Guide
The caravanserai in the centre of Edirne has been a hotel since 1972, when it was restored — work thought successful enough to win the Ağa Khan Award for Architecture in 1980.
It was built for Rüstem Paşa, grand vizier to Süleyman the Magnificent, by Mimar Sinan, and it follows the courtyard-han plan: two storeys of rooms set around a rectangular court, their courtyard faces arcaded, with hearths and niches in the rooms behind the arcades. Stairs face one another on the long sides. The brick ornament in the arches of the upper-floor windows and doors is worth looking at, and walls of cut stone and brick give the building its monumental look. It is within walking distance in the city centre.
