TEHRAN – A fresh round of restoration work has begun on a centuries-old caravansary in Mayamey, northcentral Iran, in a bid to make the mudbrick structure prepared to host modern travelers this time.

“This well-preserved Shah-Abbasi caravansary enjoys the four-iwan (portico) pattern of Persian architecture,” Mayamey’s tourism chief said on Saturday.

Worn-out bricks and traditional insulation of the rooftops will be restored in this round of restoration, Seyyed Mohammad-Sadeq Razavian explained.

It is a unique Shah-Abbasi caravansary as stone-carved inscriptions at the entrance read the date of its construction and the name of the architect, the official added.

The structure is named after Shah Abbas the Great (r. 1588 – 1629), who ordered the construction of such roadside inns across the country. The mudbrick structure was inscribed on the National Heritage list in 1986.

Situated in Semnan province, the caravansary has two entrances that sprawl across 8,500 square meters. The courtyard is surrounded by rooms and platforms, and behind the rooms are stables.

Unlike most caravansaries, the sanitary facilities of this one are constructed outside the main building and on the western side.

The historical scene of Mayamey includes several caravansarais, natural sights, and historical sites such as Shah-Abbasi caravansarai, Aqaian Mosque, Aqaian Mansion, Aqaian bathhouse, and Emarat cistern.

Moreover, the restoration project is aimed to prepare the roadside inn for an assessment by experts affiliated with the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

Iran has recently submitted an inclusive dossier on its caravansaris to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. The dossier comprises the obligatory data about a selection of 56 caravansaries, which are scattered across the ancient land. And the shortlist includes qualified caravanserais located in at least 24 provinces.

Caravansary is a compound word combining “caravan” with “sara”; the former stands for a group of travelers and the latter means the building. They often had massive portals supported by elevated load-bearing walls. Guest rooms were constructed around the courtyard and stables behind them with doors in the corners of the yard.

Iran’s earliest caravansarais 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 a network of caravansaries across the country.

For many travelers to Iran, staying in or even visiting a centuries-old caravansarai, can be a wide experience; they have an opportunity to feel the past, a time travel back into a forgotten age.

Those arched inns were once constructed along ancient caravan routes in the Muslim world to shelter people, their goods, and animals. The former Silk Roads may be the most famous example dotted by caravansarais.

Cozy chambers that are meticulously laid out around a vast courtyard may easily evoke spirits of the past. It’s not hard to fancy the hustle and bustle of merchants bargaining on prices, recounting their arduous journeys to one another while their camels chewing hay! You can also conceive the idea of local architectural style and material in its heyday.

It’s not hard to fancy the hustle and bustle of merchants bargaining on prices, recounting their arduous journeys to one another while their camels chewing hay!

Passing major roads in the country, one may see crumbling caravansarais many of which were abandoned for ages. In the Information Age, such guest houses have largely lost their actual usage.

A couple of years ago, the Iran tourism ministry introduced a scheme to keep them alive and profitable; tens of caravansarais are ceded to the private investors for better maintenance. Now, some are exclusively renovated and repurposed into boutique hotels and tourist lodgings.

Traditionally, the majority of caravansaries had massive portals supported by elevated load-bearing walls. Guest rooms were constructed around the courtyard and stables behind them with doors in the corners of the yard.

AFM