inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
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 route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...
s covering Asia,
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and
Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...
, most notably the Silk Road. Often located along rural roads in the countryside, urban versions of caravanserais were also historically common in cities throughout the Islamic world, 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" 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
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
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 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
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside Pub#Inns, inn where travelers (caravan (travellers), caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the ne ...
'' in Arabic (), ''pundak'' in Hebrew (), '' fundaco'' in Venice, '' fondaco'' in Genoa and '' alhóndiga'' 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
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
, in this case a commercial agency, which may also have been a reference to the 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's
Royal Road
The Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt by the Persian king Darius the Great (Darius I) of the first (Achaemenid) Persian Empire in the 5th century BC. Darius built the road to facilitate rapid communication on the western ...
, a ancient highway that stretched from
Sardis
Sardis () or Sardes (; Lydian: 𐤳𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣 ''Sfard''; el, Σάρδεις ''Sardeis''; peo, Sparda; hbo, ספרד ''Sfarad'') was an ancient city at the location of modern ''Sart'' (Sartmahmut before 19 October 2005), near Salihli, ...
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
: "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
The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...
in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
and
Bengal Subah
The Bengal Subah ( bn, সুবাহ বাংলা; fa, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal ( bn, মোগল বাংলা), was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire (and later an independent state under the Nawabs of Be ...
.
Throughout most of the Islamic period (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
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
,
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, and Ottoman Europe. A number of 12th to 13th-century caravanserais or ''han''s were built throughout the
Seljuk Empire
The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turko-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant in the west to ...
, many examples of which have survived across
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
today (e.g. the large
Sultan Han
Sultan Han is a large 13th-century Seljuk caravanserai located in the town of Sultanhanı, Aksaray Province, Turkey. It is one of the three monumental caravanserais in the neighbourhood of Aksaray and is located about west of Aksaray on the ...
in
Aksaray Province
Aksaray Province ( tr, ) is a province in central Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Konya along the west and south, Niğde to the southeast, Nevşehir to the east, and Kırşehir to the north. It covers an area of . The provincial capital is t ...
) as well as in
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 ...
(e.g. the
Ribat-i Sharaf
The Ribat of Sharaf ( fa, رباط شرف, , Robat-i Sharaf or Robat-e Sharaf) is a historical ribat, or rest place for travellers, located in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran, between Merv and Nishapur. Built in the 12th century (circa 1114), th ...
in Khorasan). 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, Aleppo,
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
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, 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 waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitab ...
'', a protected agreement which gave certain buildings and revenues the status of mortmain endowments guaranteed under
Islamic law
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...
.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
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
empires, for example, either included a caravanserai building (like in the ''
külliye
A külliye ( ota, كلية) is a complex of buildings associated with Turkish architecture centered on a mosque and managed within a single institution, often based on a waqf (charitable foundation) and composed of a madrasa, a Dar al-Shifa ("c ...
'' of the
Süleymaniye Mosque
The Süleymaniye Mosque ( tr, Süleymaniye Camii, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An insc ...
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 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 camels 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 stall
An animal stall is an enclosure housing one or a few animals. Stalls for animals can often be found wherever animals are kept: a horse stable is often a purpose-built and permanent structure. A farmer's barn may be subdivided into animal stalls ...
s, 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
Ritual purification is the ritual prescribed by a religion by which a person is considered to be free of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification may ...
such as ''
wudu
Wuḍūʾ ( ar, الوضوء ' ) is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. The 4 Fardh (Mandatory) acts of ''Wudu'' consists of washing the face, arms, then wiping the head and the fe ...
'' and '' ghusl''. Sometimes they had elaborate public baths ( hammams), or other attached amenities such as a fountain or a sabil/sebil. They kept fodder 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
A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitab ...
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
Büyük Valide Han
The Büyük Valide Han () is the largest historic ''han'' ( caravanserai) in Istanbul, Turkey. It was founded in 1651 by Kösem Valide Sultan, the mother of the Ottoman sultans Murat IV and Ibrahim.
