Shah Abbasi System of 999 caravanserais in Persia

Originally posted by Aelfgifu Very nice!  What exactly are they for: Are they marketplaces, or just stops to rest and spend the night? And how many still remain, do you know? They look intruiging...

its like modern hotel but its only for traders IIRC.

There are still several caravanserais in Iran but unfortunately most of them have been abandoned and are being destroyed!

There can be many reasons for destroying a caravanserai, such as building roads, railway, factories, ... and of course natural causes.

Yeah All over Central Asia along the Silk Road

Why 999? Did construction happen to stop at that number by chance or did they decide on it beforehand because it would sound cool?

Originally posted by Suren Nice topic. Is there any kind of place like caravanserai in other countries? (except Turkey)

They seem to correspond pretty much to inn systems in Europe, at least by looking at Zagros's short explanation. Starting in the Middle ages, regular tavernas were required by law to have supplies for travellers and merchants, with fresh horses etc. These inns (in Sweden called 'gästgiveri', dunno what other terms are) were nothing like the organised system Cyrus is describing though, and were generally not constructed by the state (though some were), but normal tavernas forced to be a part of the system. They were compensated by for example vodka production monopoly. In Sweden those laws were not removed until the 20th century.

Swedish "gästgiveri", in the borderlands on the pilgrim route to Trondheim, Norway.
 



Edited by Styrbiorn - 24-Feb-2009 at 14:46