Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Caravanserai
The caravanserai is in Payas town, İskenderun ilçe (district) of Hatay Province.In the 1567–68 term, Ottoman government Sublime Porte built a shipyard in Payas in preparation for the Cyprus campaign.After the conquest of Cyprus in 1571, the Grand vizier Sokollu Mehmet Pasha built the caravansarai financing it privately.The purpose of the caravanserai was to provide accommodation for merchants traveling to nearby Aleppo, and for the pilgrims on the wat to Mecca.The municipality won for this project the ÇEKÜL (Protection and Promotion of the Environment and Cultural Heritage) award.