Our all day bus ride from Cappadocia to Antalya intercepted the Silk Road. The Silk Road is a network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East,South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and the European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa.
The land routes were supplemented by sea routes which extended from the Red Sea to East Africa, India, China, and Southeast Asia. China traded silk, spices, teas, and porcelain; while India traded ivory, textiles, precious stones, and pepper; and the Roman Empire exported gold, silver, fine glassware, wine, carpets, and jewels.
A caravanserai was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey. They were typically located every 30 kilometers on the Silk Road. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of trade routes covering Asia, North Africa, and South-Eastern Europe, especially along the Silk Road. The one we visited, the Sultanhani Caravanserai, was built in 1229 AD. The open part was used in the summer and the closed part in the winter.
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 stalls, bays, niches, or chambers to accommodate merchants and their servants, animals, and merchandise.
Caravanserais provided water for human and animal consumption, washing, and ritual ablutions. Sometimes they even had elaborate baths. They also kept fodder for animals and had shops for travelers where they could acquire new supplies. In addition, there could be shops where merchants could dispose of some of their goods.
No comments:
Post a Comment