Çevdet Hüseyin Çağdaş, born in 1926 in Yenagra village of Famagusta, and was a leading figure in Turkish Cypriot painting, playing a major role in the development of Turkish Cypriot artworks. Cağdas was an educationalist and museologist who painted extensive views of his country. The watercolour of Buyuk Khan is a perspective of the interior courtyard.
Built in 1572, it was one of the first constructions on the island upon the Ottoman conquest and one of the most luxurious khans in the Middle East. It had a fireplace in each room on the first floor. On the ground floor, the rooms were used as shops and for keeping animals. It is built in local sandstone well-rendered in the appropriate colour by the artist. For years, the khan lay abandoned as presented in the picture. It was only in the 1980’s that the khan was restored to its former glory. Today, it is used as an artisan centre.
PNT-00091 > Cevdet Hüseyin Çağdaş (1926-2019), Buyuk Khan, Watercolour, 27x40 cm, 1945.
