| Official Name: | Khakestar |
| Native Name: | Persian: خاکستر |
| Settlement Type: | Historical settlement |
| Pushpin Map: | Iran |
| Mapsize: | 150px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Razavi Khorasan |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Type3: | Bakhsh |
| Subdivision Type4: | Rural District |
| Population As Of: | 2006 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | IRST |
| Utc Offset: | +3:30 |
| Timezone Dst: | IRDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +4:30 |
| Coordinates: | 37.0533°N 59.45°W[1] |
Khakestar (Persian: خاکستر|Khākestar), also called Rībāt-i-Khākistar, is a historical settlement and caravanserai in Khorasan in the mountains that now separate Iran from Turkmenistan.[2] [3] Formerly a customs post on the border between Qajar Iran and Imperial Russia,[2] it is located on the banks of the Lain stream, which flows down from here to Kaakhka in Turkmenistan.[4] It is surrounded by hills with a large sugar loaf-shaped mountain on one side, and it has a spring.[5]
The 11th-century Seljuk emir Savtegin was born at Khakestar, and he later built a ribat (i.e. caravanserai) here.[6]
In the late 1800s, Mirza Reza Khan Arfa od-Dowleh visited the village of Khakestar after hearing a story about its inhabitants' longevity.[5] He wrote that it was close enough to Quchan that someone could leave Quchan in the morning, eat lunch in Khakestar, and be back in Quchan by the evening.[5] Its buildings were made of mud, with roofs variously made from wood or reeds.[5] There were 80 families and many of the villagers were old; there was basically zero surplus food production so when young people grew up and got married they would emigrate from the village.[5] In years where the harvest was good, their diet consisted of wheat bread and dairy products - milk, cheese, and yogurt.[5] When the wheat harvest was poor, they would eat barley bread.[5] Their main subsistence was from keeping livestock and selling the wool in the markets at Quchan or Shirvan; they had no fruit gardens and bought fruit, clothes, and dishes at the markets.[5]
In 1918, the British agent Reginald Teague-Jones stopped at Khakestar on his way from Mashhad into Russian territory; at that time, Khakestar was a quarantine post for travellers coming into Iran from Russia, where there was an outbreak of cholera at the time.[2]