Caravanserai, Sultanhan, Turkey

On the way to Cappadocia, we stopped at the most interesting rest area for tour buses in Kayabasi. It looked like a caravan tent, we were told that the tent symbolized nomads from the 12th century.

There were a variety of items for sale, such as clothes, bags, purses, souvenirs. For eating/drinking, there are snacks, coffee/tea and yoghurt with honey and poppy seeds. Below are some of the beautiful handcrated items on display/sale:

And the lovely small tables and stools to sit on while eating/drinking:

We had lunch at a restaurant in Konya, called Lokmahane Carsi which served typical Turkish food. Service was fast, I had the grilled lamb recommended by our tour manager, with a side order of dried okra soup. My friends had the lamb pide (Turkish pizza). The okra soup was excellent but the lamp was rather greasy. I wish it had come with some salad, but there was just a wedge of raw onion. Rather disappointing.

After lunch, we drove on for a couple of hours. During the ride, Metin (our tour manager), got us laughing with witty stories of Turkish social life, how the ladies get together and gossip over coffee, tea and cakes. Our next stop was the town of Sultanhani to visit a caravanserai. The caravanserai is the historical version of the modern rest stop for tour buses. Those days, traders on the silk road used camels and donkeys, and stop at the caravanserai to rest. These structures were fortified to protect the traders, their animals and goods. This beautifully restored caravanserai is the largest in the country, built in built in 1229 during the reign of the Seljuk sultan Kayqubad I, by Muhammad ibn Khalwan al-Dimashqi. Below is the imposing entrance from the outside.

This is the courtyard where the animals would have rested, the doors at the entrance would be locked to safeguard the caravan.

This was the separate living area where the head of the caravan would have stayed, this area had an exhibit of Turkish rugs with a variety of patterns and designs, including one with camels and donkeys. Simply lovely!

As we continued on to our hotel in Cappadocia, we caught the first glimpses of the famous limestone caves and houses from the bus.