Looking at Sarai Kharbuza as it is now, it might not be obvious that the building served as a caravan inn for commoners and kings alike as far back as 1605, when the Mughal emperor Jehangir stayed there for a day on a visit to Kashmir.

The ruins of the sarai, whose name translates to ‘melon inn’, sit between newly built houses in a village with the same name, on the old Grand Trunk (G.T.) Road.

Sarai Kharbuza was built by the Ghakkars, Persian immigrants who arrived in the Potohar region in the 5th century and ruled the Potohar region between the 10th and 16th century, explained Centre for Culture and Development adviser Dr Nadeem Omar Tarar.

Although there is no exact date of construction available for the inn, caravan sarais like Sarai Kharbuza were established every 20-or-so kilometres on G.T. Road, which was built by emperor Sher Shah Suri.

The inn is also mentioned in Jehangir’s autobiography Tuzk-i-Jehangiri, where he mentions staying there for a day in 1605.

“On Monday, Muharram 10, 1605, the village of Kharbuza was our stage. The Ghakkars in earlier times had built a dome here and taken tolls from travellers. As the dome was shaped like a melon it became known by that name,” he wrote.

The sarai complex included living quarters and courtyards for women and men, while a spring well in the main courtyard provided water for animals and visitors. It also had a mosque, a market and a hamam.

The only evidence of the hamam now is an old water heater, with a round water tank constructed of small bricks and space for a fire to warm water. A copper plate was installed on the inside of the tank.

“The old water geyser was in use until a few years ago. Later we installed the latest geyser to warm water for ablution,” Gulistan Khan, an old resident of the area, told Dawn.

The mosque, which used to be a small portion of the complex, has also expanded due to the increasing population of the area.

Mr Khan said some of the domes on the roof of the mosque, which gave the inn it’s name, were still intact.

He said he had heard the history of the Qila, which is what locals call the sarai. “British authorities also used the building, but it was abandoned after the partition of the subcontinent,” he said.

Dr Tarar from the Centre for Culture and Development said Sarai Kharbuza was a caravan sarai – an inn that served as accommodation for commercial and postal travellers, pilgrims and particularly official travellers.

“Sarai Kharbuza follows the pattern of the Persian rebat, which was common between the 8th and 12th centuries, with two tall gates for the entrance and exit of heavily-laden camels and other animals. Towers at the corners and at intervals along the curtain walls conveyed a powerful and forbidding impression,” he said.

“The sarai is square, and each side measures 400ft. Like most caravan sarais, Sarai Kharbuza is built with bricks and sandstone. There is a continuous row of cells – the khanahas [living quarters], stalls and storage bays to accommodate travellers.”

The site today has been massively encroached upon by villagers, Dr Tarar said, and some have dismantled older structures and reused the medieval bricks for their cemented homes.

He added that the mosque and water tank remain, but a house has been built over the well. The well, however, is still alive, and underground chambers leading to it are still used by the house’s occupant in the summer.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2018