Caravanserai discussion for Essos

[Batelgause]

Hello everyone !


i know its a bit early at the moment but i really want to point the idea of caravanserai for Essos


General information about Caravanseraies :

First , what is a caravanserai(kervansaray or han in turkish) ? Its basicly an advanced inn located on top of major roads and trade routes that is ruled by the local governor and guarantees safe passage&sheltering for merchants coming from long distances. Caravanserais are mostly located between two locations like cities , towns that are far from each other . They had big supplies of water and grain also had big spaces for animals to rest while their owners&caravans took reside because most caravans visiting had large herd of animals . Another thing about them was the fact that they were ruled by local governors , therefore , they guaranteed your passage and safety which means if any harm was done to your goods and caravan , they'd pay you the money you lost back . One last thing about them is they had shops and merchants selling goods came from all around the world at their inner courtyard , so its safe to say that they used to be small bazaars for travellers and merchants .

To summarize , they are advanced inn&taverns that has big amounts of supplies and stocks for merchants , also acted as small bazaars for travellers that happened to visit them.


The use of caravanseraies and their architectural features :

Now lets take a look to the architectural parts and the usage of them . Caravanserais are mostly rectangler shaped buildings that has an inside courtyard in the middle of the building . they are usually made of 2 stories but ones with 3 and even 4 can be found . they are generally columned structures and always made of stone . their first floor/ground floor was usually used for barns , stables and shops , however , caravanserais with guest rooms in ground floor can also be found . The main courtyard usually has some small market places for merchants and tables for visitors to have fun and drink something(usually coffee and hookah) with someone having fountaints in the center. they kinda resemble roman insulae but with a bigger courtyard .

My plans and their general state on server :

I plan these buildings to be located on valyrian/dragon roads and in towns between big cities and settlements of essos . My main idea behind them is to show the cultural differences between essos and westeros and as a sign of essos's more advanced trade systems . In my opinion , these would be perfect to fill the space between essos's settlements.
The style might differ from the ones below , but i think the main idea (courtyard , more columned design , shops and stuff at ground level , being both an inn and a tavern , having large supplies) should be kept as it is .

There are some examples below and if necessary , i can find more&detailed images and can translate stuff .


Caravanserai plans :






Caravanserai Exterior :








Caravanserai inner courtyard :







Thanks for reading

 

[Azulejo]

Here in Spain they were called fondas, a term that derives from the arab funduq. Funduq is how caravanserais-like buildings were called in the Maghreb (there are lots in Morocco) and al-Andalus, specially those near or inside cities (that's the main difference with caravanserais, usually located as you said as stops in long trade routes). The influence of caravanserais even reached some italian city-states, were fondaci appeared, like the Fondaco dei Tedeschi or the Fondaco dei Turchi in Venice.


Funduq al-Najjarin, Fez.


Corral del Carbón, a former funduq in Granada.


Fondaco dei Tedeschi. It was the fondaco of the german merchants.


Fondaco dei Turchi. It was the fondaco of the turkish merchants.

In old Ghost Hill there was a persian caravanserai, something we changed for a more andalusian funduq/fonda. It serves as a nice replenishing stop before/after the desert between the northern Dornish coast and the Greenblood Valley. I also think its a nice sign of how Essos, through the rhoynar, has deeply influenced these lands.

In any case, I love the idea and I fully support it! I also thought about how nice it would be to have these type of structures around Essos, and I really like the idea of them been associated to Valyria.​

 

[AerioOndos]

Would be perfect between the Rhoyne cities and could be quite good between Norvos, Pentos and Qohor and perhaps a few between Essaria and Qohor.