Camel Caravan in Somalia

A trade caravan ppassing the Isle of Graia in the Gulf of Akabah,Arabia Petraea", 1839 lithograph by Louis Haghe from an original by David Roberts.

A caravan (Persian: کاروان) is a group of people traveling together, often on a trade expedition. Caravans were used mainly in desert areas and throughout the Silk Road, where traveling in groups aided in defense against bandits as well as helped to improve economies of scale in trade.

One example is a camel train.

[edit] Gypsy Caravans

Caravans have served both as a significant cultural icon and symbol of the nomadic Gypsy people. Until the early 19th century, Gypsy caravans served primarily as a means of transportation and not as a domicile^[1]. At the beginning of the 19th century, more Gypsy people began to live in their caravans instead of sleeping in tents. The caravan offered greater protection from weather conditions and could be outfitted with modern amenities such as wood burning stoves^[2]. Often, caravans were commissioned to be built at the request of newlywed couples and their families. The small-scale, pre-industrial methods of the builders and the labor-intensive nature of the building process meant that a family's caravan could take up to a year to build^[3].

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