Zaki Khani Caravanserai, Zarqan

🕰️When was it built?

The name is linked to Zaki Khan Zand, but heritage experts in Fars date the building to the Safavid era. It was added to the National Heritage List in 2006 as number 16040. Aerial photographs from 1966 show that by then only the northern and eastern parts were still standing.

🏛️What was it built for?

The caravanserai was built for caravans to stop at, and in the 1920s it belonged to Karbalai Hedayat Hamzavi. In the early 2000s the eastern part of the building was knocked down and paved over. In 2020 an archaeological dig with several trenches showed that parts of the foundations survive; the dig was done to prepare the caravanserai for use as a handicrafts market.

💡Something interesting

Zaki Khan was a half-brother of Karim Khan Zand on his mother's side. After Karim Khan died he made a bid for power, ruled for about a hundred days, and was finally killed in Izadkhast.

🎒Good to know before you go

• Zarqan is on the road from Shiraz to Marvdasht, so you can stop here on the way to Persepolis.