Silk Road Motel

15th century, the founding of Tash Rabat, Central Asia’s best preserved caravanserai, nestled in the valleys of southern Kyrgyzstan

Back when travellers were moving from region to region by land, only a certain amount of distance could be covered each day before both man and horse (or camel) needed a rest. Due to this, the vast routes of the Silk Road had structures known as caravanserai’s constructed along at regular distances, approximately a day’s ride apart, linking key trading centres together.

A full night’s rest, with a roof over the head and protection from the danger of bandits, was well needed before venturing onwards to the next town and a day of buying and selling. These roadside motels were also cultural hubs, where travellers not only rested, but shared and exchanged vital information between themselves, linking the most brilliant minds from Turkey to China. A place for mathematics, science, and technology to be swapped, inventions such as paper from China wowing those from the west.

Architecturally, the caravanserai’s of the Silk Road mostly survive in Iran in today’s era, with some tastefully converted in to roadside restaurants, craft workshops and even a few surviving as hotels (our favourite being Zein-o-Din, on the outskirts of Yazd). A return to our affection for Central Asia, and it’s worth knowing that many cities and towns we know today throughout the region started as caravan stops for travellers, most notably Bishkek and Osh, Kyrgyzstan’s two biggest cities in modern day. However, the best preserved caravanserai remaining in Central Asia today is located far away from any urban centre.

For those fortunate, experienced and astute enough to have reached Tash Rabat caravanserai, deep in the Naryn Region of southern Kyrgyzstan and a stone’s throw from the Chinese border, they would likely be resting either before or after the challenge offered by the Torugart Pass, which even in modern standards of travel is an incredibly remote journey. Today, you can stay overnight at local yurt camps in the area, some in the shadow of the original caravanserai, which remains fully roofed and standing upright, with countless rooms and corridors ready to inspire your imagination to a time where travellers traded, celebrated, learnt and rested within its grand walls.

Heading further west and leaving Kyrgyzstan behind, there’s opportunities to continue your caravanserai journey with the remains of Rabati Malik in central Uzbekistan, ruined motel structures in the fortress kingdom of Karakalpakstan, as well as the surviving walls and courtyards of Dayahatyn, Turkmenistan’s best preserved caravanserai.