Iran observations

by John Da Costa

These observations were compiled after a recent three-week study tour of Iran, conducted by the University of Sydney in conjunction with the Near East Archaeological Foundation. The tour examined the history of Persia through the ages.

In recent times, Iran has not had good press and so it was with a little trepidation that we decided to participate in a Sydney University organised historical tour of the country. We were pleasantly surprised. We had anticipated a rather cool reception by the locals and an oppressive atmosphere. Nothing could be further from the actuality. We were invariably greeted with a smiling response to our (poor) guidebook Farsi phrases, even in the more remote areas. Further, any unintended gaffes by female members of our group regarding local dress customs were treated with an understanding tolerance.  I can only describe the Iranians as “very friendly” towards us, and our travels throughout the country were without incident.

Our arrival at Tehran International Airport by Emirates airline, some 21 hours after leaving Sydney, was somewhat anticlimactic given our expectation of oppressive officialdom and (for the women) unsympathetic dress police. As it happened, we passed quickly through smiling immigration and customs posts, collected our luggage from the carousel quicker than at Sydney International Airport and found ourselves in our comfortable tour bus in short order. The women had, as briefed back in Sydney, donned voluminous head gear and over-garments before disembarking from the aircraft, only to be told by our excellent and experienced Iranian guide for the duration of the tour, Mahmoud, that he doubted whether he had ever seen such an “Islamic bus” and that the women could be a little more relaxed in their dress. He did say, however, that their willingness to conform with what they thought to be the norm, did not at all harm our collective image as western tourists.

Mahmoud had a Masters Degree in History, spoke excellent English and quickly attuned to, and participated in, the Australian sense of humour. We could not have had a better guide, and he well complemented our Sydney University tour leader, archaeologist and historian Ben Churcher, a son of the well-known art personality, Betty.

I should say, however, that our group was not taken into the confidence of the present government of Iran in respect of either Iran’s nuclear research program or the aims of its foreign policy. Therefore, all impressions recorded here are based only on personal observations and private conversations in the country.

Iran is a large country, approximately the size of Turkey, Syria and Iraq combined, or almost as large as Queensland. Like Turkey, it is a non-Arab Muslim country, but of the Shiite persuasion rather than Sunni. Iranians have always referred to their country as Iran, rather than Persia. “Iran” is derived from “Aryan”, the name of the Indo-European race that began to move into the region in about the 12th century BC, displacing or absorbing the existing Elamite culture. Persia was the Greek name for the country.

Rich history

Iran has a rich history, which (arguably) reached its zenith in the sixth and fifth centuries BC when the Achaemenian kings, Cyrus II (the Great), Darius and Xerxes, ruled over an empire stretching from the Indus Valley in the east to the Aegean Sea in the west and from the Black and Caspian Seas in the north to, and including, Egypt in the south. This is not to say that Persian power ended with the demise of the Achaemenians and the defeat of Persia by Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC. As late as 260 AD Shapur I, the later Sassanian dynasty king, defeated the Romans at Edessa (in present day Turkey) and actually captured Valerian, the Roman emperor.

I was surprised to learn that Cyrus the Great (ruled 550 – 529 BC) had developed systems of coinage, courier post, and standardised weights and measures and had built underground water canals in Iran and good roads throughout his vast domain. Although he established Zoroastrianism as the state religion, he encouraged religious tolerance. He delivered the Jews from captivity in Babylon and allowed them to return to their homeland, even promising to assist in the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem that had been destroyed by the Babylonians.

Geography, population

Iran lies chiefly on a high plateau that drops away sharply in the far west into the Mesopotamian plain (Iraq) and becomes desert in most of the east, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan. The mountains are snow-capped for much of the year and are the source of an abundance of water that has been reticulated via ancient underground canals for millennia. The system supplies some of the desert cities and irrigates very fertile areas that see up to four wheat crops per annum. A noticeable feature of Iranian cities and towns is the abundance of green public parks and well-cared-for flower gardens.

The population of Iran has increased from 30 million to 70 million in the 27 years since the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi dynasty of the last Shah. Ayatollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran after the revolution, wanted to increase the world’s population of Muslims. Accordingly, his government encouraged bigger families, by moral persuasion and provision of free milk powder, etc.

Birthrate halved, black chador

Iran’s population exploded but now, under his successor Ayatollah Khamenei, birth control clinics have been established, free sterilisation operations are provided and there is no government assistance for a fourth or subsequent child. The birthrate has now halved. Not surprisingly, however, more than half of the present population is now aged under 30 years, posing an unemployment problem for the present government and a huge old age-related one for the future.

Such a young population, exposed as it is to western culture via satellite television like BBC and CNN, is already influencing the older and more culturally conservative politicians and religious leaders. Dress rules (laws), such as requiring women’s hair to be fully covered and having their outer garments extend below the knees, have been much relaxed since the passing of Ayatollah Khomeini.

The predominant outdoors dress for women remains the traditional black chador, reminiscent of traditional female dress in parts of Greece and Italy. However, younger women, including those with small children, are commonly seen wearing multicoloured scarves, jackets and jeans, particularly in the cities.

Despite Government pressure to have them settle in villages, there are still nomadic tent-dwelling tribes in Iran who shepherd their flocks of sheep between traditional pastures on the plains and seasonally in the mountains. The families, however, usually move by four-wheel-drive and the groups are accompanied by a mobile schoolteacher, because child education is compulsory.

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Education and health

There are fee-paying private and government schools but, apparently, the private schools are better. On the other hand, while private universities are very expensive, a degree from a government university is more highly regarded. Interestingly, 62 per cent of university students are now female.

Government employees have free medical insurance, access to lower cost medicines and a rebate on hospital care. However, the public hospital system seems to be poor and those Iranians who can afford it tend to go to private hospitals or travel overseas for treatment. Private sector employees may purchase health insurance, but it is expensive.

Smoking is officially discouraged in the same way as in Australia. However, there is some ambivalence in that the Government owns a cigarette factory.

Iranians whom we encountered were friendly, polite and curious as to why we westerners were visiting their country. They were proud of their heritage and history and, seemingly, would like to be accepted into the international community.

The high school and university students spoke good English and even primary school kids are taught basic English. While resenting the anti-Iran policies of the USA and Israeli governments, Iranians do not appear to have any problems with American and Jewish people, per se.

Iranians cannot forget that the USA supported Saddam Hussein’s eight-year war against Iran, in which the country lost some 500,000. However, we encountered a number of American tourists who were obviously granted visas, but were necessarily travelling with European travel groups because of US government sanctions. None reported being hassled. We saw no overt signs of discrimination when we visited an active synagogue in Hamadan and we were told that many other synagogues exist in Iran. (See “Religion”, below.)

Tehran

The very crowded, modern, traffic-choked, smoggy city of Tehran, where we began and finished our tour, is an urban nightmare. Simply crossing a main thoroughfare requires great care and intestinal fortitude. At the time of the 1979 revolution it had a population of 2,500,000, which has increased by 10 million in the subsequent 27 years.

However, it boasts a world-class array of museums and historic buildings where one can examine some of the finest Persian carpets ever made, an excellent Museum of Contemporary Art and the treasures of dynasties from the Achaemenids (Cyrus the Great) to the more recent Pahlavis.

Convertible currencies within Iran are US Dollars (USD) and euros, which can be changed to the Iranian rial (IR) at most large hotels, but IR cannot be purchased or changed back outside Iran. Some vendors and most large hotels accept USD and euro currency for purchases. There are very few ATMs and credit cards, including Mastercard, but not Visa, are accepted in only a few shops.

Most main dishes were served on a bed of rice, which was unexpected until we saw the vast rice-paddies of north-west Iran, near the Caspian Sea. Chicken, lamb, beef and fish kebabs, and other styles of meat cooking, were always available. In the north the fish was sturgeon. It had a firm but not particularly flavoursome flesh. In the south there were tasty salt-water fish from the Persian Gulf and freshwater trout almost everywhere.

An unusual specialty of Iran was ground pomegranate and walnut stew, with a choice of meat content. This was a little sweet for my taste, but was liked by others (pomegranate orchards are a ubiquitous feature of the rural scene). Barley soup was commonly available and the salad and dessert bars were excellent. Locally produced yoghurt was always available and was delicious.

