Caravanserai Explained

A caravanserai (or caravansary;)[1] was a roadside inn where travelers (caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey.[2] Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering Asia, North Africa and Southeast Europe, most notably the Silk Road.[3] [4] Often located along rural roads in the countryside, urban versions of caravanserais were also historically common in cities throughout the Islamic world, and were often called other names such as khan, wikala, or funduq.[5]

Terms and etymology

Caravanserai

Caravanserai (Persian: کاروانسرای|''kārvānsarāy''), is the Persian compound word variant combining kārvān "caravan" with -sarāy "palace", "building with enclosed courts".[6] Here "caravan" means a group of traders, pilgrims or other travellers, engaged in long-distance travel. The word is also rendered as caravansary, caravansaray, caravanseray, caravansara, and caravansarai.[4] In scholarly sources, it is often used as an umbrella term for multiple related types of commercial buildings similar to inns or hostels, whereas the actual instances of such buildings had a variety of names depending on the region and the local language.[5] However, the term was typically preferred for rural inns built along roads outside of city walls.[7]

Khan

The word khan (Persian: خان) derives from a clipping of Pahlavi: |xānag|house.[8] It could refer to an urban caravanserai built within a town or a city[9] or to any caravanserai in general, including those built in the countryside and along desert routes.[10]

In Turkish the word is rendered as han. The same word was used in Bosnian and Bulgarian, having arrived through the Ottoman conquest. In addition to Turkish and Persian, the term was widely used in Arabic as well, and examples of such buildings are found throughout the Middle East from as early as the Umayyad Caliphate. The term han is also used in Romanian being adopted from Ottoman Turkish.

Funduq

The term funduq (Arabic: فندق|lit=; sometimes spelled foundouk or fondouk from the French transliteration) is frequently used for historic inns in Morocco and around the Maghreb.[11] [12]

The word comes from Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: πανδοκεῖον|welcoming all; an inn;[13] it appears as Hebrew: פונדק|pundaq, fundaco in Venice, fondaco in Genoa and alhóndiga[14] or fonda in Spanish. In the cities of this region such buildings were also frequently used as housing for artisan workshops.[15] [16]

Wikala

The Arabic word wikala (Arabic: وكالة), sometimes spelled wakala or wekala, is a term found frequently in historic Cairo for an urban caravanserai which housed merchants and their goods and served as a center for trade, storage, transactions and other commercial activity.[17] The word wikala means roughly "agency" in Arabic, in this case a commercial agency, which may also have been a reference to the customs offices that could be located here to deal with imported goods.[18] The term khan was also frequently used for this type of building in Egypt.

Okelle

The term okelle or okalle, the Italianized rendering of the Arabic word wikala, is used for a type of large urban buildings in 19th century Egypt, specifically in Alexandria. Here, the older Egyptian wikala was reinterpreted in an Italianate style by the Italian architect Francesco Mancini. Directed by Muhammad Ali, he designed and built a number of okelles delineating the Place des Consuls (the main square of Alexandria's European quarter), which served as consular mansions, a European-style hotel, and a stock exchange, among other functions.[19]

Katra

Kāṭrā (Bengali: কাটরা) is the name given to the caravanserais built by the Mughal Empire in Bengal. The Bara Katra (Bengali: বড় কাটরা|Baṛa Kāṭrā|Great Caravanserai|links=no) and Chhota Katra (Bengali: ছোট কাটরা|Chōṭa kāṭrā|Small Caravanserai|links=no) refers to two magnificent Mughal katras in Dhaka, Bangladesh.[20] [21] [22] [23] [24]

History

Caravanserais were a common feature not only along the Silk Road, but also along the Achaemenid Empire's Royal Road, a 2500adj=midNaNadj=mid ancient highway that stretched from Sardis to Susa according to Herodotus: "Now the true account of the road in question is the following: Royal stations exist along its whole length, and excellent caravanserais; and throughout, it traverses an inhabited tract, and is free from danger."[25] Other significant urban caravanserais were built along the Grand Trunk Road in the Indian subcontinent, especially in the region of Mughal Delhi and Bengal Subah.

