According to historical sources, Yengi Carvansarai is one of the structures of the Safavid period, to which, in later periods, changes were made, and it turned into a new combination of guest house and garden. The Qajar structure of Yengi Emam is one of the sightseeing places of Karaj. It is a combination of garden and caravanserai influenced by both Iranian and Western guest houses.
Yengi village is part of Savojbolagh district, 3 km east of Hashtgerd and next to the old Karaj-Qazvin road. There are two ways to access this village.
- Via the Karaj-Qazvin road, which now passes south of the caravanserai and the ancient hill;
- The underpass of the Karaj-Qazvin freeway starts and enters the Yeangi Emam section and then reaches the caravanserai and historical complex. The name of the caravanserai is derived from the name of the village.
Yengi Emam carvansarai is a well kept building on the Tehran-Qazvin road, which was built during the Safavid period and was repaired and equipped during the Qajar period. This caravanserai is one of the sights of Alborz province and is located at 45.50 degrees longitude and 35.35 degrees latitude at a distance of 15 km from Kamalshahr and 5.3 km from Hashtgerd. Yengi Emam Caravanserai was built in the style of Safavid caravanserais with four-porch designs; its area is more than 4700 square meters, and its central courtyard area is about 387 square meters. The north and south sides of the courtyard are 5.37 meters, and the east and west sides are 37 meters.
Yengi Carvansarai remains from the time of shah Abbas Safavid. Historic accounts of Yengi Emam Carvansarai include Persian and foreign travelogues written during the Qajar period, in which they either speak directly of the time this inn was built or when describing the road on which it was built. Sources and documents show that the Yengi Emam Caravanserai changed its formation and function during the Qajar period.
It is believed that in this period, the carvansarai was repaired and equipped according to western guesthouse style. During this period a garden was built on the southern side of the carvansarai. It is written that “A large garden, about 12 acres, was built in front of the entrance of the Carvansarai”. It seems that this structure was destroyed after the Safavid period and rebuilt during Qajar period.
The function of this Safavid structure was as a carvansarai and a guesthouse for travelers, and had a four-porch architecture. In the qaJAR PERIOD IN THE YEARS 1296-1300 (1895-1921) it was turned into a guesthouse and on top of the southern side an extra story was built with 6 rooms (small and big). This structure caught fire around 1316 (lunar calendar) and was again deserted and left to ruins. From 40 years ago upto now this place was used as a police station. At present, it is abandoned and no longer in use. In recent years, the cultural heritage of Alborz province has announced that if fund are provided for this structure, it will be reconstructed and turned into a tourist site.
Photos by Mehdi Biranvand Rozhan