Transport Petrol and diesel fuel was very cheap in Iran, well under 20c per litre, which represents about the cost of its transport from refinery to bowser. This results from an undertaking by Ayatollah Khomeini to return national oil revenue to the people of Iran by subsidising both petrol and bread. However, because cars are expensive to buy, the roads are crowded with second-hand vehicles, many of which are poorly maintained and driven. A criticism of the oil policy by some Iranians is that it only assists those who can afford, or wish, to drive a motor vehicle. Many can’t or don’t. The comment was made that the money could more fairly be used in providing better health and education facilities.

An excellent Iranian law affects bus and truck drivers. Their vehicles must be fitted with a tachograph that records the speed (maximum 90 km/h by day; 80 km/h by night) and the hours that the driver spends behind the wheel. There are regular compulsory police checkpoints on highways, at which drivers must hand in the tachographs. The penalty for noncompliance with this law is, apparently, severe.

The military

There is a strange situation in Iran whereby there exists two separate armies, both with air and naval arms. One is the “regular” army, which is based on the previous regime’s (Shah’s) defence organisation. The other has been built on the tens of thousands of volunteer “freedom fighters” or “martyrs” called upon by Ayatollah Khomeini to help defend against Saddam’s Iraqi forces in the eight-year war. The country would seem ill-able to afford these separate organisations with their completely independent support systems, but there seems to be a lot of residual emotional support for the continuation of the “second” army, which also seems to be the private army of the Supreme Leader. Some Iranians, at least, feel that the money could be better spent on the welfare of the general population, rather than on such apparently unnecessary duplication of military manpower.

Differentiating between the Shiite and Sunni sects of Islam is as difficult for those from a western (or Christian) background as it would be for a Muslim to work out the difference between a Roman Catholic and an Anglican. However, this is my brief take on it:

When the Prophet Mohammed died there was some dispute as to who should then become the spiritual leader. Put simply, the Sunni (orthodox) Muslims have always maintained that he should be elected from the most worthy of Mohammed’s followers. This led to a succession of caliphs and emirs to the present day.

On the other hand, Shiites believe that the spiritual leader should only come from the Prophet Mohammed’s direct family line through his son-in-law Ali. This led to a rival spiritual family line of imams (leaders), which was broken when the 12th imam. The Mahdi, “disappeared” in the ninth century AD. Shiites believe that the Mahdi’s eventual return, in company with the Prophet Jesus, will signal the end of tyranny and injustice and restore Shi’a to its proper place as the universal religion of God.

In the meantime, Shiite spiritual guidance is determined by theologian ayatollahs (PhD imams), most of whom study and live in the holy city of Qum, south of Tehran.

Interestingly, the ayatollahs try to “divine” what Mohammed would have given as guidance in today’s world, rather than the Sunni approach of dwelling on the words of the Prophet, as recorded in the seventh century. (At least, that is what I understand happens.)

Accordingly, I formed the view that Shiite theology could well lead to a more contemporary attitude to the religious and social needs of the people than the Sunni approach.

Alcohol

The consumption of alcohol is prohibited by the Koran (the Word of God). Accordingly, sharia law makes it illegal to import alcoholic beverages into Iran or to consume them in public. It seems, however, that many people make their own wine, etc., for consumption at home. I found it difficult to reconcile this ambivalent attitude, but it was pointed out that not all in our own society subscribe absolutely to all of the ten commandments.

Suffice to say, however, that we tourists went thirsty for the whole three weeks, even in the city of Shiraz. Our Iranian guide suggested that there were now no shiraz grapevines in the Shiraz region of Iran because they were “all in Australia”. One available alternative to bottled water, was the local nonalcoholic beer—absolutely awful.

An obligation toward those less fortunate than oneself is an important principle of Islam. This was exemplified by the large number of blue charity boxes, for voluntary donations, located in mosques and in the streets of towns and villages all over the country. Apparently, they are patronised, and not tampered with.

