D- 3. b. Qaisariya "Qaisaria" derived from "kaisara", a Roman word, was the name given to long roofed corridors in which shopkeepers and craftsmen with the same business show their products. In Isfahan these complexes are also called "bazaarche"[52]. The most famous one in Isfahan, which is placed between Naghsh-e-Jahan square and Chaharbagh Street, is called "Bazarche Boland". This bazaarche is completely separated from the main Bazaar and is designed to enhance the Chaharbagh axes. There are many goldsmiths' shops and other artistic shops in this qaisaria.
Figure 17: A Qaiuisariya in the Bazaar
Figure 18: Madarshah caravanserai
"Bazaarche Boland" is located close to the Madarshah caravanserai, which was the most important caravanserai after the 18th century. Undoubtedly one of the reasons of the design of such complexes in Chaharbagh was to give animation to this street and to move the center of city from the old square to Naghsh-e-Jahan Square. It should be noted that Shah Abbas built many gardens in between Chaharbagh and Naghsh-e-Jahan to make this part of the city more attractive and to connect the new square and Caharbagh together.[53]
D- 3. c. Sarai and caravanserai: Sarai is a Persian word, which means "house". It may be confusing to see two different kinds of buildings in the bazaar of Isfahan that are both nowadays are called sarai.[54] In this Bazaar, sometimes people call some caravanserais "sarai". Here we define both of these names and explain their functions.
Figure 19: Sarai (Type One)
Caravanserai, which is considered the most important space in the bazaar[55], is a hostel for caravans and individual travelers, with provisions for trade. The wholesale merchandise from outside the city is sold here to the retailers in the bazaar, thus the caravanserai acts as a "filter".[56]
Figure 20: Sarai (Type Two)
Based on documents there were more than 100 caravanserais in the bazaar of Isfahan after the Safavid era.[57] They were basically designed to accommodate travelers as well as land loads of camels and horses, to transfer them into shops. In some caravanserais shops were also designed. These single or double storied buildings consisted of a courtyard surrounded by several rooms.[58] The rooms in the second floor were residences for travelers and the first floor stores, shops and stables.[59]
There are some differences between sarai and caravanserai in the bazaar of Isfahan:
The main difference between sarai and caravanserai is in their size. Caravanserais are larger and with more functions.[60]
The location of caravanserais is closer to the neighborhood residential areas than sarais.
The main function of caravanserais was to accommodate and host travelers and foreign merchants, but sarais usually served as economical complexes.
Figure 21: Caravanserai (Type One)
The most famous caravanserai in Isfahan is the Madarshah caravanserai, which was built in the 17th century in Chaharbagh Street.[61] Most of the caravanserais and sarais in Isfahan are located nearby the main raste of the bazaar. These caravanserais are placed in both sides of raste or close to the intersection between two bazaars (chaharsuq).[62]
Sarai is a double storied complex[63] of shops with the same business, which are located around a non-roofed courtyard, usually containing a garden.[64] The sarai is attached to the raste through a narrow corridor, called dehliz or dalan. There are many shops located in both sides of the dehliz. These corridors act as mini-markets for the products, which are related to the sarai. Every corridor or peripheral raste is separated from the main street (raste) with a door. By closing these doors at night the security of each part could be guaranteed.
Figure 22: Caravanserai (Type Two)
In these double storied complexes usually shops were located in the first floor and factories in the second floor; these stories are connected via a foyer and stairs. In some cases shops are connected to the courtyard through an iwan (veranda) and in some cases there is not any level difference or iwan between the shop and the courtyard.
Most of the sarais are the heritage of the Safavid era and there are a few examples, which belong to the old bazaar. Also some of them were built in the later centuries after Safavid.
Heinz Gaube believes that one of the problems that obliged Shah Abbas to move the city center was the difficulty of buying properties in the old quarters of the Isfahan. (Heinz Gaube. Der bazaar von Isfahan, Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1978: 313)
One of the important problems with the names of spaces in bazaars in the Islamic countries is that gradually some names have become misused. For example nowadays in the bazaar of Sana'a, all buildings with completely different functions are called samsarai.
Hosein Soltanzade, Iranian Bazaars, Cultural Research Bureau Publication, 2001: 79.
Herdeg, Klaus. Formal Structure in Islamic Architecture of Iran and Turkistan, Rizolli Publications, 1990: 31.
Iraj Porushani, "Bazaar", Encyclopedia of the Islamic world, 1995: 391.
But, as mentioned, many of caravanserais inside the bazaar served as shopping centers and could not be compared to other sorts of caravanserais outside of the cities. Some of them acted as a guesthouse for travelers without economic purposes.
Hosein Soltanzade, Iranian Bazaars, Cultural Research Bureau Publication, 2001: 79.
Though it is not unique to caravanserais, there should be some stables for horses, donkeys and camels.
This caravanserai was converted to a hotel, called "Shah Abbas hotel".
After Safavid, in the Qajar era, two sarais were designed close to main streets but far from the bazaar.
The sarais are nearly always two storied, but there is one case in Isfahan called "saraye golshan" which is a single story.
It is also called "khan" is some other cities in other Islamic bazaars.(Khan is a Persian word, which originally means old.)
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