An 800-year-old caravanserai belonging to the Ayyubid period in southeastern Şanlıurfa province will be transformed into a museum where all the different types of pepper seeds in the world will be on display.
Han el-Barur, whose restoration was completed in the Harran district of the city in 2018, will serve as the "Isot Museum." Named after isot, which is a special dried red pepper from southeastern Turkey's Şanlıurfa, the museum will showcase various spices from across the world, including India and China.
Harran District Governor Cihat Koç told Anadolu Agency (AA) that beautiful restoration work has been completed in Han el-Barur. Explaining that they continue to work to give the historical structure a permanent functionality and to transform it into an isot museum, open-air hotel and accommodation center, Koç said, "We are working to make Han el-Barur functional not only with itself but for the entire region."
Noting that they wanted to prepare the site into a world-class museum, Koç added: "We also have the purpose of utilizing Han el-Barur for its original purpose. Han el-Barur was in the middle of a tourism route in the past. While it was an important place on the Silk Road, it is a popular destination in the center of Harran along with the Bazda caves, the ancient cities of Shu'ayb, Soğmatar, Karahantepe and Sefertepe in the present day. Therefore, the inn will also be functional as a complex that can serve our guests and tourists as an accommodation and resting facility."
According to the inscription on its entrance door, Han el-Barur was commissioned by Hüsameddin Ali Bey in 1128-1129 during the Ayyubid dynasty. The structure is the only known Ayyubid caravanserai within the borders of Anatolia. There is a large courtyard in the middle of the caravanserai with 10 gates opening into it.
