Caravanserais were roadside inns that were built along the Silk Road in areas such as China, Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. They were typically located outside the walls of a city or village and were usually funded by local governments or privately.
The word ‘caravanserai’ is a combination of the Persian words ‘kārvān’, which means a group of travellers or a caravan, and ‘sarāy’, a palace or enclosed building. The term caravan was used to describe groups of people who travelled together across the ancient network for safety reasons, such as merchants, travellers or pilgrims.