caravansaries

Caravansaries, also caravanserais, are roadside inns that provided lodging, security, and supplies for travelers and their caravans along long-distance trade routes in the Islamic world and beyond. They were common on the Silk Road, in the Middle East, North Africa, Anatolia, and parts of Central Asia and Iberia, spanning from late antiquity into the medieval and early modern eras.

Typical caravansaries consisted of a large enclosed courtyard surrounded by a covered arcade and a ring of guest rooms along the perimeter. A fortified gateway led into a stable area for pack animals, a cistern or well for water, kitchens, and storerooms; many included a prayer hall or mosque and spaces for merchants to rest and trade. The design emphasized privacy and security, shielding the occupants from the street and the animals from the living quarters while enabling efficient handling of goods and animals.

Caravansaries were often funded as waqf or built by rulers, mosques, or wealthy merchants. They were typically spaced at intervals along caravan routes to provide a day’s journey between stops, roughly 20 to 40 miles, and served as hubs for commerce, information, and hospitality.

With the rise of sea routes, railways, and modern hotels in the 18th to 20th centuries, traditional caravanserais declined in use. Many were abandoned, repurposed as inns or warehouses, or restored as museums and hotels. Today they are studied as examples of vernacular architecture and historical commercial networks, valued for their urban form, courtyard layouts, and regional variation.