History
The ''han'' is located in the ...
, Istanbul, Turkey
*
Büyük Yeni Han
The Büyük Yeni Han () is a large historic ''han'' (caravanserai) in Istanbul, Turkey. It was founded by Sultan Mustafa III and completed in 1764 CE (1177 AH). It is the second largest historic caravanserai in the city.
History
The ''han ...
Caravanserai of Zor
The Caravanserai of Zor ( hy, Զորի քարավանատուն; tr, Iğdır Kervansarayı) is a 13th-century Armenian caravanserai located 35 kilometers southwest of modern-day Iğdır. Built during the period of Zakarid Armenia, it was commis ...
, 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 p ...
Kapan Han
Kapan Han ( mk, Капан ан, ) is a han ( caravanserai) in the Old Bazaar of Skopje, North Macedonia. It was built in the mid-15th century by Bosnian general Isa-Beg Isaković, ruler of Skopsko Krajište, in order to provide a regular sourc ...
, Skopje, North Macedonia
*
Khan As'ad Pasha
Khan As'ad Pasha ( ar, خَان أَسْعَد بَاشَا, Khān ʾAsʿad Bāşā) is the largest caravanserai () in the Old City of Damascus, covering an area of . Situated along Al-Buzuriyah Souq, it was built and named after As'ad Pasha al-Az ...
, Damascus, Syria
*
Khan Jaqmaq
Khan Jaqmaq ( ar, خَان جَقْمَق, Ḵān Jaqmaq) is one of the few remaining caravansary, khans in the Old City of Damascus, it was built by the Mamluk emir, Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq who was governor of Damascus in 1418–20. It was rebuilt to a ...
, Damascus, Syria
*
Khan el-Khalili
Khan el-Khalili ( ar, خان الخليلي) is a famous bazaar and souq (or ''souk'') in the historic center of Cairo, Egypt. Established as a center of trade in the Mamluk era and named for one of its several historic caravanserais, the b ...
, Cairo, Egypt
*
Khan Sulayman Pasha
Khan Sulayman Pasha ( ar, خَان سُلَيْمَان بَاشَا, Khān Sulaymān Bāşā) is a large khan in the Old City of Damascus.Khan al-Tujjar, Mount Tabor, Israel
* Khan al-Tujjar, Nablus, West Bank
* Khan Tuman, Damascus, Syria
* Khan al-Umdan, Acre, Israel
*
Koza Han
The Koza Han () is a historic caravanserai (''han'') in Bursa, Turkey. It is located in the heart of the city's historic market district.
History
Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, was also its center of silk production and trade. ...
, Bursa, Turkey
* Kürkçü Han, Istanbul, Turkey
* Kuršumli An, 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 and ...
, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
*
Multani Caravanserai
The Multani Caravanserai is a caravanserai located in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was established in the 14th century and is located opposite to the Bukhara Caravanserai.
The caravanserai was built to house merchants from the medieval city of Mu ...
Nampally Sarai
Nampally Sarai" Tipu Khan sarai" is a heritage resting place (caravanserai) located at Nampally in Hyderabad, India.
The 'Nampally Sarai' or 'Tipu Khan Sarai"' was built by Nawab Tipu Khan Bahadur who was High Ranking Official, Elite Mansabdar ...
Rabati Malik
Rabati Malik, also called Ribat-i Malik, is a caravanserai ruin located on the M37 road from Samarkand to Bukhara about a kilometer west of the edge of Malik, Navoiy Province, Uzbekistan. It was constructed along the Silk Road according to the ord ...
, 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
Aze ...
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
*
Stari Han
The Stari Han ( sr-Cyr, Стари хан) is a former caravanserai in Kremna, Užice municipality, southwestern Serbia. It was listed as a Cultural Monument of Exceptional Importance.
History
The Stari Han was established in the first two deca ...
