A Study on Characteristics of the Caravanserai Space of Islam

The Caravanserai, which can be discovered in the Islamic States in the regions of the Northern Africa and the Middle Asia, still maintains its profound influence to the Islamic World as one of significant edifices in the Islamic World. The majority of the Islamic people at the time of the foundation of Islamic State around AD. 7th century was the nomads, and a trade by means of caravan with their neighboring people was their critical activity for obtaining the necessities of life. With its political and social condition of the Islamic State stabilized and economy developed, the scope of commerce began to grow and the scale of trading with foreign countries started to expand. Along with this economic expansion, the caravanserai began to take a shape as a channel through which not only could the commercial commodities be traded but also religious Islamic ideas and important information could be spread into and shared with the people of neighboring countries. The significance of the caravanserai comes from such observation that it did play major roles in consolidating the solidarity of Islamic states and keeping a religious unity among them. The caravanserai, heading far beyond being a mere commercial center, ultimately functioned as a seedbed of life and spirit of the Islam. Starting from the understanding of social and political significance of the caravanserai, I set the first objective of this article to read into the architecture and interior design of the caravanserai and understand the general characteristics of the Islamic architecture and interior design.

이슬람의 카라반세라이(caravanserail)공간의 특성에 관한 연구