Zoroastrianism

From the time of Cyrus the Great until the introduction of the Muslim religion by Arab conquest in the seventh century AD, Iranians had followed the teachings of Zoroaster, a sixth century BC holy man who was one of the first to postulate monotheism (one God) and the eternal battle between good and evil. Some believe that Zoroastrianism strongly influenced Judaism during the period of Jewish captivity in Babylon, before the books of the Bible were codified. Zoroastrianism continues as a minority religion in present-day Iran, particularly in the desert city of Yazd, but many followers fled to India at the time of the Arab incursion and became today’s Parsees.

Museums and places of interest

Highlights of Tehran included the Golestan Palace complex built by Shah Nasser al-Din in the 19th century, impressed as he was by what he had seen in Europe. Now somewhat reduced in size, the complex became less important during the last dynasty (Pahlavi) but is still spectacular. The visual impact of the mirrored, open-fronted, Marble Throne audience hall, which contains a huge throne supported by human figures and is constructed from 65 pieces of alabaster, was a splendid indicator of the opulence of the Shahs, even in relatively recent times. This complex was an appropriate lead-in to our subsequent visit to the National Jewels Museum which contained the Royal Jewels of the Shahs, including the fabled Peacock Throne and the Darya-ye Nur (Sea of Light) pink diamond weighing 182 carats, said to be the largest uncut diamond in the world. There was much, much more.

Tehran treasures include this 2500-years old scale weight (left) and the opulent Sun Throne in the Golestan Palace.

At the other end of the spectrum ,visually at least, was the huge Tehran Bazaar with its very busy complex of narrow walkways and vendor stalls grouped together by type in sections/streets, selling gold jewellry (by weight of gold), clothing, carpets, household items, etc. There seemed to be very little jostling by the crowd but, somehow, one was kept moving along. The vendors were, predominantly, content for the purchaser to make the first move, unlike the equivalent souks in some Arab or Turkish cities (and, later in the tour, in Isfahan).

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North From Tehran 

We headed off north on a busy motorway through the snow-capped 14,000ft Alborz Mountains, which are a link in the chain of mountains stretching from the Himalayas to Anatolian Turkey. Not far from the main road, but inaccessible by bus, were the original, ruined, fortresses of the 11th century AD cult of Assassins (from the word “Hashish-iyun”, with obvious connotations). These castles and the cult were overrun and destroyed by the Mongols in 1256 AD.

As we neared the Caspian Sea, we diverted from the freeway and travelled through many kilometres of rice paddies, tea plantations and olive groves, fed by water and silt from the mountains. A brief stop allowed us to visit the small, picturesque, misty hillside village of Masuleh where the village streets comprised the roofs of the row of houses below. Thence to our large, clean and comfortable hotel on the shores of the Caspian. We were still in the cooler months, so the outdoor recreational facilities were not in good shape, but an amble along the foreshore walkway showed us how this could well be a popular summer playground.

Northwest to Tabriz

The road took us northwest through more rice-fields to Astara on the Azerbaijan border, then west up into the Alborz Mountain chain, through Ardabil to Tabriz.
Ardabil is known for its magnificent mausoleum and museum honouring Sheikh Safi-od-Din, the 16th century AD founder of the Safavid dynasty. Inter alia, the museum contained a recently completed accurate replica of “The Ardabil Carpet” (the original is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London), perhaps the most famous of all Persian carpets. It measures over 10 metres by 5 metres and contains nearly 30 million knots. The restored mausoleum complex of beautifully tiled buildings included the spectacular “House of Porcelain”, specifically designed to display the Shah’s collection of ceramics, most of which are now in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

Tabriz, our furthest point north-west, is a large modern city with a turbulent past, reflecting its strategic location on the Silk Road to Anatolia. Over many centuries it has been overrun by the Mongols, Tamerlane, Seljuk and Ottoman-Turks and Russians. A highlight was the ongoing restoration of the strikingly beautiful 15th century Blue Mosque with its vaults decorated with gold and lapis lazuli tile work. Another feature of Tabriz was the labyrinthine bazaar which is 3.5 kms long with over 7000 shops and 24 caravanserai open spaces. It included a cavernous carpet bazaar.

