Muslim Art in the Middle Ages – The Role of Caravanserais

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Discovering the Caravanserai

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The Seljuk Sultans of Rum possessed considerable wealth, which allowed them to develop ambitious architectural projects that would bear their name. Their prosperity came from the clever use of Anatolia’s strategic position: a crossroads between East and West, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

The country’s economic growth in the 13th century was built upon treaties with several nations, including Christian ones. In 1220, for example, the Seljuks signed an agreement with the Republic of Venice. Around the same period, they supplied the Ayyubids, and later the Mamluks of Cairo, with slave troops who formed the elite military corps of the Near East.

By restoring the ancient Roman roads, the sultans established a network of roadside inns known as caravanserais or khans. These served as rest stops for long merchant caravans and young men traveling for military training.

Along the main trade routes, these buildings were erected every 30 to 40 kilometers (the distance a caravan of camels or horsemen could travel in a day). The sultan ordered the construction of these hostels even in remote deserts or high mountain passes.

Both men and beasts carrying precious goods (fabrics, carpets, spices, and slaves from Central Asia) could thus find safety from raiders. These routes, which completed the great Silk Road connecting the Black Sea to Beijing, were heavily traveled. Today, 120 Seljuk caravanserais are known in Anatolia, many of which are still remarkably well preserved and restored.

The “Yellow Caravanserai” or Sari Han of Avanos

These buildings were impressive in scale, some reaching up to 90 meters long and 60 meters wide, surrounded by fortified walls with towers. A large, richly ornamented portal, similar in style to the pishtak, opened onto a vast courtyard. On three sides, arcades provided shade for travelers during the scorching Anatolian summers.

At the center of this open-air courtyard sometimes stood a small elevated pavilion (a tiny mosque where travelers could pause for prayer). At the back of the courtyard, a second monumental gate led to the “winter hall,” a covered space offering shelter during the freezing nights of the Anatolian highlands, where frost and heavy snow were common.

The architecture of these winter halls is striking: a Western visitor stepping inside might feel as though entering the nave of a church; a long vaulted stone space lined with pointed arches and flanked by side aisles forming three or five naves.

In the center, a dome set on squinches or pendentives illuminated the space, complementing the faint light from the narrow slit windows. The floor plans and cross-sections of these caravanserais reveal remarkable spatial organization, guided by strict geometric logic. The atmosphere evokes that of Cistercian abbeys : vast, silent, austere, yet profoundly spiritual.

To the west of the courtyard, another portal leads to a covered hall measuring approximately 25 by 25 meters. It is crowned with a central dome and features a central nave, 5 transepts on each side.

Once again, it seems that the sultans who commissioned these rest stops for merchants and travelers turned to Christian builders, in this case, Armenian architects.

With their experience designing large vaulted churches, these master builders applied similar architectural principles to the construction of caravanserais when responding to the sultans’ commissions.

South side of the courtyard

One example supporting this hypothesis is the Hakim Han Caravanserai, located on the road to Malatya, a city within Armenian territory between Kayseri and Lake Van. An inscription there reads:

“In the year 667 of the Armenian era, I built this inn with the greatest care.”

This date follows the Armenian calendar (not the Islamic Hijra), beginning in the year 551 (Council of Dvin). Moreover, the inscription is written in the Armenian alphabet.