Garghabazar Caravanserai, Caravanserai in Fuzuli District, Azerbaijan
Garghabazar Caravanserai is a 17th-century stone building on a low hill in Garghabazar village, 8 km south of Fuzuli. Its plan is a rectangle with one corner cut, measuring 23.67 m by 34.70 m. Two long vaulted halls for camels flank an open courtyard, with two guard rooms by the entrance and six square rooms for the owner and merchants on the raised north side.
Built in 1681 on a hill in Garghabazar village, 8 km south of Fuzuli, the caravanserai stood on the silk-trade road running from Khudafarin bridge toward Sheki, Karabakh and India. Its architect is unknown: the inscription stone between the two entrance arches, thought to bear the builder's name and date, was destroyed, leaving no writing. Local elders recalled an inscription in an old script. After the village was occupied in 1992 it was used as a cattle shed.
The building shows features from the Albanian period with spaces thoughtfully arranged for merchants, guards, and animals. This layout allowed trading caravans to function smoothly during their stops here.
The caravanserai stands on a low hill in the centre of Garghabazar village, 8 km south of Fuzuli. A road was later built past it and raised in level, so silt from the slopes has buried the entrance and the whole courtyard; the mosque on the hill above is better preserved. Visitors should expect to see the outer walls and the upper parts of the structure rather than the interior.
The three square stones set between the entrance's semicircular and pointed arches carry zoomorphic and geometric ornaments; the middle one is thought to have held the architect's name and the construction date, but no inscription survives. Local elders recalled an inscription in an old script before it disappeared.
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