30. The Sultan Khan, Seljuk Caravansaray
31. The muqarnas of the gate
32. The modest gate of Sultan Suleiman Caravanserai
The Sultan Suleiman Caravanserai is one of the simple and functional caravanserais of the Ottomans. Ekrem Hakkı Ayverdi, in Fatih Devri Mimarisi (Architecture of the Fatih Era), states that Kritovulos, a historian of Byzantine Empire, mentioned a caravanserai commissioned by Sultan Mehmet II, the conqueror of İstanbul, in 1455, but this did not survive, the one at the corner of the bridge was Sinan’s work.87 Evliya Çelebi also mentions the caravanserai in Seyahatname and he states that in 1658 as he was heading to Bosnia, he stayed in Sultan Suleiman’s Caravanserai.88 It is obvious that economic developments of the state improved, and the arts and architecture became important, and in the 16th century the most beautiful monuments in the Ottoman Empire were constructed. By 1683 there were 979 caravanserais in İstanbul89, which is surprising given the times and population. Sinan constructed many of these caravanserais, and listed his in his biography:
87 Ekrem Hakkı Ayverdi, Fatih Devri Mimarisi (İstanbul: İstanbul Fethi Derneği, 1953), 73. 88 Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatname, 1614, V. 5-6. 89 Koloğlu, “Ulaşım ve Haberleşme,” 444.
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