16 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Iran wants UNESCO recognition for 56 of its historic caravansaries

Iran wants 56 Caravanserais from various periods, from the Sassanids (224 CE-651) to the Qajar period (1789-1925), to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Caravanserais is a composite term formed by combining the words “caravan” and “Sara”; the former refers to a group of travelers, while the latter refers to the structure. Massive gateways were frequently supported by high load-bearing walls. Guest rooms were built around the courtyard and stables behind them, with doors in the yard’s corners.

During the Achaemenid dynasty, the first caravanserais were established in Iran (550 -330 BC). Centuries later, when Shah Abbas I came to power from 1588 until 1629, he ordered the development of a nationwide network of caravanserais.

Roadside inns were initially established to shelter people, their belongings, and animals along historic caravan routes during various epochs. The former Silk Roads may be the most famous example dotted by caravanserais.

KALMARD CARAVANSERAI
KALMARD CARAVANSERAI. The Kalmard Caravanserai is located in a quiet setting next to the Halvan Desert sand dunes in Tabas. [email protected]

Iran’s tourism ministry announced in 2019 that it is preparing a dossier for a selection of its ancient caravanseries to be considered for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list. In this context, such monuments spread throughout the country were evaluated by cultural heritage experts, and a list was created according to their architectural, historical, and cultural qualities.

A senior adviser to the tourism minister recently said that Iran has recently submitted a selection of 56 caravanserais for inclusion in the UNESCO’s cultural heritage list collectively.

“After three years of following the case, a dossier for 56 caravansaries [which have been selected] from 24 provinces was submitted to UNESCO for a [possible] registration on the World Heritage list,” Mohammad-Hassan Talebian announced.

SHAH ABBASI CARAVANSARY
SHAH ABBASI CARAVANSARIES. The Shah Abbasi Caravansary is a relic of the Safavid era, boasts all the details of the Safavid architecture, such as the central courtyard of the four-porch with spacious rooms around it and King’s Hall, with all the amenities.

The [UNESCO] assessors are scheduled to arrive in Iran on Saturday for field visits, which is expected to take at least three months, he said.

As one travels around the country, one may come across crumbling caravanserais, many of which have been abandoned for a long time. In the Information Age, such guest houses have largely lost their actual usage.

A couple of years ago, the Iran tourism ministry introduced a scheme to keep them alive and profitable; tens of caravanserais are ceded to the private investors for better maintenance. Now, some are exclusively renovated, repurposed into boutique hotels and tourist lodgings.

Tehran Times

Cover Photo: Wikipedia, MOSHIR CARAVANSERAI

Related Articles

‘Holy Grail of shipwrecks’ worth $20 billion in treasure to be raised from seabed

10 November 2023

10 November 2023

A treasure ship described as the “holy grail of shipwrecks” will reportedly be lifted from the sea floor where it...

Archaeologists discover medieval a tableman gaming piece in Bedfordshire, England

26 April 2023

26 April 2023

Archaeologists in Bedfordshire, England, have made an intriguing discovery: a tableman gaming piece was discovered at a medieval site. Cotswold...

Archaeologists in Israel are restoring the largest Roman Basilica in the country

6 June 2021

6 June 2021

Archaeologists in Israel are trying to rebuild a 2,000-year-old Roman-era basilica that is thought to be the country’s biggest. A...

Archaeologists found three large shipwrecks, 139 Viking Graves, and a ship-shaped mound in Sweden

21 October 2024

21 October 2024

Exciting discoveries in Sweden! Archaeologists were preparing to investigate a Stone Age settlement outside Varberg. But they came across a...

Ancient DNA Reveals Surprising Maternal Lineages at Neolithic Çatalhöyük

28 June 2025

28 June 2025

New research, utilizing ancient DNA analysis, is challenging long-held assumptions about kinship and societal structures in one of the world’s...

Researchers may have found 3,000-year-old evidence of Yue (Amputation), one of the five punishments practiced in ancient China

4 May 2022

4 May 2022

According to the South China Morning Post, researchers in China believe a skeleton discovered in a tomb in the country’s...

A 4000-Year-Old Seal Found in the prehistoric coastal site of Kalba on the Gulf of Oman

5 April 2024

5 April 2024

Archaeologists discovered a Gulf-type seal made of soft stone dating to the end of the third millennium BC at Kalba,...

Bone workshop and oil lamp shop unearthed in Aizanoi ancient city in western Turkey

13 November 2021

13 November 2021

Archaeologists have unearthed a bone workshop and an oil lamp shop in an Aizanoi ancient city in the Çavdarhisar district...

A Roman statue unearthed on the site of St Polyeuctus’ church, which once Constantinople’s largest church

5 April 2023

5 April 2023

At Saraçhane Archaeology Park, where the Church of St. Polyeuctus is situated, excavation work by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) teams...

5000-year-old stoneware workshop found in Iran

24 January 2023

24 January 2023

Iranian archaeologists found the ruins of a stoneware workshop estimated to date back to the 3rd millennium BC, during their...

Three Strange Skull Modifications Discovered in Viking Women

31 March 2024

31 March 2024

In recent years, research has provided evidence for permanent body modification in the Viking Age. The latest of these investigations...

Deadly Omens Revealed from 4,000-year-old Babylonian Tablets

10 August 2024

10 August 2024

Researchers successfully deciphered 4,000-year-old cuneiform tablets discovered over a century ago in what is now Iraq.  The tablets, housed at...

Ancient Egyptian silos and administrative buildings uncovered at Kom Ombo in Egypt’s Aswan

6 March 2022

6 March 2022

The Egyptian-Austrian archaeological mission working in the Temple of Kom Ombo in Egypt’s southern province of Aswan unearthed an administrative...

2800-year-old settlement discovered in Vadnagar, India

17 January 2024

17 January 2024

An excavation in Gujarat’s Vadnagar, about 900 km southwest of New Delhi, India, has found the remains of a settlement...

Important archaeological find in the seas of Sicily: Archaic stone anchors found off Syracuse

24 November 2023

24 November 2023

During a joint operation by the Maritime Superintendency of the Sicilian Region and the Diving Unit of the Guardia di...