The bedesten is located on the top of the Frourio Hill, the city's ancient acropolis, and was erected in the late 15th century.[1] The earliest written testimony about its existence is in a register from 1506, where it is listed among the pious foundations of Gazi Ömer Bey.[2][3]
It is an orthogonal building, whose southern, eastern, and western sides are decorated with monumental pointed arches.[1] Its dimensions are 27 × 18 m.[3] The entrance was through a low gate on the northern side, leading to a small room, probably used as a treasury. This room was topped by six lead-covered domes, supported by two massive pillars.[1] Nineteen shops were located in vaulted rooms located around the central courtyard, mostly dealing in cloth and valuables.[1] Until its destruction by fire in 1799 it served as the city's commercial heart, along with the adjacent open-air market and bazaar.[1][2] the 17th-century traveller Evliya Çelebi mentions the building, describing it as a "veritable fortress" and likening it to a citadel.[2] Indeed, the Frourio ("Fortress") hill received its name from the bedesten.[4]
In the 19th century it was used as a gunpowder magazine.[1] Today only the outer walls survive, and only the southern entrance is open.[2] Prior to the opening of the Diachronic Museum of Larissa in 2015, it was used to house the local Byzantine antiquities collection.[2]
^ abcde"Μπεζεστένι". Municipality of Larissa Cultural Portal (in Greek). Municipality of Larissa. 17 November 2008. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
