National Geographic Travel on Instagram: "Photo by @babaktafreshi The World at Night project Time passes by in a starry night over an old Caravansary (Caravanserai) on the ancient silk road. The hour-long image of star trails shows the spinning Earth turning the sky around the north celestial pole marked by the north star Polaris. Reminds the stories of One Thousand and One Nights, if you were traveling several hundred years ago in the Middle East and across Asia these were the roadside Inns to safely rest overnight, consisted of a square or rectangular plan centered around a courtyard with only one entrance and arrangements for defense if necessary. The Persian word comes from caravan and sarāy “house”, means lodging for caravans. About 500 of them are remained in Iran and listed as protected historic monuments. The earliest examples were the stations along the 2500-km long Royal Road in the Achaemenid Empire, some 2500 years ago but most of the remaining Caravansaries are built du...
153K likes, 541 comments - natgeotravel on November 26, 2017: "Photo by @babaktafreshi The World at Night project Time passes by in a starry night over an old Caravansary (Caravanserai) on the ancient silk road. The hour-long image of star trails shows the spinning Earth turning the sky around the north celestial pole marked by the north star Polaris. Reminds the stories of One Thousand and One Nights, if you were traveling several hundred years ago in the Middle East and across Asia these were the roadside Inns to safely rest overnight, consisted of a square or rectangular plan centered around a courtyard with only one entrance and arrangements for defense if necessary. The Persian word comes from caravan and sarāy “house”, means lodging for caravans. About 500 of them are remained in Iran and listed as protected historic monuments. The earliest examples were the stations along the 2500-km long Royal Road in the Achaemenid Empire, some 2500 years ago but most of the remaining Caravansaries are built during Shāh Abbās I of Persia, about 400 years ago. The network was built to support the flow of commerce, information, and people on trade routes covering Asia, North Africa, and South-Eastern Europe. Photographed here is Qusheh Caravansary near the city of Damghan. It’s located right outside the wall of an ancient city known as Qumis which is now entirely buried under the desert. Follow @babaktafreshi for more photo stories that merge night sky and traveling. @natgeo @natgeocreative #startrails #longexposure #astrophotography #twanight #silkroad #caravansary #caravanserai #iran #damghan".