, Kremna, Užice, Serbia
* Suli An, Skopje, North Macedonia
*
Sultan Han
Sultan Han is a large 13th-century Seljuk caravanserai located in the town of Sultanhanı, Aksaray Province, Turkey. It is one of the three monumental caravanserais in the neighbourhood of Aksaray and is located about west of Aksaray on the ...
, Sultanhanı (Aksaray Province), Turkey
*
Sultan Han
Sultan Han is a large 13th-century Seljuk caravanserai located in the town of Sultanhanı, Aksaray Province, Turkey. It is one of the three monumental caravanserais in the neighbourhood of Aksaray and is located about west of Aksaray on the ...
File:Main_Entrance_of_Akbari_Sarai.jpg, 16th century Akbari Sarai in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
File:Fallujah 1914.jpg, Fallujah's Caravanserai in use, ca. 1914,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
File:Fair at Khan al-Tujjar.jpg, An 1850 drawing of Khan al-Tujjar, near
Mount Tabor
Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee.
In the Hebrew Bible (Joshua, Judges), Mount Tabor is the site of the Battle of Mount Tabo ...
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
Qazvin
Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanization, Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Qazvin Province, Province of Qazvin in Iran. ...
,
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 ...
File:Hotel Shah Abbas Sahn.jpg, The caravanserai of Shah Abbas, now Abbasi Hotel, in Isfahan, 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
The Koza Han () is a historic caravanserai (''han'') in Bursa, Turkey. It is located in the heart of the city's historic market district.
History
Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, was also its center of silk production and trade. ...
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
; the domed building is a small mosque (''mescit'')
File:Caravanserai-Sheki.jpg, 18th-centuryVladimir 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.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
File:Multani karvansarayı.JPG,
Multani Caravanserai
The Multani Caravanserai is a caravanserai located in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was established in the 14th century and is located opposite to the Bukhara Caravanserai.
The caravanserai was built to house merchants from the medieval city of Mu ...
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
Murshidabad
Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district.
Durin ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
Murshid Quli Khan
Murshid Quli Khan ( fa, , bn, মুর্শিদকুলি খান; 1660 – 30 June 1727), also known as Zamin Ali Quli and born as Surya Narayan Mishra, was the first Nawab of Bengal, serving from 1717 to 1727.
Born a Hindu in the De ...
of
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
File:Charles D'Oyly04.jpg, An 1823 etching of
Bara Katra
Bara Katra ( bn, বড় কাটরা; Great Caravanserai) is one of the oldest historical and architectural monuments in Dhaka. The word Katra may have originated from Arabic word Katara which means colonnaded building. 'Katra/ katara' in ...
, or Great Caravanserai, in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
; built by the MughalPrince Shah Shuja
File:The Small Kuttra with its enclosed Mosque, Dhaka (1817).jpg, An 1817 sketch of the
Choto Katra
Chhota Katra ( bn, ছোট কাটারা; ''Small Katra'') is one of two Katras built during Mughal's regime in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was constructed in 1663 by Subahdar Shaista Khan. It is on Hakim Habibur Rahman lane on the bank of the B ...
caravanserai in Dhaka, Bangladesh; built by the Mughal viceroy
Shaista Khan
Mirza Abu Talib (22 November 1600 – 1694), better known as Shaista Khan, was a general and the subahdar of Mughal Bengal. A maternal uncle to the emperor Aurangzeb, he acted as a key figure during his reign. Shaista Khan initially governed ...
File:Anderkilla Shahi Jame Mosque (02).jpg, Anderkilla in Chittagong, Bangladesh
File:Wikala-sabil-kuttab of Qaitbay 03.jpg, The entrance portal of the Wikala of Sultan Qaytbay, dating from 1477, south of
Al-Azhar Mosque
Al-Azhar Mosque ( ar, الجامع الأزهر, al-Jāmiʿ al-ʾAzhar, lit=The Resplendent Congregational Mosque, arz, جامع الأزهر, Gāmiʿ el-ʾazhar), known in Egypt simply as al-Azhar, is a mosque in Cairo, Egypt in the histori ...
,
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
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 p ...
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
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