Azerbaijan Azerbaijan is blessed with high culture and has been an important hub on the Great Silk Road since ancient times, where East and West connected. Merchants migrated to Azerbaijani cities such as Sheki, Ganja, Baku and others from all countries, bringing spices, silk and other products to the outside world. They can take jewelry, musical instruments, weapon, carpets, oils, and more. From Azerbaijan. It is not surprising that a number of caravans were established in Azerbaijan, where most of the trade took place at their gateway. And yet, most of these old caravans in Azerbaijan still exist.
Multani Caravanserai of Baku.
Multani Caravanserai (14th century) a historical and cultural heritage site on the Great Silk Road in Baku, located within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Ancient City – Icherisheher, opposite Bukhara Caravanserai is one of the Ancient caravan station on the Silk Road and an attractive place for tourists. Built along the Silk Road trade route connecting East and West, Caravanserai Multani is a priceless relic of medieval architecture and transcontinental history. Do its location in the city center, Multani Caravanserai attracted traders and travellers passing through the capital. Multani Caravanserai were built for merchants from the Multan city, which is located in Pakistan, which ultimately gave the inn its name. Multani Caravanserai has a square shape, courtyard and is built on relatively old structures. Around the perimeter of the yard the are balconies, behind which there are separate cells, designed for private living. Located in the historical part of Baku, Icherisheher, next to the buried ancient baths, it is often visited along with the nearby Bukhara Caravanserai, Juma Mosque and other Old Baku attractions.
Bukhara Caravanserai of Baku.
Located in the old city of Baku. At the end of the 15th century, the Bukhara caravanserai was built on the trade route passing through the Baku Double Gate fortress. Similar to Maiden House Caravanserai was operated as a hotel, mainly serving Central Asian merchants. The shape of the caravanserai building is rectangular, on both sides are balconies and walls, and the gate is convex. Caravanserai also has an octagonal garden. The majority of caravanserais in Azerbaijan have an architectural structure created by a series of domes surrounding a courtyard. Nowadays several souvenir shops are existed at the Bukhara Caravanserai and its open for the tourists.
Small caravanserais of Baku
Small Caravanserai is another caravanserai located in Baku Old City. This is older than the caravanserais of Bukhara and Multani. It was built in the 12th century.
The square structure has a quadrangular courtyard with cut corners. The building is surrounded by a balcony around the entire perimeter, below which there are living rooms for private use. The north and south entrances to the caravanserai are in the form of portals. In the Middle Ages, the main gate overlooked the sea.
In the Middle Ages, in this building there was an Islamic educational madrasah that was part of the Juma Mosque and cells for students living in this university.
Upper and lowers caravanserais in Sheki
Sheki is one of the most famous places known for caravans in Azerbaijan. The Upper and Lower Caravanserais are the main attractions on the right bank of the Gurjanachai Canal, a kind of commercial center of the town of Sheki. Lower Caravanserai has 242 rooms, total area of 8,000 square meters. The complex has entrance gates on four sides Upper Sheki Caravanserai was built in the 18th century, which has more than 300 rooms covering an area of 6,000 square meters and 14 meters high. The main facade of the building faces the river, the beautifully decorated arched main courtyard gate is located at the corner of the building, below the 3rd floor due to the wide relief slope along the river. . Surprisingly, Upper Caravanserai is still used for its original purpose: it operates as Sheki Caravanserai a hotel complex. This complex is remarkable because the spirit of antiquity can be felt there. The rooms have elegant domes, wide doors and imposing stone walls. The hotel has a garden lounge where guests can sit and enjoy a cup of tea.
Garabagh caravanserai
The largest caravanserai of Garabagh is is caravanserai in Garghabazar village of Fuzuli region. In ancient times, caravanserais are used widely as the means of regulating interstate commerce for the purpose of communication. In other words, changes in the nature and society of the near and distant towns were studied first of all. Caravanserai in Garghabazar village, a memory of XVII century, reached our era, is from such type.
Nakhichevan caravanserai (Gulustan)
Gulustan caravanserai is located in the Julfa region, on the left bank of the river in the village of Gulustan. In 1974, the ruins of the Gulustan caravanserai were discovered during a field investigation, in 1978 the construction plans were fully revealed. During the construction of the Baku-Julfa railway (1939-1940), about half of the caravanserai were destroyed. According to research results, the Gulustan caravanserai was determined to be the most famous and magnificent monument among the overland caravans in Azerbaijan. Same type of Gulustan caravanserai with a total length of 37 m. was completely saved on the right bank of the river. The opposite location of the two caravanserai on the river bank shows that before the construction of the bridge across the river, river ferries operated here and the period of construction of the caravans up to the early 13th century. The caravanserai were built made of river rocks and covered with mud. During the exploration of the Gulustan caravanserai, many living rooms were discovered.
Caravansarai of Shah Abbas in Azerbaijan’s second largest city of Ganja
Ganja – Azerbaijan’s second largest city, located on the famous centuries-old Silk Road, is also home to one of the unique ancient historical artifacts of the country’s architecture: Shah Abbas’s Caravansarai. Caravanserai, built in the early 17th century in Ganja by order of the ruler Shah Abbas, is part of a historical architectural complex created by architect Shaykh Bahauddin, which includes also Juma Mosque (Shah Abbas Mosque). and Chekyak-Hamam (medieval bathhouse). The construction of the building used fired bricks and a mixture of egg whites, lime and clay. The two-storey building of the caravanserai was built in the Oriental style, consisting of 13 rooms and 54 cells. In the yard there is a place for beasts of burden. Servants, cooks and musicians worked in the caravanserai serving guests. In the late 20th century, the medieval caravanserai building served as the Ganja Humanitarian College. The museum of poet Mashati Ganjavi is also installed in the caravanserai. On June 24, 2020, President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the inauguration of the caravanserai complex “Shah Abbas” and “Ughurlu Khan” in Ganja after restoration, this once further affirms Azerbaijan’s strong commitment to preserving its rich historical monuments and cultural heritage.
SOURCES: AZERBAIJAN.COM
CITYTOURSBAKU.COM