CHAPTER 15
We had one final stop on the itinerary before we called our day of marathon sightseeing a wrap: the Caravanserai of Hoca Mesut. Built along the Silk Road between Europe and the Orient in the 11th century as way-stations for traveling caravans, the system of caravanserais developed by the Seljuk Empire was way ahead of its time. Each one was typically sponsored by a wealthy benefactor, usually a prince, or maybe a well-to-do merchant, who funded the construction of the compound and provided an endowment for its continued operation- for the caravanserais were completely free! Free lodging, free storage, free protection, free food and fodder- all free! I guess the benefit to the coffers of the empire from trade along the Silk Road outweighed the cost of maintaining all these road stops, but still, here it is 2014, and I still have to pay for my gas, and McMuffin, and Motel 6 whenever we drive across the country?! I think we should take a lesson from the Turks.
In any case, the caravanserai we stopped at was one of the better ones that still exist in Turkey today- it is mostly refurbished, with the exception of some rather narrow and dicey stairs leading up to the entrance of the center mescit, or mosque. We had a nice self-tour around the complex- the columned stables, the grand hall, the view from on top of the mosque- and it was even better because we were the only ones there! There was one old gentleman manning the gate, but once we paid him our one Lira entrance fee, he disappeared and we had the place to ourselves. Come to think of it, he might have just been a random guy who tricked us into paying a fee…
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