Küçük Karaosmanoğlu Inn

Küçük Karaosmanoğlu Inn

There were two Karaosmanoglu Inns in Izmir; one was named buyuk (big) and the other one was küçük (small). Despite sharing the same name, these two inns have nothing in common in terms of architecture.

Küçük Karaosmanoğlu Inn was built before 1747, by Karaosmanoğlu Hajji Mustafa, who lived in the first half of the 18th century. Vicdan Karaosmanoğlu rebuilt this inn in 1966-1968, converting it into a modern marketplace. This inn had three gates and 43 stores, most of which were operating in the leather and shoe business. First built as a wooden structure, there were some 20 shops around the inner yard of the inn, varying in size. Sometime in 20th century, another opening was created to make entrance and exit to Havra Street easier. In later years, the number of stores increased to 30 after the popularization of this area.

Until the renewal construction started in 1966, many craftsmen were conducting their dying handcraft businesses here: tinsmiths, whitesmiths, coppersmiths and similar other businesses couldn't compete with developing technology and shut down one by one.

Since 2017, Küçük Karaosmanoğlu Inn includes cafés, stores, and a boutique hotel under the name L'Agora Old Town Hotel & Bazaar.