Iran - Andrew Burke [186]
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ESFAHAN
0311 / pop 1,630,000 / elev 1574m
Esfahan is Iran’s masterpiece, the jewel of ancient Persia and one of the finest cities in the Islamic world. The exquisite blue mosaic tiles of Esfahan’s Islamic buildings, its expansive bazaar and its gorgeous bridges demand as much of your time as you can spare. It is a city for walking, getting lost in the bazaar, dozing in beautiful gardens, and drinking tea and chatting to locals in the marvellous teahouses. More than anything else, though, Esfahan is a place for savouring the high refinements of Persian culture most evident in and around Imam Sq – the Imam Mosque, Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Ali Qapu Palace and Chehel Sotun Palace.
Such is Esfahan’s grandeur that it is easy to agree with the famous 16th-century half-rhyme ‘Esfahan nesf-e jahan’ (Esfahan is half the world). Robert Byron was slightly more geographically specific when he ranked ‘Isfahan among those rarer places, like Athens or Rome, which are the common refreshment of humanity’. Today it is a Unesco World Heritage site.
There are, however, some less-than-refreshing elements to the city of Esfahan. This is the country’s third-largest city and capital of Esfahan province, and the outskirts are home to plenty of heavy industry, including a much-discussed nuclear facility. So Esfahan has traffic jams and air pollution; the long-awaited underground railway should help – if indeed it is ever finished.
History
Little is known of Esfahan’s ancient history, but the Ateshkadeh-ye Esfahan (Esfahan Fire Temple; ) and pillars of the Shahrestan Bridge, both from the Sassanid period, attest to its longevity. The Buyid period saw an explosion of construction and by the late 10th century the walled city of Esfahan was home to dozens of mosques and hundreds of wealthy homes. In 1047 the Seljuks made Esfahan their capital and during the next 180 years it was adorned with the magnificently geometric Seljuk style of architecture, several prominent parts of which remain.
The Mongols put an end to that, and it wasn’t until the glorious reign of the Safavid Shah Abbas I (also revered as Shah Abbas the Great), which began in 1587, that Esfahan was again Iran’s premier city. After moving the capital from Qazvin to Esfahan, Abbas set about transforming it into a city worthy of an empire at its peak. His legacy is the incomparable Imam Sq and artistic advances – particularly in carpet weaving – that were celebrated and envied as far away as Europe. Subsequent Safavid rulers also contributed to Esfahan’s skyline, but little more than a century after Abbas’ death the dynasty was finished and the capital transferred first to Shiraz and later Tehran.
Orientation
The main street, tree-lined Chahar Bagh (Four Gardens), was built in 1597 and was once lined with many palaces and the four gardens after which it is named. Although it’s over 5km long, most travellers base themselves along the middle section of the street, called Chahar Bagh Abbasi St, between Si-o-Seh Bridge (Pol-e Si-o-Seh) and Takhti Junction. Most of the sights, shops, offices and hotels are within easy walking distance from this part of Esfahan. The few outlying attractions are easily visited by shuttle or private taxi.
The Zayandeh River starts in the Zagros Mountains, flows east through the heart of Esfahan and eventually peters out in the Dasht-e Kavir. It separates the older and low-rise northern part of the city from the Armenian quarter in Jolfa, southwest of Si-o-Seh Bridge, and the fast-growing southern part of town where there is no restriction on building heights.
The main Kaveh bus terminal is a few kilometres north of town along Chahar Bagh St; the smaller Soffeh terminal in the south caters to more southerly destinations.
MAPS
Gita Shenasi’s New Map of Esfahan (IR15,000; 2006) is available in bookstores. There is also a free tourist map available at the tourist information office (Click here) in several languages.
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