
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside
inn where travelers (
caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of
trade routes covering Asia,
North Africa and
Southeast Europe, most notably the
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
.
Often located along rural roads in the countryside, urban versions of caravanserais were also historically common in cities throughout the
Islamic world
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...
, and were often called other names such as ''khan'', ''wikala'', or ''funduq''.
Terms and etymology
Caravanserai
Caravanserai ( fa, کاروانسرای, ''kārvānsarāy''), is the Persian compound word variant combining ''kārvān'' "
caravan
Caravan or caravans may refer to:
Transport and travel
*Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together
**Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop
*Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals
*Convoy, a group of veh ...
" with ''-sarāy'' "palace", "building with enclosed courts". Here "caravan" means a group of traders, pilgrims or other travellers, engaged in long-distance travel. The word is also rendered as ''caravansary'', ''caravansaray'', ''caravanseray'', ''caravansara'', and ''caravansarai''.
[ In scholarly sources, it is often used as an umbrella term for multiple related types of commercial buildings similar to inns or hostels, whereas the actual instances of such buildings had a variety of names depending on the region and the local language.][ However, the term was typically preferred for rural inns built along roads outside of city walls.]
Khan
The word ''khan'' () derives from Middle Persian ''hʾn (''xān'', "house").[ It could refer to an "urban caravanserai" built within a town or a city,] or generally to any caravanserai, including those built in the countryside and along desert routes. In Turkish the word is rendered as ''han''.[ The same word was used in Bosnian and Bulgarian, having arrived through Ottoman conquest. In addition to Turkish and Persian, the term was widely used in Arabic as well, and examples of such buildings are found throughout the Middle East from as early as the Ummayyad period.][ The term ''han'' is also used i]
Romanian
being adopted from Ottoman Turkish.
Funduq
The term ''funduq'' ( ar, فندق, lit=; sometimes spelled ''foundouk'' or ''fondouk'' from the French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
transliteration) is frequently used for historic inns in Morocco and around western North Africa. The word comes from Greek ''pandocheion'', lit.: "welcoming all",[ thus meaning 'inn', led to '' funduq'' in Arabic (), ''pundak'' in Hebrew (), '' fundaco'' in Venice, '' fondaco'' in Genoa and '']alhóndiga
Alhóndiga is a municipality located in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE
INE, Ine or ine may refer to:
Institutions
* Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center
* Instituto Nacion ...
'' or ''fonda'' in Spanish (''funduq'' is the origin of Spanish term ''fonda''). In the cities of this region such buildings were also frequently used as housing for artisan workshops.
Wikala
The Arabic word ''wikala'' (), sometimes spelled ''wakala'' or ''wekala'', is a term found frequently in historic Cairo for an urban caravanserai which housed merchants and their goods and served as a center for trade, storage, transactions and other commercial activity. The word ''wikala'' means roughly "agency" in Arabic, in this case a commercial agency,[ which may also have been a reference to the ]customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...
offices that could be located here to deal with imported goods. The term ''khan'' was also frequently used for this type of building in Egypt.[
]
History
Caravanserais were a common feature not only along the Silk Road, but also along the Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
's Royal Road, a ancient highway that stretched from Sardis to Susa
Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...
according to Herodotus: "Now the true account of the road in question is the following: Royal stations exist along its whole length, and excellent caravanserais; and throughout, it traverses an inhabited tract, and is free from danger." Other significant urban caravanserais were built along the Grand Trunk Road in the Indian subcontinent, especially in the region of Mughal
Mughal or Moghul may refer to:
Related to the Mughal Empire
* Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries
* Mughal dynasty
* Mughal emperors
* Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia
* Mughal architecture
* Mug ...
Delhi and Bengal Subah.
Throughout most of the Islamic period
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...
(7th century and after), caravanserais were a common type of structure both in the rural countryside and in dense urban centers across the Middle East, North Africa, and Ottoman Europe.[ A number of 12th to 13th-century caravanserais or ''han''s were built throughout the Seljuk Empire, many examples of which have survived across Turkey today (e.g. the large Sultan Han in Aksaray Province) as well as in Iran (e.g. the Ribat-i Sharaf in ]Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
). Urban versions of caravanserais also became important centers of economic activity in cities across these different regions of the Muslim world, often concentrated near the main '' souq'' areas, with many examples still standing in the historic areas of Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
, Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, image_map1 =
...
, Cairo, Istanbul, Fes
Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...
, etc.[
]Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...
, a 14th-century Muslim traveler, described the function of a caravenserai in the region of China:
In many parts of the Muslim world, caravanserais also provided revenues that were used to fund charitable or religious functions or buildings. These revenues and functions were managed through a '' waqf'', a protected agreement which gave certain buildings and revenues the status of mortmain
Mortmain () is the perpetual, inalienable ownership of real estate by a corporation or legal institution; the term is usually used in the context of its prohibition. Historically, the land owner usually would be the religious office of a church ...
endowments guaranteed under Islamic law.[Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. 2007. ''Cairo of the Mamluks: A History of Architecture and its Culture''. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.] Many major religious complexes in the Ottoman and Mamluk empires, for example, either included a caravanserai building (like in the '' külliye'' of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul) or drew revenues from one in the area (such as the Wikala al-Ghuri in Cairo, which was built to contribute revenues for the nearby complex of Sultan al-Ghuri).
Caravanserai in Arab literature
Al-Muqaddasi
Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Maqdisī ( ar, شَمْس ٱلدِّيْن أَبُو عَبْد ٱلله مُحَمَّد ابْن أَحْمَد ابْن أَبِي بَكْر ٱلْمَقْدِسِي), ...
the Arab geographer wrote in 985 CE about the hostelries, or wayfarers' inns, in the Province of Palestine, a province at that time listed under the topography of Syria, saying: "Taxes are not heavy in Syria, with the exception of those levied on the Caravanserais (''Fanduk''); Here, however, the duties are oppressive..." The reference here being to the imposts and duties charged by government officials on the importation of goods and merchandise, the importers of which and their beasts of burden usually stopping to take rest in these places. Guards were stationed at every gate to ensure that taxes for these goods be paid in full, with the revenues going to the Fatimid kingdom of Egypt.
Architecture
Most typically a caravanserai was a building with a square or rectangular walled exterior, with a single portal wide enough to permit large or heavily laden beasts such as camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
s to enter. The courtyard was almost always open to the sky, and the inside walls of the enclosure were outfitted with a number of identical animal stalls, bays, niches or chambers to accommodate merchants and their servants, animals, and merchandise.
Caravanserais provided water for human and animal consumption, washing and ritual purification such as '' wudu'' and ''ghusl
( ar, غسل ', ) is an Arabic term to the full-body ritual purification mandatory before the performance of various rituals and prayers, for any adult Muslim after sexual intercourse/ejaculation or completion of the menstrual cycle.
The washin ...
''. Sometimes they had elaborate public baths ( hammams), or other attached amenities such as a fountain or a sabil/sebil. They kept fodder
Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...
for animals and had shops for travellers where they could acquire new supplies. Some shops bought goods from the travelling merchants. Many caravanserais were equipped with small mosques, such as the elevated examples in the Seljuk and Ottoman caravanserais in Turkey.[
In Cairo, starting in the Burji Mamluk period, ''wikala''s (urban caravanserais) were frequently several stories tall and often included a ''rab, a low-income rental apartment complex, which was situated on the upper floors while the merchant accommodations occupied the lower floors.][ While making the best use of limited space in a crowded city, this provided the building with two sources of revenue which were managed through the '' waqf'' system.]
Notable caravanserais
Alphabetically, not taking article (al-, el-, etc.) into consideration.
*Abbasi Hotel
The Abbasi Hotel ( fa, هتل عباسی, formerly known as the "Shah Abbas Hotel", Persian: ) is a hotel located in Isfahan, Iran.
The whole complex was built at the time of king Sultan Husayn of Safavid about 400 years ago. Formerly known as th ...
, Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
, Iran
*Ağzıkara Han
Ağzıkara Han is a historic Seljuk-era caravanserai in Turkey. It is located in the Ağzıkarahan village in the province of Aksaray.
History
The caravanserai is considered one of the most important and richly-decorated examples of ordinary ...
, Ağzıkarahan (Aksaray Province), Turkey
*Akbari Sarai
The Akbari Sarai ( ur, ) is a large caravan inn (''"sarai"''), located in Shahdara Bagh in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Dating from 1637, the ''sarai'' was originally built for travelers, as well as for caretakers of the Tomb of Jahangir. The ''sa ...
, Lahore, Pakistan
*Büyük Han
Büyük Han (lit. Great Inn) ( el, Μεγάλο Πανδοχείο ''Megálo Pandocheío'') is the largest caravansarai on the island of Cyprus and is considered to be one of the finest buildings on the island.. Located in the capital of Cyprus, ...
, Nicosia, Cyprus
* Büyük Valide Han, Istanbul, Turkey
* Büyük Yeni Han, Istanbul, Turkey
* Caravanserai of Sa'd al-Saltaneh, Qazvin, Iran
* Caravanserai of Zor, Iğdır, Turkey
*Corral del Carbón
The Corral del Carbón, originally al-Funduq al-Jadida, is a 14th-century historic building in the Spanish city of Granada (Andalusia). It is the only Nasrid ''alhóndiga'' or '' funduq'' (a commercial warehouse or inn) preserved in the Iberian ...
, Granada, Spain
* Elbasan Han, Korçë, Albania
* Funduq Nejjarine, Fes, Morocco
* Funduq Sagha, Fes, Morocco
*Funduq Shamma'in
The Funduq al-Shamma'in or (if using the French transliteration) Foundouk Chemmaïne () is a medieval ''funduq'' (urban caravanserai) in Fes, Morocco. It is also directly adjoined by another funduq structure, the Funduq al-Sbitriyyin; as a result ...
, Fes, Morocco
*Funduq Staouniyyin
The Funduq Staouniyyin (pronounced ''foon-dook sta-woo-nee-yeen'') or Funduq al-Tetwaniyyin (also spelled Foundouk Staouniyine, Fondouk Stawniyin, or Foundouk Tetouaniyine) is a historic ''funduq'' (caravanserai) in Fes el-Bali, the old city of F ...
, Fes, Morocco
*Garghabazar Caravanserai
Garghabazar caravanserai ( az, Qarğabazar karvansarayı) is a historic monument of XVII century. It is located in Garghabazar village, of Fuzuli District, in Azerbaijan.
History
Sometimes referred as Shah Abbas caravansarai, the building dates ...
, Kharabakh, Azerbaijan
* Kapan Han, Skopje, North Macedonia
* Khan As'ad Pasha, Damascus, Syria
* Khan Jaqmaq, Damascus, Syria
* Khan el-Khalili, Cairo, Egypt
* Khan Sulayman Pasha, Damascus, Syria
* Khan al-Tujjar, Mount Tabor, Israel
* Khan al-Tujjar, Nablus, West Bank
* Khan Tuman, Damascus, Syria
* Khan al-Umdan, Acre, Israel
* Koza Han, Bursa, Turkey
*Kürkçü Han
The Kürkçü Han () is a large historic ''han'' ( caravanserai) in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mahmud Pasha, the grand vizier of Mehmet II, it was completed in 1467 and is the oldest surviving caravanserai in the city, although it has been mod ...
, Istanbul, Turkey
*Kuršumli An
Kursumli An ( mk, Куршумли ан, , tr, Kurşunlu han) is an Ottoman caravanserai
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais suppor ...
, Skopje, North Macedonia
*Manuc's Inn
Manuc's Inn ( ro, Hanul lui Manuc, ) is the oldest operating hotel building in Bucharest, Romania. It also houses a popular restaurant, several bars, a coffee-house, and (facing the street) several stores and an extensive bar. Its massive, mult ...
, Bucharest, Romania
*Morića Han
Morića Han is a han (a roadside inn) originally built in 1551 in Sarajevo, Ottoman Empire (now Bosnia and Herzegovina). After a fire in 1697 it was reconstructed in its current form. Morića Han is one of the buildings which were financed by a ...
, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Multani Caravanserai, Baku, Azerbaijan
*Mughal Sarai, Surat
The Mughal Sarai is a caravanserai located in Surat, Gujarat, India.
History
The sarai was built in 1644 CE.
It was briefly used to detain political prisoners during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The clock tower was also added by the Briti ...
, Gujarat, India
* Nampally Sarai, Nampally, Hyderabad, India
*Orbelian's Caravanserai
Orbelian's Caravanserai ( hy, Օրբելյանների Քարվանսարա; also known as Sulema Caravanserai and Selim Caravanserai, hy, Սելիմ), is a caravanserai in the Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia. It was built along the Vardenyats ...