Throughout most of the Islamic period (seventh century and after), caravanserais were a common type of structure both in the rural countryside and in dense urban centers across the Middle East, North Africa, and Ottoman Europe.[5] A number of 12th to 13th-century caravanserais or hans were built throughout the Seljuk Empire, many examples of which have survived across Turkey today[26] [27] (e.g. the large Sultan Han in Aksaray Province) as well as in Iran (e.g. the Ribat of Sharaf in Khorasan province). Urban versions of caravanserais also became important centers of economic activity in cities across these different regions of the Muslim world, often concentrated near the main bazaar areas, with many examples still standing in the historic areas of Damascus, Aleppo, Cairo, Istanbul, Fes, etc.[28] [29] [30] [31] [16]

Ibn Battuta, a 14th-century Muslim traveler, described the function of a caravenserai in the region of China:

In many parts of the Muslim world, caravanserais also provided revenues that were used to fund charitable or religious functions or buildings. These revenues and functions were managed through a waqf, a protected agreement which gave certain buildings and revenues the status of mortmain endowments guaranteed under Islamic law.[32] [33] Many major religious complexes in the Ottoman and Mamluk empires, for example, either included a caravanserai building (like in the külliye of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul) or drew revenues from one in the area (such as the Wikala al-Ghuri in Cairo, which was built to contribute revenues for the nearby complex of Sultan al-Ghuri).[31] [34]

Architecture

Most typically a caravanserai was a building with a square or rectangular walled exterior, with a single portal wide enough to permit large or heavily laden beasts such as camels to enter. The courtyard was almost always open to the sky, and the inside walls of the enclosure were outfitted with a number of identical animal stalls, bays, niches or chambers to accommodate merchants and their servants, animals, and merchandise.[35]

Caravanserais provided water for human and animal consumption, washing and ritual purification such as wudu and ghusl. Sometimes they had elaborate public baths (hammams), or other attached amenities such as a fountain or a sabil/sebil. They kept fodder for animals and had shops for travellers where they could acquire new supplies. Some shops bought goods from the travelling merchants.[36] Many caravanserais were equipped with small mosques, such as the elevated examples in the Seljuk and Ottoman caravanserais in Turkey.[31] [37] [30]

In Cairo, starting in the Burji Mamluk period, wikalas (urban caravanserais) were frequently several stories tall and often included a rab, a low-income rental apartment complex, which was situated on the upper floors while the merchant accommodations occupied the lower floors.[38] [29] While making the best use of limited space in a crowded city, this provided the building with two sources of revenue which were managed through the waqf system.[33] [39]

Notable caravanserais

Alphabetically, not taking article (al-, el-, etc.) into consideration.

