan (Stone Han), an Ottoman caravanserai in Amasya's historic bazaar quarter, was built in the 17th century to serve merchants and travellers on the trade route connecting the Black Sea port of Samsun to central Anatolia. The building takes its name from its heavy cut-stone construction—unusual in a city where Ottoman domestic architecture favoured timber—and consists of a two-storey arcaded courtyard plan standard to Anatolian han architecture: ground-floor stables and storage rooms opening onto a colonnaded arcade, with guest accommodation above. The original han served as a stopping point on the Silk Road feeder route that passed through Amasya, and at its commercial peak in the 18th century the courtyard would have housed camels, horses, and goods from Persia, the Caucasus, and the Levant. The building fell into partial disrepair in the 19th century but survived intact and was restored in the late 20th century for use as a hotel, restaurant, and artisan workshop complex—a widely adopted model of adaptive reuse for well-preserved Anatolian hans. The vaulted ground-floor arcades now house craft and souvenir shops, while the courtyard serves as an open-air restaurant in summer. The stone construction, with alternating courses of limestone ashlar, remains fully legible from the courtyard interior. Access to the courtyard is free and the han is open most of the day as a working commercial venue.