Particularly in the 14th to 16th centuries, a large number of commercial structures such as hans (caravanserais), bazaars (covered markets), and a bedesten were built in the city center, forming a major zone of economic activity.
[1]) It is here, next to the old Orhan Gazi Mosque, that Sultan Bayezid II ordered the construction of the Koza Han in February or March of 1490.
[4][2] As a caravanserai, the han provided lodging for foreign merchants, storage for their animals and goods, housing for the workshops of craftsmen, and/or offices for conducting business.
[2] At the center of the courtyard is a small octagonal stone mosque or prayer room (mescit) which is raised above the ground on 8 pillars and reached by a marble staircase.
The portal is decorated with a spiral moulding along its edges, as well as with geometric patterns made of inset coloured tile on the spandrels above the archway.