South to Hamadan and KermanshahWe then began our southerly climb into the Zagros Mountains, past huge Lake Urmiyeh, pausing briefly at Maragheh (a former Mongol period capital) to view some interesting 12th century Seljuk-Turk tomb towers, a 16/17th century Safavid period mosque with both wooden columns and ceilings and a 13th century astronomical observatory. We continued south through snow-capped mountains and fertile valleys to the small town of Takab, our base for a diversion up into the hills to the remote, but superb, archaeological site of Takht-e Soleiman (Throne of Solomon), which, of course, it was not. Apparently, it was given its current name to protect it from destruction by the invading Islamic Arab armies in the 7th century AD. It was a large fortified settlement built around a small volcanic lake raised above the surrounding plain in a large geological basin, and variously occupied by Achaemenid, Parthian, Sassanian, Arab and Mongol dynasties, but later abandoned for unknown reasons. Archaeological evidence of both a fire-temple (Zoroastrian) and a temple to the Parthian fertility-goddess Anahita clearly show that the site had religious significance for the early occupants, which is not surprising given its spectacular setting high in the mountains.

Continuing south on the 2000 metre plateau, with panoramic views of mountains and huge wheat fields, we came to Hamadan, incorporating the site of the ancient city of Ecbatana. Situated on the so-called “Royal Road”, which was also a branch of the Silk Road to Baghdad and the Mediterranean, Ecbatana, at the height of its glory, was the most opulent of palaces and was protected by seven rings of walls. It attracted many invading armies, including Alexander the Great, who made it his treasury, but there is little to see, now, other than a fine museum and parts of the ancient walls.

At Hamadan we also visited the most important Jewish pilgrimage site in Iran, a shrine said to contain the tombs of Esther, the Jewish wife of Xerxes I (fifth century BC), and her uncle, Mordecai, a courtier to Xerxes.

But by far the most historically significant site was that at nearby Ganjnameh. In a garden setting near a waterfall are carved, side-by-side on a cliff-face, separate inscriptions by Darius I and his son Xerxes I, in three languages: Old Persian, Elamite and Neo-Babylonian. These list the titles of the two kings and hence the extent of their empires at the time. At Bisotun, closer to Kermanshah down the royal road, are the famous bas-reliefs of Darius I, carved high in a sandstone cliff in those same three ancient languages, and giving a unique contemporary account of the events of his reign. These inscriptions, painstakingly copied by the Englishman Henry Rawlinson in 1838, did for Old Persian what the Rosetta Stone did for Egyptian hieroglyphs, enabling translations of the Old Persian, Elamite and Neo-Babylonian cuneiform scripts.

Near Kermanshah we visited one of the most pleasant historical sites in Iran, Taq-e Bostan. As is usually the case throughout ancient Persia, these bas-reliefs were located close to a water-feature and gardens. This site gave a pictorial history of various events in the reigns of Sassanian monarchs from the fourth through the seventh centuries AD. A common feature was the Zoroastrian God, Ahura Mazda, handing the “Ring of Kingship” to the monarch at his “coronation”.

The terrain south from Kermanshah gradually broadened into great wide valleys until, eventually, the road emptied out on to the flat Mesopotamian plain and its oil-fields. Near Ahwaz, we visited the ancient ruins of Susa (modern Shush), a settlement dating from prehistoric times (at least fourth millennium BC), which was burnt by the Assyrians but which regained its importance under Darius I who built palaces and fortifications on the site. It fell to Alexander in 331 BC and later became the Sassanian capital and then an important centre of Christianity before it was permanently evacuated in the face of Mongol raids. The ruins are dominated by a 19th century AD French archaeological dig-house, which was built like a medieval castle, apparently to keep marauding Arab bandits at bay.

 Not far from Susa is the substantially restored, 105 metres square, 60 metre high, five-level Elamite mud-brick ziggurat, a pyramidal tiered temple, of Choqa Zanbil, a World Heritage site which was “lost” to the world for some 2500 years until accidentally rediscovered in 1935 during an oil company aerial survey. Entirely made from bricks, it was built as five concentric square structures, as opposed to the single-based Egyptian-type pyramids.

