kervansaray

Kervansaray is the Turkish term for a caravanserai, a roadside inn and lodging facility designed to serve caravans and travelers along long-distance trade routes. The word derives from Persian and describes a building that provided shelter, food, and security for merchants moving goods by camel, horse, or mule. In the medieval and early modern periods, caravanserais were widespread across the Ottoman Empire and other Turkic- and Persian-speaking regions, along the Silk Road and major internal routes in Anatolia, the Caucasus, the Levant, and Central Asia.

Typical kervansarays were built around a central courtyard with a substantial entrance gate, guest rooms arranged around the courtyard, and stables for caravans. A cistern or well supplied water, along with kitchens and storage areas, supported both people and animals. Some sites included mosques, baths, or small marketplaces to serve travelers and traders and to facilitate commercial exchange.

Kervansarays played an important economic role by supporting long-distance trade, acting as temporary communities where information, goods, and credit circulated. They were often funded by sultans, waqfs, or merchant patrons and sometimes formed part of larger caravanserai complexes that included workshops or market streets.

With the expansion of railways and modern hotels, many traditional kervansarays declined, but numerous examples have been restored and repurposed as museums, cultural centers, or boutique hotels. The term remains in Turkish toponymy and in the branding of hospitality enterprises seeking to evoke historic travel infrastructure.