Ejder Caravanserai: Seljuk Inn on the Ararat Road

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1. What is the Ejder Caravanserai?
2. How do you get to the Ejder Caravanserai?
3. When is the best time to visit the Ejder Caravanserai?
4. What is the history of the Ejder Caravanserai?
5. What is the Ejder Caravanserai famous for?
6. What can you see at the Ejder Caravanserai?
7. Frequently asked questions about the Ejder Caravanserai
8. What do the official records say about the Ejder Caravanserai?

What is the Ejder Caravanserai?

The Ejder Caravanserai is a stone caravan hall on the lower slopes of Mount Ararat, southwest of Iğdır. It was built on the old Silk Road branch that ran from the Black Sea port of Batumi to Tabriz in Persia, and tradition attributes it to Şerafettin Ejder Bey, emir of Sürmari, from whom it takes its name.

The 2002 inventory calls it one of the finest examples of 12th-century Seljuk stone carving. Today it is a partly ruined but impressive building: a long, buttressed rectangle of dark stone with a pointed-arched portal, standing alone above the plain with Ararat behind it.

How do you get to the Ejder Caravanserai?

The caravanserai stands near the village of Kervansaray, formerly the hamlet of Harmandöven, southwest of Iğdır. The inventory places it at the 25th kilometre of the road from Iğdır to Asma village; the national heritage inventory gives about 15 km from the town centre. There is no public transport, so go by car or taxi from Iğdır and ask for the “kervansaray” on the road towards the Ararat foothills. The nearest airport is Iğdır, west of the town.

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When is the best time to visit the Ejder Caravanserai?

Spring and autumn are best, when the air is clear and Ararat is often visible behind the building. Summer afternoons are hot on the open slope, so go early. In winter snow can make the approach road difficult. Morning light falls on the portal. Allow about an hour on site, and bring water, as the caravanserai stands alone outside the village.

What is the history of the Ejder Caravanserai?

The caravanserai was one of the staging posts on the caravan road from Batumi to Tabriz. According to the inventory, caravans stopped here before crossing the Çilli pass. Tradition holds that it was built by Şerafettin Ejder Bey, emir of Sürmari, in the Seljuk period.

The inventory also describes how the caravan roads crossed this country: caravans came across the Iğdır plain via Sürmeli and Karakale, passed below the northwestern slopes of Ararat, where the remains of two castles controlled the route, and used the Serdarbulak pass between Greater and Lesser Ararat. A caravanserai on the foothills gave travellers shelter and protection before the climb.

Its date is uncertain. The Iğdır provincial culture and tourism directorate and the 2002 inventory place it in the 12th century. The national cultural heritage inventory dates it to the late 13th century and describes it as one of the last works of the Anatolian Seljuk state. Either way, it belongs to the Seljuk era, when the sultans and their emirs built a network of caravanserais to protect and encourage trade.

The building later fell into ruin: much of its vaulting collapsed, including the whole roof of the central aisle, and the left side lost its buttresses and largely fell. Excavations uncovered stone benches, a roof gutter and the remains of the floor, and restoration followed projects prepared in 2006.

What is the Ejder Caravanserai famous for?

• The “Mirrored Door”. The portal is carved with plant scrolls, curling branches and lozenge motifs, once set with blue-green mirror inlays; local people called it the Aynalı Kapı. A villager reported that the mirrors were removed after 1977.
• Its setting on the slopes of Mount Ararat, the closest major monument to the mountain on the Iğdır side.
• Seljuk stone carving, rare this far east.
• Its name. Ejder means dragon in Turkish, but here it comes from the emir Şerafettin Ejder Bey, not from any carving.

What can you see at the Ejder Caravanserai?

The plan. The building is rectangular, oriented east to west, with ten buttresses, five on each side, and corner towers. Inside is a three-aisled hall entered through a three-part vestibule. The central aisle is wider than the side aisles and rests on eight piers carrying nine arches.

The entrance. Two rooms flank the entrance, and a stair leads up to the roof terrace. The portal, with its carved ornament, is the finest part of the building.

The condition. The right-hand side is better preserved than the left; some interior walls are damaged but still standing. Walk around the outside to see the buttresses and the masonry.

Nearby. The ram-headed gravestones of the Kara Koyunlu period are found in the cemeteries of the Iğdır plain, and many have been gathered in the open-air museum at Karakoyunlu. Doğubayazıt and İshak Paşa Palace are across the Ararat foothills in Ağrı province.

Frequently asked questions about the Ejder Caravanserai

What do the official records say about the Ejder Caravanserai?

The Harmandöven Caravanserai is located at the 25th kilometre of the road connecting the Iğdır provincial centre to Asma village, near the hamlet of the same name. This caravanserai is one of the finest examples of 12th-century Seljuk stonework. It was built during the Seljuk period by Şerafettin Ejder Bey, emir of Sürmari, on the route of the old Silk Road and the Batumi–Tabriz caravan road.

The Seljuk caravanserai was one of the staging points on the Batumi–Tabriz caravan road, and it is stated that caravans stayed here before crossing the Çilli pass. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Iğdır Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)