Caravansarays

[Gail]

My Turkish friend has been on holidays and visited a caravansarai:

Caravansarai

Here is one that has been changed into a hotel:

Cinci Han Hotel

They were used hundreds of years ago as inns for travelling caravans.

[phkrause]

Kind of sounds and looks like this was something done in the middle east.

[Gail]

In Turkey

[Dottie]

When I visited San Diego a few years ago, one of the places I saw was a former home, built in the same fashion. The rooms were on the outer edges, and in the center was a large open-to-the-sky area. There was a covered walkway around the inside, so one could go from one room to another without being exposed to the elements.

So the idea wasn't unique to Turkey, but the use seems to be different, as the one described in your post was available to the public.

[Gail]

I think the Romans had rooms with atriums, but these had rooms for the pack animals like camels, too.