Amazingly, the lower three levels have survived millennia of weathering and are under restoration, but the upper two levels are reduced to rubble. It originally had a temple on the summit dedicated to the chief god of the Elamites, Inshushinak, with staircases on each side of the ziggurat from the base to the top, for access by the elite of Elamite society. Water for the complex was channelled, underground, from as far as 45 kms away. The structure was sacked and burnt by the Assyrians, apparently their favourite pastime, around 640 BC.

Southeast to Shiraz

A long day’s travel through broad, hazy, plains and fertile irrigated fields, took us then to the “Roses and Nightingales” city of Shiraz. Along the way, we looked over the impressive ruins and associated Sassanian bas-reliefs at Bishapur. Built by Shapur I, in the third century AD, at the strategic pass, Tang-e Chogan, the reliefs commemorated Shapur’s victory over the Romans, strikingly illustrated by a supine Emperor Valerian carved into the rock below the feet of Shapur. The walled ruins of nearby Bishapur Palace include a well preserved subterranean temple to the goddess Anahita and a cross-shaped audience hall. The ruins are overshadowed by the towering mountain pass, through which the highway continued.

Shiraz, albeit now no longer the home of the wine-grape of renown, is a city not to be missed on any visit to Iran. Some wine is, apparently, produced and consumed in private homes in Iran, but its drinking is illegal according to Sharia and, accordingly, Iranian law. Of relatively small size, one and a half million population, Shiraz is a city of parks and gardens and has always been celebrated as the centre of Iranian culture, as exemplified by the large and hugely respected graves/shrines of the poets Sa’di and Hafez of the 13th and 14th centuries AD, respectively. Omar Khayyam, 11th century, is perhaps better known in the west because of his Rubaiyet, but unfortunately his tomb in the far north-east of Iran was not on our track.

Young people read poetry

It is common to see young people sitting in the parks of these poets’ shrines, reading their poetry aloud. In the tea room at the Hafez shrine, we were taken aback at the sight of two unaccompanied young women reclining on one of the bed-like lounges, smoking a shared hookah (hubble-bubble). We had not appreciated until then that tobacco hookahs, as well as the usual drinks, were often available in tea houses, and commonly shared by small groups.

There are some quite extraordinarily beautiful places to visit in Shiraz, our favourites being the colourful “Pink Mosque” (Nasir-ol-Molk) with its exquisite tile work and fine stalactite portal mouldings and the Garden of Paradise (Bagh-e Eram) with its 300 year Cypress trees, rose gardens (a gift from Holland) and the Pavilion of the Shahs. But that is being very picky and is not intended in any way to detract from the other attractive sites in Shiraz, not the least being the “Orange Garden” and Qajar period Governor’s residence, Bagh-e Naranjestan.

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Northwest to Yazd via Persepolis

The ruins of the city of Persepolis lie some 50 kms north east of Shiraz on the main road to Tehran. Developed over some 150 years by a succession of Achaemenid kings following on from Darius I, the massive and magnificent palace was their summer and ceremonial capital until destroyed by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC following his defeat of Darius III. The circumstances surrounding the burning of the palace are still debated by scholars. Some think that it accidentally occurred after a well documented drunken orgy by Alexander and his close friends; others believe that it was deliberately done to avenge the destruction of Athens by Xerxes. Whatever the background, the impressive ruins are evocative of an ancient civilization and are a popular tourist destination for Iranians and foreigners, alike.

Just a little further north is the Necropolis (Naqsh-e Rostam), or rock tombs, of the Achaemenid kings Darius I, Ataxerxes I, Xerxes I and Darius II, hewn into a sandstone cliff. They are set high above the ground level and, whilst much older and less ornate, are reminiscent of the Nabataean tombs at Petra in Jordan. Further on still, at Pasargadae, are the ruins of Cyrus the Great’s city and palaces, begun about 546 BC, and his impressively simple tomb, starkly set on what is now a windswept grassy plain. The gabled stone tomb rests atop a massive six-stepped plinth, the first step being about 2 metres high.

