Şanlıurfa Customs House

Gümrük Hanı is a historic caravanserai located in the city center of Şanlıurfa, Türkiye, within the Kazzaklar Çarşısı district, on Haşimiye Square. It was constructed in 1563 during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent by Halhallı Behram Paşa, the governor of the Urfa Sanjak. This structure, referred to as “Yetmiş Hanı” in Evliya Çelebi’s Seyahatname, is also known as “Alaca Han” due to its two-tone cut stone façades. It holds the distinction of being Şanlıurfa’s oldest han.

^{Şanlıurfa Gümrük Hanı} (Anadolu Agency)

Gümrük Hanı is a square-plan, single-atrium structure, partially three stories high. Both the ground and upper floors follow a colonnaded layout. The building is constructed of cut stone and features a rounded arch main entrance on the exterior and a pointed arch entrance opening into the courtyard. The courtyard floor is paved with basalt stones, and a stone channel runs from the southwest corner to the northeast corner, carrying water from the Halilürrahman stream. Originally covered by a flat earthen roof, the structure was restored in 1970 and given a corrugated metal roof with added chimneys. The second floor consists of a vaulted colonnade supported by rounded arch columns, with rows of rooms behind them. The columns are surrounded by stone railings. The vault above the entrance eyvan was historically used as a mosque.

Historically functioning as a caravanserai, Gümrük Hanı served as accommodation for merchants arriving from cities such as Damascus, Baghdad, and Aleppo. Horses were left at the adjacent Sipahi Pazarı. On the ground floor courtyard, there were bead shops and tea houses where locals played games such as backgammon and dominoes while enjoying mirra, tea, coffee, and menengiç coffee. On the upper floor, historical tailors’ workshops and artisans operating with traditional machinery are still present. Today, Gümrük Hanı is not only a historical site but also one of Şanlıurfa’s most important socio-cultural and tourist centers, attracting both domestic and international visitors in every season.

In 2001, it was restored faithfully to its original form with contributions from the Şanlıurfa Culture, Art and Research Foundation (ŞURKAV) and the Rızvaniye Foundation. Having maintained its functionality for more than five centuries, the han is regarded as one of the symbolic structures of Urfa architecture due to its architectural integrity and historical fabric.

^{Şanlıurfa Gümrük Hanı}(URFAKON)

The han adjoins a bedesten structure on its southern facade and the Sipahi Pazarı on its western facade. To the north lies the Arasa Hamamı, and to the east is the İsotçu Pazarı Street. Water from the Halil-ür Rahman Lake flows through its courtyard.

^{Şanlıurfa Gümrük Hanı}(Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality)

Gümrük Hanı is regarded as a cultural center without an official name. Throughout history, it has been the center of trade and social life, and today it continues to fulfill commercial and cultural functions. Located at the heart of the district, Gümrük Hanı is a living embodiment of Şanlıurfa’s historical continuity.

^{Şanlıurfa Gümrük Hanı}(URFAKON)