Caravanserai in Yazd
We arrived in Yazd to find a remarkable metropolis where we stayed in a caravanserai or traveler’s inn. Caravanserais were first built around 150.
“A caravanserai was a roadside inn where travelers or caravans could rest and recover from the day’s journey.
Caravanserais were vital to the flow of commerce, news, information, and people across the network of trade routes coming from southeastern Europe traversing North Africa, Iran to Asia.
Caravanserai were found frequently along the Persian Empire’s Royal Road, a 2,500-kilometre (1,600 mi) long ancient highway that stretched from Sardis to Susa according to the ancient Greeks,”Royal stations exist along its whole length, and excellent caravanserais; and throughout, it traverses an inhabited tract, and is free from danger.”
We stayed at the Hotel Dad (pictured above), which built around a beautiful garden courtyard where we could eat breakfast and dinner.
In Yazd, we visited many sites, including this beautiful mosque. We learned that in Iran, Shiite mosques have an even number of minarets, whereas Sunni mosques, prevalent in Iraq, have an odd-number.
After a walk in the gardens surrounding the mosque, we went to a traditional restaurant for some melon juice and were delighted by the Old Persian atmosphere we found—square divan seats which let us relax, barefooted, against the bank of pillows and enjoy the tent-like ceiling, reminiscent of some desert shelter from ancient times.
