TEHRAN – Work has commenced restoring the ruins of Anjireh caravanserai, which is estimated to date from the Ilkhanid era (1256–1353).

Located in Ardakan county, the traditional stone inn has an irregular octagonal plan and it is the “oldest caravanserai” within Yazd province, Ardakan’s tourism chief said on Monday, CHTN reported.

Rooftops, waterproofing, downpipes, and traditional plaster of clay and straw were subjects of the restoration work, the official noted.

Caravanserai is a compound word combining “caravan” with “serai”. The first stands for a group of travelers and seari (or sara) stands for 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 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.

Such roadside inns were originally built in various epochs 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 caravanserais.

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!

AFM