Historically, caravans from the East traveled westward along the ancient Silk Road, often facing difficult natural environments and dangerous safety tests. Many countries built a large number of inns along the ancient Silk Road for caravans to rest and provide them with security. The Sultan Grand Inn is currently the largest caravan inn left in Turkey and the most important stop before entering Europe. The Grand Inn, which has guarded the ancient Silk Road for hundreds of years, still tells the story of the Silk Road to the world today.
The Anatolian Peninsula is located in present-day Turkey, connecting the Asian and European continents. In ancient times, caravans carrying goods such as spices, porcelain and silk traveled all the way from the far east to make their final stops here before entering Europe. In the 13th century, the Seljuks built hundreds of inns on this route for caravans to rest. The Sultan Inn is one of the most famous.
Uncle Ibrahim is very familiar with the history of the Sultan Inn, and he has opened a souvenir shop opposite the inn gate for more than thirty years. My uncle told us that when he was a child, the nearly 800-year-old building fell into disrepair and dilapidated. Ibrahim saw it in his eyes, anxious in his heart.
Ibrahim, owner of the souvenir shop: The Sultan Grand Inn is the largest inn [in the region], and we have collected a lot of information and pictures to avoid those precious histories from being forgotten.
Ibrahim and his friends searched for experts and scholars, collected valuable information, and finally compiled it into a book. The precious historical materials not only preserve the history of the inn, but also record the imprint of the Silk Road.
In the 13th century, the Seljuk rulers built inns every 30 to 40 kilometers to protect the Silk Road trade, ensuring that caravans could find shelter every day. The inn provided free accommodation for three days for passing caravans, and also provided them with cargo insurance, and in the event of robbery, the government compensated the caravan for its losses, which saved passing merchants from worries.
Fakhri Solak, Mayor of Sultan Hana: The Sultan Grand Inn was a five-star hotel in ancient times, and it also provided the earliest cargo insurance.
Liang Hui: The exterior wall of the Sultan Grand Inn is 10 meters high and made of solid limestone, which can provide enough security for passing caravans to protect them from bandits and rogues; At the same time, it also has a lot of functional areas inside, which ensures the rest and supply of passing caravans.
Turkish historian Mehtin Keskin: Caravan inns are generally planned in this way, washing areas, rest areas, market areas, etc., which is the most important and safest route at that time, which will not only ensure the safety of the caravan, but also provide a comfortable rest environment.
As the largest inn in Anatolia, the Sultan Grand Inn covers an area of more than 4,800 square meters and has been destroyed and destroyed several times in its history, but has survived intact. Walking inside the inn, between darkness and light, people's thoughts can easily go back to the past.
Liang Hui, reporter of the main station: During the boom period of the inn, this was the place where the passing caravan rested. Travelers who had been on the road all day fell asleep in the muffled snoring, the air mixed with the smell of spices and camels, and occasionally a few camel bells. Silk, tea and porcelain from the East may have been stacked in the corner of the room.
Today, the renovated Sultan Grand Inn no longer has the responsibility of guarding the trade, but as an important historical site and cultural symbol, it still carries on the spirit of the Silk Road. Under the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, the ancient "Silk Road" has gained new vitality. Once a transit point for East-West trade, it has now become a bridge of friendship between the two countries.
Fakhri Solak, Mayor of Sultan Hana: Around 2010, a Chinese natural gas storage project was built nearby, and we met a lot of Chinese friends and found that we had a lot of common language with each other, and I often met them and I often had contact with Chinese culture, and we came up with Chinese names, and they also gave Turkish names.
Fatih Kurturmush, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Grand Bazaar: The history of exchanges between China and Turkey can be traced back to a thousand years ago, and it is hoped that the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative will bring the two countries closer together, let the two countries support each other and understand each other, and wish the friendship between China and Turkey will last forever.