Zein-o-din Caravanserai

Zein-o-din was built around 1600 under Shah Abbas I as one of a chain of caravanserais spaced a day's travel apart along the trade roads, and it is one of very few with a circular plan, with five round towers around a domed central hall and an octagonal courtyard, rather than the usual rectangle. It stood empty and decaying until a restoration in the 2000s, which won an award and turned it into a guesthouse: guests sleep in the alcoves around the courtyard on mattresses, as travellers did, with shared bathrooms in the outbuildings, and meals are served in the vaulted hall. It stands alone in flat desert with mountains on the horizon and no other building in sight, which is the reason to stay rather than pass.

What you actually see

• A circular caravanserai plan - five round towers, rare among Iranian examples.
• Sleeping in the courtyard alcoves - the bays travellers used, now as rooms.
• The vaulted central hall - the domed space used for meals.
• Total isolation - desert and mountains with no other building in sight.

When to go

March to May and October to November. Overnight is the point; a day visit gets little. Winter nights are very cold and summer days are severe. Book ahead, since capacity is small.

Honest expectations

Accommodation is deliberately basic: mattresses in open alcoves with curtains, shared bathrooms, and little privacy. It is not a hotel. There is nothing else within a long distance, so you eat what is served. Nights are cold much of the year.

Nearby

Yazd is north-west; the Kerman road runs south-east.