caravanserai

/ ˌkærəˈvænsərɪ; -ˌreɪ; ˌkærəˈvænsəˌraɪ /

noun

1. (in some Eastern countries esp formerly) a large inn enclosing a courtyard providing accommodation for caravans

Word History and Origins

Origin of caravanserai¹

C16: from Persian kārwānsarāī caravan inn

Example Sentences

It was midday at a caravanserai—which you probably know is a station beside the roads where caravans rest.

From Literature

This means researchers simply don't know what is buried in the sites, which are mainly mounds, fortresses, early roadside inns known as caravanserais and canal systems.

From BBC

From the famed Khan Assad Pasha, a caravanserai in Old Damascus, to the courtyard of the Damascus Citadel, he wants to showcase what his tired country still has to offer.

From Washington Post

The plan also involves converting several of the city's wikalas or caravanserais, into boutique hotels, an idea proven successful elsewhere in the Middle East.

From Reuters

We took the roof off the Italianate, turn-of-the-century British pavilion and rebuilt the interior as an Ottoman caravanserai, inserting the traces of an earlier work I had made for the Istanbul Biennial in 2003.

From The Guardian