. CARAVANSERAIS. In the days of the elder patriarchs, there seem to have been no places spe cially devoted to the reception of travellers, at least in the pastoral districts frequented by those venerable nomades ; for we find Abraham, like the Oriental shepherds of the present day, under a strong sense of the difficulties and privations with which journeying in those regions was attended, deeming it a sacred duty to keep on the outlook, and offer the wayfaring man the rights of hospi tality in his own tent. Nor could the towns of Palestine, as it would seem, at that remote period, boast of any greater advance with respect to esta blishments of this sort ; for the angelic strangers who visited Lot in Sodom were entertained in his private house ; and on the tumultuous outrage oc casioned by their arrival disinclining them to sub ject his family to inconvenience and danger by pro longing their stay, they announced their intention to lodge in the streets all night. This elicited no surprise, nor any other emotion than a strenuous opposition on the part of their kind-hearted host to their exchanging the comforts of his home for a cheerless exposure to the cold and dews of mid night ; and hence we conclude that • the custom, which is still frequently witnessed in the cities of the East, was then not uncommon for travellers who were late in arriving, and who had no intro ductions to a private family, to bivouac in the street, or wrapping themselves up in the ample folds of their hykes, to pass the night as they best could in the open air. In the Arab towns and vil lages, however, when a traveller arrives in the day time, the sheikh, or some principal person of the place, goes out to welcome him, and treats him with great civility in his own house ; or else he conducts him to the menzil, which, though a place of rather a nondescript character, is understood to be the house occupied by those who entertain strangers, when there are no other lodgings, and to which the women in the sheikh's house, having surveyed the number of the guests, send provisions of every kind according to the season, and provide every accommodation the place can afford (La Roque, De la Palestine, p. 124).
The first mention of an inn, or house set apart for the accommodation of travellers OD ; Sept.
Kant/ova), occurs in the account of the return of Jacob's sons from Egypt (Gen. xliii. 21) ; and as it was situated within the confines of that country, and at the first stage from the metropolis, it is probable that the erection of such places of enter tainment originated with the Egyptians, who were far superior to all their contemporaries in the habits and the arts of civilized life, and who, though not themselves a commercial people, yet invited to their markets such a constant influx of foreign traders, that they must have early felt the neces sity and provided the comforts of those public establishments. The inns' where travellers lodge in the East do not, however, bear the least resem blance to the respectable houses of the same class in this country, much less do they approximate to the character and appurtenances of European hotels. The Egyptian inn, where the sons of Israel halted to bait their asses, was probably, from the remote period to which it belonged, of a rude and humble description, in point both of appearance and accommodation—merely a shed ; under the roof of which the cattle and their drivers might obtain shelter from the heats of noon and the dews of midnight ; and such is the low state of art, or the tyrannical force of custom in the East, that esta blishments of this kind in the present day can, with few exceptions, boast of improvements, that render them superior to the mean and naked poverty of those which received the pilgrims of the patriarchal age.
Ran or karavanserai, is the name which this kind of building bears ; and though the terms are often applied indiscriminately, there is an acknowledged distinction, which seems to be, that khan is applied to those which are situated in or near towns, whereas caravanserais (a lodge for caravans, as the compound word imports) is the more appropriate designation of such as are erected in desert and sequestered places. A khan is always to be found in the neighbourhood of a town ; and while houses corresponding to the description of the other are generally disposed at regular stages along public and frequented roads, they are more or less numerous in proportion to the relative dis tances of towns, and the populous or desert state of the country. Though varying in character and size, this class of establishments preserves so gene rally the same uniform plan of construction, that a description of one may serve to convey an idea of all. Let the reader imagine, then, a large edifice, which, though in The distance it seems an immense pile, resembling a castellated fort, on a nearer approach loses much of this formidable appearance, when it is found that no part of the building rises above the enclosing wall. It presents the form of a square, the sides of which, about too yards in length each, are surrounded by an external wall of line brickwork, based on stone, rising generally to the height of twenty feet. In the middle of the front wall there is a wide and lofty archway, having on one or both sides a lodge for the porter and other attendants ; while the upper part of it, being faced with carving or ornamental mason-work, and containing several rooms, surmounted by elegant domes, is considered the most honourable place of the building, and is therefore appropriated to the use of the better sort. This archway leads into a
