Caravanserais were roadside inns along major trade routes like the Silk Road

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Achaeological Discovery · Follow
5 days ago

🔸Caravanserais were roadside inns along major trade routes like the
ancient Silk Road, that doubled as hubs for the exchange of goods, ideas
and culture.
The journeys of merchants and their caravans along the Silk Road through
the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa would have been much
more difficult if not for caravanserais, that dotted those ancient
routes. Variously described as “guest houses,” “roadside inns,” and
“hostels,” caravanserais were buildings designed to provide overnight
housing to travelers. Merchants and their caravans were the most
frequent visitors. In furnishing, safe respite for guests from near and
far, caravanserais also became centers for exchange of goods and culture.
As traffic along the Silk Road increased, so did the construction of
caravanserais. They were needed as safe havens, not just from extreme
climates and weather, but also from bandits who targeted caravans
loaded with silks, spices, and other expensive goods. In fact,
caravanserais were built at regular intervals so that merchants would
not have to spend the night exposed to the dangers of the road. They
appeared roughly 32-40km apart, about a day’s journey on the busiest
Silk Road routes.
The design of these buildings also reflected their protective purpose.
Often built just outside the nearest town or village, they were
encircled by immense walls resembling those of a fort. Caravans entered
through a high, massive gate that could be secured from within at night
with heavy chains. A porter stood guard just past the gate, charged
with safeguarding the persons, goods, and animals inside.
The interior of a caravanserai looked more like an inn than a
fortress, however. A large ground-floor courtyard ringed with storerooms
and stables for camels, donkeys, and horses would often have a corner
for cook fires as well. Small, unfurnished rooms for lodgers were found
on the second floor. Some larger caravanserais also featured a
bathhouse and prayer room.
Most of the old caravanserais still in existence today are crumbling
stone ruins, of interest only to historians and tour groups. In
contrast, medieval caravanserais were lively seedbeds for
globalization, resembling the modern city in the variety of people,
languages, goods, and customs found within their walls. Travelers from
East and West, speaking many different languages, traded stories, news,
merchandise, and ideas while they mingled at these trade hubs. They
sampled local cuisine and observed foreign etiquette. They learned more
about Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism from missionaries and
scholars passing through. When they traveled on, they took much that was
new and different along with them. The economic and cultural exchanges
caravanserais made possible had far-reaching effects still seen today in
the variety of languages, faiths, and cultures co-existing in this
region of the world.

📷 : Obruk Kızören Obruk Han, a 13th Century CE, Seljuk Caravanserai,
located within borders of Karatay district, Türkiye.
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see also
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravanserai

and try images Caravanserai

Last year we saw the one at Khan al-Umdan, Acre, Israel.