This article is about the roadside inns. The band Santana also has an album entitled Caravanserai. Carlos Santana in concert, Barcelona 2003 Carlos Santana (born July 20, 1947) is a Mexican guitarist, originally from Autlan de Navarro, Jalisco. ...

A caravanserai (also spelt caravansarai, caravansary) or khan (the usual term in Arab countries) was a roadside inn where caravans could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across a network of trade routes of Asia, North Africa and South-Eastern Europe. Inns are establishments where travellers can procure food, drink, and lodging. ... Caravans comprise land-based trading convoys, often utilising the camel as a beast of burden, and generally associated with crossing deserts in Asia or Africa. ... A trade route is a commonly used path of travel for those (e. ... World map showing location of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of Eurasia, defined by subtracting Europe from Eurasia. ... North Africa is a region generally considered to include: Algeria Egypt Libya Mauritania Morocco Sudan Tunisia Western Sahara The Azores, Canary Islands, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Madeira are sometimes considered to be a part of North Africa. ... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe southeastern Europe (see the Definitions and boundaries section below). ...

Most typically it 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 is almost always open to the sky, and along the inside walls of the enclosure are ranged a number of identical stalls, bays, niches or chambers to accommodate merchants and their servants, their animals and merchandise. (Sims 1978:101) For other uses, see Camel (disambiguation). ...

Caravanserais provided water for drinking (for animals and people), and for washing and ritual ablutions. Sometimes they even had elaborate baths. They also kept fodder for animals and had shops for travellers where they could acquire new supplies. In addition, there could be shops where merchants could dispose some of their goods." (Ciolek 2004)

Westernization of the Persian word sarayı with the meaning dwelling, palace or enclosed courts. The word caravan also has a Persian origin. Westernisation is a process whereby traditional, long-established societies come under the influence of Western (European or American) culture in such matters as industry, technology, economics, lifestyle, food and moral and cultural values. ... Persian (فارسی / پارسی), (local name in Iran/Persia, Afghanistan and Tajikistan: ‘Fârsi’), ‘Pârsi’ (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (another local name in Tajikistan and Afghanistan), is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, western Pakistan, Bahrain, and elsewhere. ... Persian (فارسی / پارسی), (local name in Iran/Persia, Afghanistan and Tajikistan: ‘Fârsi’), ‘Pârsi’ (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (another local name in Tajikistan and Afghanistan), is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, western Pakistan, Bahrain, and elsewhere. ...

Further reading

• Erdmann, Kurt. 1961. Das Anatolische Karavansaray, 3 vols. Berlin, 1961. Istanbul, 1976.
• Sims, Eleanor. 1978. Trade and Travel: Markets and Caravanserais.' In: Michell, George. (ed.). 1978. Architecture of the Islamic World - Its History and Social Meaning. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 80-111.
• Yavuz, Aysil Tükel. 1997. The Concepts that Shape Anatolian Seljuq Caravanserais. In: Gülru Necipoglu (ed). 1997. Muqarnas XIV: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 80-95. Available online as a PDF document, 1.98 MB archnet.org/library/pubdownloader/pdf/8967/doc/DPC1304.pdf.

See also

• Islamic architecture
• Persian architecture
• Iran

Islamic architecture is the entire range of architecture that has evolved from Islam as a social, cultural, political and religious phenomenon. ... The Baháí House of Worship by Fariborz Sahba, also known as the Lotus Temple. ...

External links

• Ciolek, T. Matthew. 2004. Catalogue of Georeferenced Caravanserais/Khans. Old World Traditional Trade Routes (OWTRAD) Project. Canberra: www.ciolek.com - Asia Pacific Research Online.
• Branning, Katharine. 2002. The Seljuk Han in Anatolia. www.turkishhan.org, New York, USA.
• Kiani, Mohammad Yusef. 1976. Caravansaries in Khorasan Road. Reprinted from: Traditions Architecturales en Iran, Tehran, No. 2 & 3, 1976.