spacious rectangle, the area forming a court-yard for cattle, in the midst of which is a well or foun tain. Along the sides of the are piazzas extending the whole length, and opening at every few steps into arched and open recesses, which are the entrances into the travellers' apartments. An inner door behind each of these conducts to a small oblong chamber, deriving all its light from the door, or from a small open window in the back wall, entirely destitute of furniture, and affording no kind of accommodation in the way of presses or shelves, except some rude niches excavated in the thick walls. • This cell is intended for the dor mitory of the traveller, who generally prefers, how ever, the recess in front for sitting in under shade during the daytime, as well as for sleeping in during the night, when the season allows ; being the more adapted for this purpose that the floor is neatly paved, or consists of a smooth bed of earth, on a platform rising two or three feet above the level of the area. There being no other door but the entrance arch, each occupant remains isolated in his own quarters, and is cut off from all com munication with the other inmates of the caravan serai. But in the middle of each of the three sides there is a large hall, which serves as a travellers' room, where all may indiscriminately assemble : while at the end of each side there is a staircase leading to the flat roof of the house, where the cool breeze and a view of the surrounding country may be enjoyed. These chambers generally stand on the ground-floor, which is a few feet above the level of the court-yard ; but in the few buildings of this sort which have two storeys, the travellers are accommodated above, while the under flat is reserved for the use of their servants, or appro priated as warehouses for goods. And in such establishments there is found one other additional advantage in having a supply of servants and cooks, as well as a shop in the porter's house, where all commodities may be procured. Cara- I vanserais of this superior class, however, are rarely to be met with. The most part are but wretched lodging-places--filled, it may be, with dirt and vermin—consisting only of bare walls, in which not an article of furniture is to be seen, nor a cooking utensil to be found, nor provisions of any sort to be obtained for love or money. The tra veller must carry along with him, as well as pro vide with his own hands, whatever is necessary for his use and comfort. If he performs his journey on camels or on horseback, he must, on arriving at the stage, act as his own ostler, tie op his beast, and distribute its provender and litter. To supply the want of a divan and bed, he must take his mat and carpet, which, folded up, may have served him for a saddle, ,and squat upon the floor, or repose himself at night ; or, if lie is a pedestrian, and must travel as lightly as possible, he makes the cloak which he wears by day discharge the office of a counterpane by night. In the victualling de partment he finds as great a dearth as in that of furniture. He must subsist on the supply of food and articles of luxury he may have had the ft:re sight to provide, and husband them as well as he can, as no addition to his stores can be made till he reaches the next town. In general, he must content himself with a plain diet of dry bread, fruits, or such prepared viands as admit of preser vation ; or, if he wishes a fresh cooked meal, he must himself furnish the fuel, kindle the fire, super intend the boil or the roast, as well as wash and arrange his eating-pan. The baggage of a man, therefore, who wishes to be completely provided,' says Volney, consists of a carpet, a mattress, a blanket, two saucepans, with lids, contained within each other ; two dishes, two plates, etc., coffee pot, all of copper well tinned. A small wooden box for salt and pepper, a round leather table, which he suspends from the saddle of his horse, small leather bottles or bags for oil, melted butter, water, a pipe, a tinder-box, a cup of cocoa-nut, some rice, dried raisins, dates, Cyprus cheese, and, above all, coffee berries, with a roaster and wooden mortar to pound them. Every one, although his travelling equipage may not be so complete as this, must find several of these items and implements indispensable to existence during a journey in the East ; for in many of the khans or caravanserais to which he may come, he can look for nothing from the keeper except to shew him the way to his cham ber, and give him the key if it is furnished with a door. One assistance only he may depend upon, and it is no inconsiderable one,—that of receiving some attendance and aid if overtaken by sickness ; for one of the requisite qualifications for the office is, that the functionary possess a knowledge of simples, and the most approved practice in case of fracture or common ailments. And hence the good Samaritan in the parable (Luke x. 30), although he was obliged, in the urgency of the case, himself to apply from his own viaticum a few simple reme dies for the relief of the distressed man, left him with full confidence to be treated and nursed by the keeper of the khan, whose assiduities in dress ing the wounds and bruises of his patient might be quickened, perhaps, by the liberal remuneration he was promised, as well as by the example of the humane traveller.