, Armenia
* Rabati Malik, Uzbekistan
*Shaki Caravanserai
Caravanserai – is a historical monument in Sheki, a part of which is used as a hotel.
Historical information
Swift development of trade in the Middle Ages enhanced importance of caravanserai existing in the territory of Azerbaijan at that tim ...
, Shaki, Azerbaijan
* Stari Han, Kremna, Užice, Serbia
*Suli An
The Suli An ( mk, Сули ан, ) is a han in the Old Bazaar of Skopje, North Macedonia. It was built in the mid-15th century by Isa-Beg Isaković.
Etymology
The name of the han is derived from the Turkish ''Sulu Han'', with ''su'' which mea ...
, Skopje, North Macedonia
* Sultan Han, Sultanhanı (Aksaray Province), Turkey
* Sultan Han, Sultanhanı (Kayseri Province), Turkey
* Wikala al-Ghuri, Cairo, Egypt
* Wikala Qaytbay (at al-Azhar), Cairo, Egypt
* Wikala Qaytbay (at Bab al-Nasr), Cairo, Egypt
* Zeinodin Caravanserai, Zein-o-din, Yazd, Iran
Gallery
File:Main_Entrance_of_Akbari_Sarai.jpg, 16th century Akbari Sarai
The Akbari Sarai ( ur, ) is a large caravan inn (''"sarai"''), located in Shahdara Bagh in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Dating from 1637, the ''sarai'' was originally built for travelers, as well as for caretakers of the Tomb of Jahangir. The ''sa ...
in Lahore, Pakistan
File:Fallujah 1914.jpg, Fallujah
Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jew ...
's Caravanserai in use, ca. 1914, Iraq
File:Fair at Khan al-Tujjar.jpg, An 1850 drawing of Khan al-Tujjar, near Mount Tabor, Israel
File:Akko BW 13.JPG, Khan al-Umdan in Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
, Israel
File:Khan al-Wazir Alp.JPG, Khan al-Wazir, Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, image_map1 =
...
, Syria
File:Selim Caravanserai3.jpg, Inside the Orbelian's Caravanserai
Orbelian's Caravanserai ( hy, Օրբելյանների Քարվանսարա; also known as Sulema Caravanserai and Selim Caravanserai, hy, Սելիմ), is a caravanserai in the Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia. It was built along the Vardenyats ...
, Armenia
File:Sadolsaltaneh caravanserai.jpg, The interior of the Caravanserai of Sa'd al-Saltaneh in Qazvin, Iran
File:Hotel Shah Abbas Sahn.jpg, The caravanserai of Shah Abbas, now Abbasi Hotel
The Abbasi Hotel ( fa, هتل عباسی, formerly known as the "Shah Abbas Hotel", Persian: ) is a hotel located in Isfahan, Iran.
The whole complex was built at the time of king Sultan Husayn of Safavid about 400 years ago. Formerly known as th ...
, in Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
, Iran. View is from the courtyard (sahn).
File:Neyestanak Caravanserai Inner Courtyard 2007-01-01.jpg, An abandoned caravanserai in Neyestānak, Iran
File:Bursa, Turkey (4505709750).jpg, The courtyard of the Koza Han (1490-91) of Bursa
( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...
, Turkey; the domed building is a small mosque (''mescit'')
File:Caravanserai-Sheki.jpg, 18th-century[Vladimir Braginskiy. Tourist Attractions in the USSR: A Guide. Raduga Publishers, 1982. 254 pages. Page 104.]The whole of the centre of Sheki has been proclaimed a reserve protected by the state. To take you back to the time of the caravans, two large eighteenth-century caravanserais have been preserved with spacious courtyards where the camels used to rest, cellars where goods were stored, and rooms for travellers.
caravanserai in Sheki, Azerbaijan
File:Multani karvansarayı.JPG, Multani Caravanserai, Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
, Azerbaijan
File:Katra Mosque - Murshidabad.jpg, The Caravenserai Mosque in Murshidabad, India; built by Nawab Murshid Quli Khan of Bengal
File:Charles D'Oyly04.jpg, An 1823 etching of Bara Katra, or Great Caravanserai, in Dhaka, Bangladesh; built by the Mughal
Mughal or Moghul may refer to:
Related to the Mughal Empire
* Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries
* Mughal dynasty
* Mughal emperors
* Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia
* Mughal architecture
* Mug ...
