Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai: The Vizier’s Han at Vezirhan

On this page

1. What is the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai?
2. How do you get to the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai?
3. When is the best time to visit the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai?
4. What is the history of the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai?
5. What is the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai famous for?
6. What can you see at the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai?
7. Common misconceptions about the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai
8. Frequently asked questions about the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai
9. What do the official records say about the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai?

What is the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai?

The Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai is a roadside inn for merchants and their animals in Vezirhan, a small town on the old road between Bilecik and Adapazarı. The town takes its name from it: Vezirhan means “the vizier’s han”, after Köprülü Mehmet Paşa, the 17th-century grand vizier whose family produced a line of Ottoman statesmen.

The 2002 provincial inventory describes a long, rectangular building in three parts. The central section, where carts were drawn in, is narrower than the side sections, which formed the main body of the caravanserai. According to the Bilecik Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, it measures 101.52 × 27.21 m and covers 3,008 m², making it one of the largest Ottoman caravanserais in the region. After decades as a roofless shell it was restored from 2007, and it is being prepared to receive guests again as a boutique hotel.

How do you get to the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai?

Vezirhan lies north of Bilecik on the road to Adapazarı (Sakarya), following the Sakarya valley. By car it is a short drive from Bilecik. The high-speed railway also passes Vezirhan, and the section from Eskişehir to Vezirhan opened in 2014, but YHT trains stop at Bilecik and Bozüyük, so continue from Bilecik by road.

Tours in Anatolia

−5% Istambul readers save 5% on every tour below — applied at checkout.

See all tours

Partner listings via GetYourGuide · free cancellation on most

When is the best time to visit the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai?

Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons for a drive through the Sakarya valley. If the hotel has opened by the time you visit, an overnight stay is the best way to see the interior. Otherwise the caravanserai is a short stop, so combine it with the Sheikh Edebali Tomb in Bilecik, Osmaneli or a day in Söğüt.

What is the history of the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai?

Bilecik sat on the main route from Istanbul, Bursa and İznik into inner Anatolia, and the provincial directorate notes that the town remained an important rest stop on the road towards Eskişehir throughout the Ottoman period. Caravanserais were built along this road for merchants, pilgrims and official travellers.

The inventory dates this one to the early 17th century and credits it to the grand vizier Köprülü Mehmet Paşa. The building has no dated inscription, and the provincial directorate now gives 1655 as its probable date. The directorate also notes a conflicting tradition crediting it to Rüstem Paşa, vizier of Süleyman the Magnificent, while the land registry lists it as a foundation of Köprülü Mehmet Paşa. Alongside the caravanserai, the directorate lists a Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Mosque among Bilecik’s historic monuments.

The inventory records that the roof was known to be intact in 1915 and collapsed that year, leaving only the four walls standing; the directorate gives 1912. Afterwards the building was abandoned. In 2007 the General Directorate of Foundations began restoring it under its programme for idle and ruined foundation buildings; the work took three years, and the plan is to reopen it as a 36-room boutique hotel, in keeping with its original purpose (Bilecik Culture and Tourism Directorate).

What is the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai famous for?

• Its builder, Köprülü Mehmet Paşa, founder of the Köprülü line of grand viziers.
• Giving Vezirhan its name: “the vizier’s han”.
• Its three-part plan, with a narrow central hall for carts flanked by larger side halls.

What can you see at the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai?

The walls and plan. The building is symmetrical, of stone and brick, with raised platforms along the sides where travellers slept and a lower central floor for carriages and horses. Hearths line the walls, with small loophole-like windows above them, and its closed, buttressed exterior gives it the look of a fortress. The restored hipped timber roof is carried on rows of wooden columns and beams. Whether the interior is open depends on the progress of the hotel project, so ask locally.

Vezirhan. The small town grew up around the han on the old road through the Sakarya valley.

Along the road. The 2002 inventory lists Vezirhan under the Silk Road heritage of the province, and the drive continues through the Sakarya valley towards Osmaneli, known for its quince delight.

Common misconceptions about the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai

Was it built in the early 17th century?

What people often assume: The 2002 inventory dates the caravanserai to the early 17th century.

What the record says: The building has no dated inscription, and the provincial directorate gives 1655, in the mid-17th century, as its probable date (Bilecik Culture and Tourism Directorate).

Frequently asked questions about the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai

What do the official records say about the Köprülü Mehmet Paşa Caravanserai?

It is in the village of Vezirhan on the Bilecik–Adapazarı highway. It was built at the beginning of the 17th century by the Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmet Paşa. The caravanserai, which has a long rectangular plan, consists of three sections. The central section, into which the carts were drawn, is smaller than the side sections, which form the main structure of the caravanserai. The roof, known to have been sound in 1915, collapsed in that year. Today four walls stand. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Bilecik Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)