The Sa'd al-Saltaneh Caravanserai (سعد السلطنه) is a large

Caravanserai 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 ...

located in the city of

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. Qazvin was a capital of the ...

in Qazvin Province of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. Built during the

Qajar Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...

era, the caravanserai is one of Iran's best preserved urban caravanserais. The builder (patron) of this large caravanserai was a person by the name Sa'd al-Saltaneh Isfahani (آقا باقر سعد السلطنه اصفهاني), after whom the caravanserai is named. The caravanserai is built on a square plan, has 4

iwan An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

s facing a courtyard. The interiors are decorated with

Muqarnas Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...

and Rasmi bandi. The Hujrehs, or the rooms for the travelers, are situated one meter above the courtyard ground level. The ''Hashti'' behind the southern iwan has the largest

gonbad In traditional Persian architecture, a dome is referred to as a gonbad ( fa, گنبد). A gonbad is often double layered, and can have many shapes, such as semi-spherical, partial spherical, onion shaped, paraboloid, polygonal conical, and ...

, with 4

semi-dome In architecture, a semi-dome (or half-dome) is a half dome that covers a semi-circular area in a building. Architecture Semi-domes are a common feature of apses in Ancient Roman and traditional church architecture, and in mosques and iwans in Isla ...

s adjacent to it. The eastern-western axis of the Hashti is called ''Dalan-i Qeisariyeh'' (دالان قيصريه ) or "Caesar's Hall", and the north-south axis of the Caravanserai's Hashti is named ''Dalan-i Ghahremani'' (دالان قهرماني) or "Ghahremani Hall". The former is connected to the "Bazaar of Vizir" of the city. There are also two smaller courtyards in the east and west of the Caravanserai.

Gallery

File:قیصریه.JPG, File:کاروانسرای سعد السلطنه.jpg, File:Caravanserai of Sa'd al-Saltaneh 1.jpg File:سعدالسلطنه کاروانسرای زیبا قزوین.JPG, File:Caravanserai of Sa'd al-Saltaneh at night in Qazvin.jpg File:Sadolsaltaneh caravanserai.jpg File:سرای سعدالسلطنه قزوین.jpg File:Sa'd al-Saltaneh 2.jpg

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External links

Buildings and structures completed in the 19th century Caravanserais in Iran Qazvin Buildings and structures in Qazvin Province National works of Iran Buildings of the Qajar period {{Iran-struct-stub

Gallery

See also

References

External links