Iran - Andrew Burke [158]
Some 200m beyond the main site is the huge, smooth Farhad Tarash rock face, popular with climbers who consider it among Iran’s greatest challenges. In fact it was artificially smoothed in the 7th century AD for an inscription that Khosrow II never got around to scribbling. Walk 10 minutes’ further west, crossing some lumpy archaeological diggings, to find a well-restored but unused 1685 caravanserai.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
The savari stop for Kermanshah and for Sahneh (and thence Kangavar and Hamadan) is a 10-minute walk east through Bisotun town, just beyond Bank Keshvari.
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HAMADAN
0811 / pop 528,000
Known in classical times as Ecbatana, Hamadan was once one of the ancient world’s greatest cities. Pitifully little of antiquity remains, but significant parts of the city centre are given over to excavations and there is a scattering of historical curiosities. Sitting on a high plain, Hamadan is graciously cool in August, but snow-prone and freezing cold from December to March. In the summer the air is often hazy, but on a rare, clear spring day there are impressive glimpses of snow-capped Mt Alvand (3580m) preening itself above the ragged neo-colonial cupolas of Imam Khomeini Sq. A popular summer retreat, Hamadan’s main draw card for Iranian visitors is its proximity to the Ali Sadr Caves, but these are vastly over-rated.
History
According to ancient Greek historians, Median king Deiokes fortified a palace here in 728 BC, and over succeeding decades the Median capital of Ecbatana grew into an opulent city. Its massive walls were said to have had seven layers, the inner two coated in gold and silver, the outer one as long as that of classical Athens. By 550 BC it had fallen to the Achaemenid Persians, and King Cyrus was using it for his summer court.
The Medes retook the city in 521 BC but were kicked out again within six months by Darius who was so pleased with himself that he recorded his achievements in stone beside the Royal Road at Bisotun.
After centuries of wealth and pre-eminence under Parthian and Sassanian dynasties alike, Ecbatana/Hamadan faded somewhat after the Arab conquest in the mid-7th century AD, but it became the regional capital under the Seljuks for some 60 years in the late 12th century. Known as Hegmataneh (Meeting Place of Sufis) in Old Persian, Hamadan suffered the usual devastations by Mongols (1220) and Tamerlane (1386), but only hit a major decline in the 18th century following a Turkish invasion. It began to recover in the mid-19th century and was totally redesigned to a modern city plan in 1929 by German engineer Karl Frisch.
Orientation
Frisch’s master plan is a cartwheel design with six avenues radiating from the circular hub of Imam Khomeini Sq, widely referred to simply as ‘meydan’. The wheel distorts to the northeast around the lumpy hill of Tappeh-ye Mosallah and the excavation site of Hegmataneh Hill. Distances between blocks are deceptively long if you’re walking.
Information
INTERNET ACCESS
Coffeenet Arshia (Imamzadeh Sq; per hr IR7000; 8am-10pm) Slower connection.
Coffeenet Rozhan (Takhti St; per hr IR8000; 9am-2pm & 4-9pm) Handy for the Arian Hotel.
Sib Coffeenet (Khaje Rashid Blvd; per hr IR8000; 9am-10pm) Good connection and decorated with lots of smiley-faces, hearts and ceiling netting. Three other coffeenets are within a block.
POST
Main Post Office (off Buali St)
Sub Post Office (Khaje Rashid Blvd)
TELEPHONE
Telephone office (Mahdiyeh St) Take a shuttle taxi down Shari’ati St.
TOURIST INFORMATION
Ali Sadr Travel Agency ( 828 2011; Khaje Rashid Blvd; 9am-1pm & 4-7.30pm Sat-Thu, 10am-noon Fri) Although a commercial agency, the English-speaking staff are super-friendly and happy to answer general questions.
Hamadan