Trade across Turkey in medieval Seljuk times was dependent on camel trains (kervan, anglicised as caravan), which stopped by night in inns known as kervansaray (caravanserai), literally ‘caravan palaces’. These buildings provided accommodation and other amenities for the merchants and stabling for their animals. Saruhan Caravanserai, which became an important part of the caravanserai trade routesThe Silk Road caravanserais of Cappadocia were built of hewn volcanic stone, and their walls were thick and high so that they would be safe from raids by robbers