Dictionary of islamic architecture

cami
Turkish term for a congregational or Friday mosque
as opposed to the smaller mescit.
caravanserai
Roadside building which provides accomodation and
shelter for travellers.
The term caravanserai is a composite Turkish term
derived from caravan (i.e. a group of travellers) and
serai (palace). Generally it refers to a large structure
which would be capable of coping with a large
number of travellers, their animals and goods. The
term first seems to have been used in the twelfth
century under the Seljuks and may indicate a
particularly grand form of khan with a monumental
entrance. During the Saffavid period in Iran
(seventeenth to eighteenth century) caravanserais are
often huge structures with four iwans.
See also:
khan
çarsi
Turkish term for a market.
Central Asia
Central Asia comprises the modern independent repub-
lics of Khazakstan, Turkmenistan, Khirgiziya and
Uzbekistan.
In pre-Islamic times Central Asia was the home
of several important Turkic dynasties the most
important of which were the Kushans who ruled
over most of the area in the fifth century CE. By the
seventh century the western part of the Kushan
Empire had been conquered by the Sassanians whilst
the eastern part fractured into a number of
independent principalities. One of the most
important principalities was that of the Sogdians
whose art and architecture seem to have been an
important influence on Islamic architecture of the
ninth century and after.
Plan of Tutabeg Khatun Tomb, fourteenth century, Urgench,
Uzbekistan
Central Asia

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During the Islamic period the cities of central Asia
continued to control the Silk Route and cities such
as Samarkand, Bukhara and Merv rose to great
prosperity.