TEHRAN–A team of restorers and cultural heritage experts has finished work to amend an abandoned caravansary in western Iran.

Worn-out bricks and traditional insulation of the rooftops were among the substances treated in this round of restoration in a bid to make it a prosperous tourist destination, Lorestan province’s tourism chief said on Thursday.

The monument is among caravansaries for which Iran is seeking collective UNESCO recognition, Seyyed Amin Qasemi said.

This Safavid-era inn is one of the 999 Iranian caravanserais, which is named after Shah Abbas the Great (r. 1588–1629), who ordered the construction of such big inns across his empire.

The Islamic Republic has recently submitted an inclusive dossier on its caravansaries to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. The dossier comprises the obligatory data about a selection of 56 caravansaries, which are located in 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.

According to sources, the earliest caravansarais in Iran were constructed 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.

Staying in or even visiting a centuries-old caravansary can be a wide experience for many travelers to Iran to feel the puzzling moments of the past! A time travel back into a forgotten age.

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!

AM