Prince Shah Shuja
File:The Small Kuttra with its enclosed Mosque, Dhaka (1817).jpg, An 1817 sketch of the Choto Katra caravanserai in Dhaka, Bangladesh; built by the Mughal viceroy Shaista Khan
File:Anderkilla Shahi Jame Mosque (02).jpg, Anderkilla in Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
, Bangladesh
File:Wikala-sabil-kuttab of Qaitbay 03.jpg, The entrance portal of the Wikala of Sultan Qaytbay
The Wikala of Sultan Qaytbay or Wakala of Sultan Qaytbay (among other variations) is an urban caravanserai (''wikala'' or ''wakala'') and ''rab'' (apartment complex) built by Sultan al-Ashraf Abu al-Nasr Qaitbay in 1481 CE in Islamic Cairo, the ...
, dating from 1477, south of Al-Azhar Mosque, Cairo
File:Granada Corral del Carbón 16-03-2011 17-29-46 16-03-2011 17-29-46.JPG, Corral del Carbón
The Corral del Carbón, originally al-Funduq al-Jadida, is a 14th-century historic building in the Spanish city of Granada (Andalusia). It is the only Nasrid ''alhóndiga'' or '' funduq'' (a commercial warehouse or inn) preserved in the Iberian ...
, a former caravanserai in Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
, Spain
File:Tash Rabat.JPG, The ruins of a Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
caravanserai in Tash Rabat
Tash Rabat is a well-preserved 15th-century stone caravanserai in At-Bashy District, Naryn Province, Kyrgyzstan, located at an altitude of .
Geography
Tash Rabat is located somewhat east of the main north-south highway. To the south are Lake ...
, Kyrgyzstan
File:تی تی کاروان سرا.jpg, Titi Caravanserai
File:تصویر سراسرنما از بام کاروانسرای دیرگچین استان قم، معماری برجای مانده از دوره ساسانی.jpg, Panoramic view of the roof of Dirgchin Caravanserai in Qom Province, surviving architecture from the Sassanid period
See also
References
Further reading
* Branning, Katharine. 2018
turkishhan.org
The Seljuk Han in Anatolia. New York, USA.
* Cytryn-Silverman, Katia. 2010. ''The Road Inns (Khans) in Bilad al-Sham''. BAR (British Archaeological Reports
The British Archaeological Reports Series contains over 3,500 books of academic archaeological research, including monographs, excavation reports, revised theses and conference proceedings. Founded in 1974, the BAR series is the largest series ...
), Oxford.
*
* Erdmann, Kurt, Erdmann, Hanna. 1961. ''Das anatolische Karavansaray des 13. Jahrhunderts'', 3 vols. Berlin: Mann, 1976,
*
* Hillenbrand, Robert. 1994. ''Islamic Architecture: Form, function and meaning''. New York: Columbia University Press. (see Chapter VI for an in depth overview of the caravanserai).
* Kiani, Mohammad Yusef. 1976
Caravansaries in Khorasan Road.
Reprinted from: ''Traditions Architecturales en Iran'', Tehran, No. 2 & 3, 1976.
* Schutyser, Tom. 2012. ''Caravanserai: Traces, Places, Dialogue in the Middle East''. Milan: 5 Continents Editions,
* Yavuz, Aysil Tükel. 1997. ''The Concepts that Shape Anatolian Seljuq Caravansara.'' In: Gülru Necipoglu (ed). 1997. ''Muqarnas XIV: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World.'' Leiden: E. J. Brill, 80–95. rchnet.org/library/pubdownloader/pdf/8967/doc/DPC1304.pdf Available online as a PDF document, 1.98 MB
External links
Shah Abbasi Caravanserai, Tishineh
Caravansara Pictures
Consideratcaravanserai.net
Texts and photos on research on caravanserais and travel journeys in Middle East and Central Asia.
The Seljuk Han in Anatolia
Persian Caravanserai
UNESCO application
{{Authority control
Hotel types
Islamic architecture
Architecture in Iran
Silk Road
Persian words and phrases