5/5 Andy N. 1 year ago on Google
The
Kumarcilar
Han,
also
called
the
Gambler’s
Inn,
is
a
caravansarai
(an
Inn
with
a
central
courtyard)
located
in
Nicosia.
Thought
to
be
built
around
the
end
of
the
17th
century,
it's
much
smaller
and
modest
when
compared
with
Büyük
Han,
but
nonetheless
typical
of
an
Ottoman
inner
city
commercial
inn.
In
the
middle
ages,
merchants
used
to
group
themselves
together
according
to
their
trades.
When
travelling,
merchants
from
the
same
town
or
trade
would
favour
certain
hans,
which
would
tend
to
assume
the
name
of
that
town
or
trade.
The
Gambler’s
Inn
was
originally
known
as
the
Violinist’s
or
Fiddler’s
Inn
and
it's
not
known
when
or
why
the
name
changed.
Similar
to
all
caravansarai,
the
entrance
leads
to
an
open-air
courtyard,
which
is
surrounded
by
a
two-storey
building,
originally
containing
56
rooms.
Upper
floors
were
used
by
travellers,
ground
floor
for
their
animals
and
belongings.
The
ground
floor
rooms
have
stone
floors
and
an
external
window.
A
stair
leads
to
the
upper
storey,
where
the
floor
is
marble
and
some
rooms
contain
fireplaces.
A
monumental
carved
gate
at
the
entrance
dates
to
before
the
Ottoman
conquest,
and
experts
believe
the
structure
stands
on
a
much
earlier
building,
possibly
the
ruins
of
a
monastery.
This
Han
has
been
fully
restored
and
is
used
as
an
attraction
with
cafes,
restaurants,
arts
and
craft
shops.
