4 October 2023 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. Photo@parminet.com

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

Banner
Related Post

How Knossos Palace Looked in Its Glorious Days

9 May 2021

9 May 2021

Knossos Palace is a famous architectural structure of ancient Knossos, which was the capital of the Minoan Civilization. Archaeologist Arthur...

Naked Venus statue discovered in a Roman garbage dump in France

29 March 2023

29 March 2023

Archaeologists from the French National Institute for Preventative Archaeological Research (Inrap) has been uncovered a trove of artifacts, including two...

Remnants of ancient fire temple discovered in heart of Alborz mountains in Iran

26 June 2021

26 June 2021

An Iranian archaeology team has discovered relics of an ancient fire temple in Savadkuh county, located in the center of...

Rare African Script Offers Clues to the Evolution of Writing Systems

4 February 2022

4 February 2022

The world’s very first invention of writing took place over 5000 years ago in the Middle East, before it was...

Ancient Christian Settlement Discovered in Egypt

14 March 2021

14 March 2021

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said on Saturday that a French-Norwegian archaeological team had discovered a new ancient Christian settlement...

3500-year-old grape seed remains found in western Anatolia

12 September 2023

12 September 2023

Archaeologists at the Aşağıseyit Höyük (Aşağıseyit Mound) site in western Anatolia’s Denizli have uncovered a 3,500-year-old grape seed. Aşağıseyi Höyük...

Ancient Chinese porcelain worth 1 million euros was stolen from the German museum, sparking anger

15 September 2023

15 September 2023

Nine pieces of historic Chinese porcelain worth around €1 million were stolen from the Museum for East Asian Art (Cologne)...

The mystery of the silver bracelets of Queen Hetepheres in her celebrated tomb at Giza solved

2 June 2023

2 June 2023

The discovery of silver bracelets in the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, wife of Pharaoh Snofru and mother of Pharaoh...

Sensational find in Ephesus: more than 1,400-year-old district discovered

29 October 2022

29 October 2022

During this year’s excavations at Ephesus in Turkey, archaeologists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (AW) discovered an incredibly well-preserved...

Venice of the Pacific: The mysterious Micronesian ruins of Nan Madol

12 July 2022

12 July 2022

Sometimes art and architecture challenge our perceptions of what was formerly thought to be feasible and what our forefathers were...

A Polish diplomat in Turkey has unravels the enigma of a long-lost ancient city

31 January 2022

31 January 2022

Robert D. Rokicki, a diplomat in the Polish embassy in Ankara used a unique method of “histracking” to find the...

Petalodus shark teeth found for the first time in China

29 August 2021

29 August 2021

A 290 million-year-old fossil of a shark with petal-shaped teeth has been discovered in China. Seven well-preserved Petalodus teeth were...

Runic Alphabet Symbols in the Tombs Found in the Excavations in Istanbul

23 May 2021

23 May 2021

In the excavations carried out by the Istanbul Archeology Museums in the area where the metro station will be built...

“Operation Heritage” uncovers an artifact smuggling ring in Turkey

1 June 2022

1 June 2022

Turkish security forces searched locations in 38 regions on Tuesday in one of the largest operations against artifact smugglers, with...

The Rock Tombs Found by Chance in the Al-Hamidiyah Necropolis

12 May 2021

12 May 2021

A series of rock tombs carved into the slope of a mountain have been discovered in the Al-Hamidiyah necropolis on...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *