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Büyük Valide Han (Turkish: Great Mother Inn) is a historic inn in Istanbul, Turkey. The inn was built during the reign of Ottoman Empire and it still continues to function today. It is located in one of the most popular tourist attraction areas; Historic Peninsula (Turkish: Tarihi Yarımada) in the Eminönü neighbourhood.

History
Büyük Valide Han is one of the biggest historic inns in Istanbul which was built in the 17th century by an unknown architect. While there is no consensus on the exact date, some sources cite that the building was constructed in 1651. Büyük Valide Han was built on a request from Kösem Sultan, the wife of the emperor of the Ottoman Empire during that period, Ahmed I. In order to build the inn, Mehmed Pasha’s palace located in the site was demolished upon the request of the emperor.

An Urban Legend
According to an urban legend, there is a big treasure hidden in Büyük Valide Inn. In 2006-2009, during a project at the inn, is verbally noted that there are still people who come to the inn and destroy the chimneys as an attempt to find the hidden treasure. Rumour has it that Kösem Sultan, who established the inn, hid her treasure and gold in Büyük Valide Han. In Istanbul Ansiklopedisi (Istanbul Encyclopedia) written by historian Reşat Ekrem Koçu, under the section of Büyük Valide Inn, he states that there were 20 gold chests that belong to Kösem Sultan, however, after she was slaughtered all of her fortune was registered to the state treasury of Ottoman Empire. Therefore, according to the official records, today there is no remaining gold in Büyük Valide Inn.

The area
Büyük Valide Han is located in an area known for historical inns in Istanbul, an area that has been central to trading practices over centuries. The area, known for its famous inns, called the region of inns or khans (Turkish: hanlar bölgesi) which is located in the Historic Peninsula. The name, Historic Peninsula, is used to explain the topography, which is an area of land that is surrounded by the sea on three sides. As such, trading was a central activity for the area and it was also centrally located within the borders of Constantinople, the capital city of the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire and Latin Empire. After the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople in 1453, today known as the core of Istanbul, the area remained to be the capital and essential for trading practices.

Today
Today, the area is within the borders of modern Istanbul and is under the protection of UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1985. The area includes many historical monuments remaining from Byzantine and Ottoman Empire such as Hagia Sophia, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, and Topkapı Palace. However, the inns like Büyük Valide Han are less known because they are located in narrow streets. For instance, Büyük Valide Han is located between Çakmakçılar and Fincancılar slope, which cannot be easily found, especially for non-locals.

The streets that Büyük Valide Han is located, Çakmakçılar slope is pedestrianized within the framework of recent urban transformation plans (Kentsel Dönüşüm) and as part of reconstruction projects of the Tarihi Yarımada. While providing big convenience for pedestrians, the same cannot be said for the business owners.

Architecture
Büyük Valide Han has 2 storeys, 3 courtyards, 210 rooms and it has the biggest footprint which does not belong to a mosque’s complex of buildings but situated as a single structure. The inn's construction material consists of brick and stone, which is a material traditionally used in Istanbul inns and in the main entrance as well as the exterior walls the details of masonry stone and brick workmanship is apparent. Masonry stone is used on the exterior façade and in the interior, including riwaq arches, vaults, columns, and door arches, while the interior separating walls are built with rubble stones. Büyük Valide Han is harmonized with the topographic pattern and also with the slope of the road, therefore, the ground floor shops’ entrance levels are different than each other.

The main entrance is not located in the middle, symmetrical axis shifts towards the right side and the original door as it was built still exists, with fine details of wrought-iron workmanship on the timber door. The first and second courtyards have 153 rooms, and the third courtyard has 57 rooms, at total the inn has 210 rooms but today it has more than 210 rooms due to new extensions and the changes in the Turkish construction codes. The Inn also still has the remnants of a tower that survived since the Byzantine Empire.

8th Istanbul Biennale
In 2003, at the 8th Istanbul Biennale, Büyük Valide Han was used as an exhibition space, which enabled the inn to gain traction. Mike Nelson’s exhibition called “anonymous” organized a room on the second floor with leftover objects from Inn’s former residents and business owners, black and white photos were hanged on the ceilings with robes and metal pegs. The artist wanted the room to be kept locked, and hanged a sign on the door saying “tea vendor has the key”, which aimed to encourage the visitors to find the tea vendor and open the door to see the exhibition.

54th Venice Biennale
In 2011, Büyük Valide Han was again a part of an art exhibition by the same artist, Mike Nelson, at the 54th Venice Biennale. He created the same exhibition that he built in the 8th Istanbul Biennale as he transformed British Pavilion into Büyük Valide Han and called it “I, Impostor”. According to the records, it was one of the most visited exhibitions at the 54th Venice Biennale. The artist built a replica of Büyük Valide Han and he used some objects that were collected from junk shops and shipped to Venice. The artist, Mike Nelson described this exhibition as “building a biennale within a biennale”.

The Rooftop and The Collapse
Büyük Valide Han’s rooftop has a panoramic view of Istanbul, which attracts many tourists as well as locals. However, this excessive interest in the inn’s dome also damaged the historical structure. In June 2016, the ministry of culture and tourism imposed a ban on going up to the roof, however people disregarded the ban and kept going up to the roof. Jumping on the dome became a trend amongst many people for the purposes of taking a good photo; there were even huge line-ups for photo takers. In addition, the roof was also used for shooting advertising campaigns with heavy filming equipment. On 30th of December 2017, the dome has collapsed due to these activities. After the collapse, the authorities shut down the roof and stated that they would start renovations, however, since then, there have been no improvements for such architectural renovation.