Iran - Andrew Burke [150]
* * *
THE KURDS
Just as many Westerners have the misguided impression that Iran is somehow ‘dangerous’, so Iranians are similarly misinformed about Kurdish areas of their own country. In fact Kurdish hospitality often trumps even that of mainstream Persians.
Kurds comprise nearly 10% of Iran’s population. But there are several different Kurdish sub-groups speaking languages that are almost mutually unintelligible. Kurds around Howraman and Paveh are the most traditional and speak poetic Hurami. Those in Sanandaj usually speak Sorani. Both groups are typically Sunni. However, some Kurds around Kermanshah are Shiite. Kermanji, the language of most Kurds in Turkey, isn’t widely spoken, though Kermanji satellite TV stations, some openly glorifying PKK leader Abdulla Öcalan, are starting to change this. Curiously there are pockets of native Kermanji speakers around Kalat in northeastern Iran. They were originally sent there by the Safavids to defend Iran’s 17th-century borders, and never left.
There are variations between tribes, but a common element in traditional dress for most Iranian Kurdish men is the slightly tasselled headscarf (mezare) and the distinctive kawa pantol suit with heavily pleated baggy trousers. These are typically belted by a wide cummerbund (biben) which, when dancing, men pull off and whirl above their heads. Women wear colourful long dresses over baggy trousers and rarely resort to chador. At celebrations the real finery comes out, notably caps covered in gold coins over cascading stitched tulle scarves.
* * *
Sights
The well-renovated Lotfolla Sheikh-al-Islam Mansion houses a Regional Museum (Habibi Lane; admission IR20,000; 9am-12.30pm & 3-6.30pm) whose multicoloured windows (orosi) were designed for practicality as well as beauty: supposedly they disoriente mosquitoes. Exhibits include some extraordinarily old pottery and metalwork treasures but sadly the acoustically engineered fountain-cellar is generally kept locked.
Another attractively restored Qajar building, the Asef Mansion (Asif Diwan; Imam St; admission IR4000; 8.30am-12.30pm & 2.30-5pm Tue-Sun), is now a museum of Kurdish life. Mannequins are dressed in various distinctive tribal costumes that are still commonly worn in valleys around Kordestan. One room features Sanandaj’s speciality wood-inlay crafts. A side courtyard just within the mansion’s entrance leads through to a vaulted gallery (admission free) that has sporadic art exhibitions.
Several other historic buildings are only partially repaired. The trefoil-topped Moshir Divan is a particularly iconic mansion still in dire need of renovation. It’s hidden in a walled garden off Shohada St: ring the speaker phone and hope.
The formerly grand Khosroabad Mansion (Khosroabad St; admission free; 10am-dusk) has an impressive central courtyard with reflecting pools and was once the palace of Ardalan emir Amonulla Khan but is now in a fairly parlous state. It’s two blocks up a quiet boulevard of plane trees from Sahar Kaveh St.
In 1813, Amonulla Khan sponsored the fine Jameh Mosque (Darolesan Mosque; Imam St), with tiled twin minarets and 32 interior domes. He was so pleased with the result that he reputedly had the architect blinded to prevent its repetition for any other patron. The punishment would have been more appropriate for whoever built the ugly new mosque directly behind.
The fortress site (Imam St) is firmly closed for military use, though a tea bazaar huddles at