Çengelhan, historic caravansary on the old site of Atpazarı (horse market), opposite the main entrance to Ankara Castle. Çengelhan, which now hosts the Ankara Rahmi M. Koç Museum, was built in 1522-23 during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. The caravansary was attached to the foundation of Damat Rüstem Paşa, husband of the sultan’s daughter, Mihrimah Sultan. At the time, Çengelhan was one of the four largest caravansary in Ankara, with numerous rooms and the type of stable known as “develik”. Before it was abandoned at the end of the twentieth century, it was used as a tannery and wool-shed, where mohair, fleece and rawhide were sold wholesale.
With its rectangular, almost square structure, Çengelhan is a beautiful example of a classic urban Ottoman caravansary, with a central, open-air courtyard surrounded by vaulted porticoes. The shop where
Vehbi Koç began his business life was also located in this courtyard. Vehbi Koç referred to it in his memoirs: “At that time, commerce in Ankara was focused on the caravansary at Atpazarı and the surrounding shops. Çengel Han was very old and is still standing today, but in a very basic, dilapidated state... one summer I spent five months working there... I can’t remember what year it was now, but between the ages of 13 and 15 I had a summer internship. At the end of the summer, I left and returned to school.”
Çengelhan was restored in 2003-05 and reopened to the public as the Ankara Rahmi M. Koç Museum in April 2005.