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dictionary.com – caravansary. 31 January 2016. 12 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191212010159/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/caravanserai?s=t. live.)
  2. Caravanserai.
  3. Web site: Caravanserais: cross-roads of commerce and culture along the Silk Roads Silk Roads Programme. 2020-06-17. en.unesco.org. 29 May 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200529041141/https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/caravanserais-cross-roads-commerce-and-culture-along-silk-roads. live.
  4. Web site: National Geographic Society. 2019-07-23. Caravanserai. 2020-06-17. 29 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200729201134/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/caravanserai/. live.
  5. Book: Caravanserai. The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. M. Bloom. Jonathan. S. Blair. Sheila. Oxford University Press. 2009. 978-0-19-530991-1.
  6. Web site: caravanserai Origin and meaning of caravanserai by Online Etymology Dictionary. 2020-06-17. www.etymonline.com. en. 18 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200618083013/https://www.etymonline.com/word/caravanserai. live.
  7. Web site: Caravansary building. 2020-06-17. Encyclopedia Britannica. en. 27 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200727071123/https://www.britannica.com/technology/caravansary. live.
  8. [David Neil MacKenzie|MacKenzie, D. N.]
  9. Web site: Khan architecture. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2020-06-17. 27 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200727071415/https://www.britannica.com/technology/khan-architecture. live.
  10. Book: Petersen, Andrew. Dictionary of Islamic architecture. Routledge. 1996. 9781134613663. 146–147. khan.
  11. Book: Touri. Abdelaziz. Le Maroc andalou : à la découverte d'un art de vivre. Benaboud. Mhammad. Boujibar El-Khatib. Naïma. Lakhdar. Kamal. Mezzine. Mohamed. Ministère des Affaires Culturelles du Royaume du Maroc & Museum With No Frontiers. 2010. 978-3902782311. 2. fr.
  12. Book: Wilbaux, Quentin. La médina de Marrakech: Formation des espaces urbains d'une ancienne capitale du Maroc. L'Harmattan. 2001. 2747523888. Paris. fr.
  13. Web site: Strong's Greek: 3829. πανδοχεῖον (pandocheion) -- an inn. biblehub.com. 19 February 2015. 29 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141229012507/http://biblehub.com/greek/3829.htm. live.
  14. Web site: alhóndiga in the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española. 25 April 2015. 6 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170806143422/http://lema.rae.es/drae/?val=alh%C3%B3ndiga. live.
  15. Book: Parker, Richard. A practical guide to Islamic Monuments in Morocco. The Baraka Press. 1981. Charlottesville, VA.
  16. Book: Le Tourneau, Roger. Fès avant le protectorat: étude économique et sociale d'une ville de l'occident musulman. Société Marocaine de Librairie et d'Édition. 1949. Casablanca. fr.
  17. Book: Hathaway, Jane. The Arab Lands under Ottoman Rule: 1516-1800. Routledge. 2008. 9780582418998. 141.
  18. Book: AlSayyad, Nezar. Cairo: Histories of a City. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 2011. 978-0-674-04786-0. Cambridge, MA. 143.
  19. Book: Pallini, Cristina . 2006 . Studies in Architecture, History & Culture: Articles by the 2003-2004 AKPIA@MIT Visiting Post-Doctoral Fellows . Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT . 39–50 . Italian Architects and Modern Egypt .
  20. Book: Mamun, Muntasir . Dhaka: Smriti Bismritir Nagari . 984-412-104-3 . 3rd . 201–206 . bn . bn:ঢাকা: স্মৃতি বিস্মৃতির নগরী . Dhaka: City of Memories and Oblivion.
  21. Book: Rahman, Mahbubur . City of an Architect . Dhaka: Delvistaa Foundation . 978-984-33-2451-1.
  22. Book: Ahmed, Nazimuddin . Islamic Heritage of Bangladesh . Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh . 1980 . Dacca . 50–51 . 8476199.
  23. Book: Asher, Catherine B . Inventory of Key Monuments. Art and Archaeology Research Papers: The Islamic Heritage of Bengal . . 1984 . Paris.
  24. Book: Hasan, S. Mahmudul . Muslim Monuments of Bangladesh . . 1980 . Dhaka.
  25. "The History - Herodotus" - http://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.mb.txt
  26. Web site: Seljuk Caravanserais. 2020-06-17. Archnet. 18 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200618052540/https://archnet.org/sites/4147. live.
  27. Web site: Seljuk Caravanserais on the route from Denizli to Dogubeyazit. 2020-06-17. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. en. 22 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200622152531/http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1403/. live.
  28. Web site: Khans of Damascus. 2020-06-17. Archnet. 18 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200618203225/https://archnet.org/sites/3521. live.
  29. Book: Williams, Caroline. Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide. The American University in Cairo Press. 2018. 7th. Cairo.
  30. Book: Kuban, Doğan. Ottoman Architecture. Antique Collectors' Club. 2010.
  31. Book: Sumner-Boyd. Hilary. Freely. John. Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City. Tauris Parke Paperbacks. 2010.
  32. Book: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Brill. 2012. Waḳf.
  33. Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. 2007. Cairo of the Mamluks: A History of Architecture and its Culture. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.
  34. Web site: Wakala Qansuh al-Ghawri. 2 January 2018. ArchNet. 3 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180103073020/https://archnet.org/sites/4258. live.
  35. Sims, Eleanor. 1978. Trade and Travel: Markets and Caravansary.' In: Michell, George. (ed.). 1978. Architecture of the Islamic World - Its History and Social Meaning. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 101.
  36. Ciolek, T. Matthew. 2004-present. Catalogue of Georeferenced Caravansaras/Khans . Old World Trade Routes (OWTRAD) Project. Canberra: www.ciolek.com - Asia Pacific Research Online.
  37. Book: Freely, John. Storm on Horseback: The Seljuk Warriors of Turkey. I. B. Tauris. 2008.
  38. Book: Yeomans, Richard. The Art and Architecture of Islamic Cairo. Garnet. 2006. 978-1-85964-154-5. Reading. 230-231.
  39. Book: Le Khan al-Khalili et ses environs: Un centre commercial et artisanal au Caire du XIIIe au XXe siècle. Institut français d'archéologie orientale. 1999. Denoix. Sylvie. Cairo. Depaule. Jean-Charles. Tuchscherer. Michel. fr.

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