INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
approval to join the shortlist, the provincial tourism chief has said.An all-inclusive dossier for Deir-e Gachin Caravanserai has been
prepared and it is expected to gain UNESCO status due to its antiquity, special architectural style, and various features, Alireza Arjmandi
explained on Tuesday.Listing as a UNESCO World Heritage would lead to better and more protection for the caravanserai, which is estimated to
date back to almost 1750 years ago and the Sassanid era (224-651 CE), the official added.During that time, this building served as a
fortification on the Silk Road, but during the Islamic period, it became a caravanserai, a place for travelers to rest, he noted.The
historical inn was inscribed on the national heritage list in 2003.Deir-e Gachin Caravanserai is one of the greatest caravanserais of Iran,
old.The caravanserai, which was once of the most prosperous roadside inns across the country, was renovated and restored during the Seljuk
the holy shrine of Hazrat-e Masumeh (SA), several major seminaries, madrasas as well as many tourist resorts both cultural and natural.Qom,
natural sceneries scattered across the city as well as towns and villages nearby.Possible UNESCO tag for Iranian caravanseraisIran has put
ministry announced that Iran is developing a dossier for a selection of its historical caravanserais for a possible inscription on the
UNESCO World Heritage list
In this regard, cultural heritage experts are assessing such monuments that are scattered across the country to make a shortlist in terms of
the inn of the Orient, providing accommodation for commercial, pilgrim, postal, and especially official travelers.According to Encyclopedia
Iranica, from the number of surviving caravansaries and their sizes, it is clear that in Safavid and Qajar times there was a state
architectural department that was specifically concerned with the construction of caravansaries and stations on the overland routes
Furthermore, in the cities, several caravansaries were erected as lodging houses, depots, and commercial offices in the vicinity of the
bazaars.A typical caravansary consists of a square or rectangular plan centered around a courtyard with only one entrance and arrangements
Whether fortified or not, it at least provided security against beasts of prey and attacks by brigands.The earliest caravanserais in Iran
were built during the Achaemenid era (550 -330 BC)
country.For many travelers, staying in or even visiting a centuries-old caravanserai, can be a wide experience; they have an opportunity to
feel the past, a time travel back into a forgotten age.Such roadside inns were once constructed along ancient caravan routes in the Muslim
world to shelter people, their goods, and animals
The former Silk Roads may be the most famous example dotted by caravanserais.Cozy chambers that are meticulously laid out around a vast
courtyard may easily evoke spirits of the past
camels chewing hay! You can also conceive the idea of local architectural style and material in its heyday.It is not hard to fancy the
hustle and bustle of merchants bargaining on prices, recounting their arduous journeys to one another while their camels chewing hay!Passing
major roads in the country, one may see crumbling caravanserais many of which were abandoned for ages
In the Information Age, such guest houses have largely lost their actual usage.However, 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 and repurposed into boutique hotels and tourist lodgings.They often had massive portals supported by
elevated load-bearing walls
Guest rooms were constructed around the courtyard and stables behind them with doors in the corners of the yard.ABU/MG
