^#smrgSAHAF Typical Commercial Buildings of the Ottoman Classical Period and the Ottoman Construction System - 1983

It is interesting that in Turkish architecture religious buildings are followed by commercial buildings (hans) not from the point of view of their artistic merits but in their dimensions. Some of them surpass even the largest of the mosques in the size of the area they cover. The Turks built large hans and caravanserais with social and commercial functions along major highways linking important cities, and hans in cities with mainly commercial functions. The majority of the hans, caravanserais, bedestens and arastas were built of such durable materials as stone and brick. (Önsözden)