TEHRAN – The Qajar-era (1789-1925) Shams al-Saltaneh Caravanserai in the city of Naragh, the central province of Markazi is planned to be ceded to the private sector to make the best use of the historical structure, a local tourism official has announced. 

During the past decade, the giant inn was abandoned and partially destroyed, CHTN quote Parvin Tayyebi as saying on Tuesday.

However, the historical structure was completely restored this year with a budget of 4.5 billion rials ($107,000 at the official exchange rate of 42,000 rials per dollar), the official added. 

The caravanserai is planned to be turned into a tourism complex and accommodation center, she noted.

The caravanserai along with a bazaar was built by Haj Mohammad Naraghi, one of the city’s merchants, and then was inherited to his daughter Shams al-Saltaneh. The complex, which is considered one of the main tourist attractions of Naragh, was inscribed on the National Heritage list in 1983. 

Caravansary (also Caravanserai or Caravansaray) is a building that served as the inn of the Orient, providing accommodation for commercial, pilgrim, postal, and especially official travelers.

Iran’s earliest caravanserais were built during the Achaemenid era (550 -330 BC). Centuries later, when Shah Abbas I assumed power from 1588 – to 1629, he ordered the construction of network caravanserais across the country. For many travelers to Iran, staying in or even visiting a centuries-old caravanserai, can be a wide experience; they have an opportunity to feel the past, a time travel back into a forgotten age!

ABU/AFM