Further north, we turned east from the main road and descended from the mountains onto the desert plains of eastern Iran toward the city of Yazd passing, along the way, some extraordinary, tall, conical, restored icehouses. In the severe winter temperatures in the desert, water in troughs froze overnight . It was harvested in blocks each morning and stacked between layers of straw in the icehouses. Sealed up, the ice survived until summer when it was in great demand.

Yazd, desert cityYazd is a desert city, some 1200 metres above sea level, with green squares, fountains and tree-lined streets. The greenery owes its existence to a number of ancient, but well-maintained, Qanats or underground gravity-fed channels which bring water from the mountains many kilometres away.

Yazd has been a centre of trade and commerce since before the time when Marco Polo passed through on the silk route in the late 13th century and is still considered to have the best bazaar for gold jewellry in Iran. It is home to the largest community of Zoroastrians (the ancient religion of the Achaemenid dynasty) in Iran, and we visited one of their fire temples set in an attractive garden. Another obvious feature of Yazd is its proliferation of wind towers (badgirs) designed to catch and circulate, over a water pond, the merest breath of summer desert wind; a most effective cooling system for buildings.

Architectural highlights included the stunning three-storey facade of the old bazaar buildings (Amir Chakhmaq complex) and the 14th century Friday (Jameh) Mosque, dating from the time of Tamerlane. The Mosque has the highest minaret in Iran and contains stunning mosaics and tiles incorporating floral and geometric patterns. Interestingly, the mosque is similar to a church in its cruciform layout, possibly due to Tamerlane having a Christian wife.

Northwest from Yazd to Isfahan (Esfahan)

As we proceeded toward Isfahan, we paused at an abandoned roadside caravanserai, one of some 999 in the deserts of Iran. Constructed of mud brick with ornate external decorations, thick defended walls and areas for stabling animals and accommodating merchants and merchandise, this large structure gave some insight into the ancient trade system in this part of the world.

Next was the small desert city of Na’in, located at the geographical centre of Iran and famous in the country for its carpets. Almost every home is said to have a weaving loom and we visited one where an elderly man was producing camel hair cloth, a very soft and velvety fabric. Unfortunately, few young people are interested in continuing what has traditionally been a family business and the skills are being lost. The most significant building in Na’in is the 10th century Jameh Mosque, dating from the early Islamic period. It featured early examples of stucco, the decoration of brick columns to resemble the palm trees in use in Arabian mosques of the time and an underground prayer hall to escape fierce summer temperatures.

I have not previously said much about the hotels in which we stayed, but it can be said that they were quite satisfactory. However, our hotel in Isfahan (Abbasi) was superb. Based on a rebuilt caravanserai, but now with gardened courtyards, it was located next to a domed madraseh (theological school), once used by royal families. From the Abbasi, we could quite easily walk to the city’s main sights.

Isfahan is a city of about two million and is said to be one of the finest cities in the Islamic world. It has more green space than any other city in Iran and one of the most impressive ornamental squares of any city, anywhere. The Emam Khomeini Square, as it is now known. measures 500m by 160m and was built in 1612 by Shah Abbas the Great as a polo field.

The open space now encloses a large pond and is bordered by continuous arcaded buildings broken only by, to quote The lonely planet guide book: “the incomparable Emam Mosque, the supremely elegant Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque and the indulgent Ali Qapu Palace”.

The Emam Mosque is visually stunning with lavish blue-tiled mosaic decorations and wonderfully proportioned architectural elegance. The dome is notable for its twin-shells, the outer and inner being 52m and 38m high, respectively. This allowed easier decoration and maintenance of the inner dome whilst retaining more aesthetic proportions externally. The magnificent entry portal was built flush with the huge square outside but the mosque itself was aligned some 45º to the right, in the direction of Mecca. The mosque took some 17 years to complete, being finished in the year of Abbas’ death.

Sheikh Lotfollah, Jameh MosquesThe Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque was dedicated to the Shah’s father-in-law, and was for the private use of the Shah and his family. This explains the absence of a Muezzin’s minaret – who would dare call the Shah to prayers. Its pale dome contrasted with the blue arabesque and floral mosaics on the walls of the portal. The niche (mihrab) in the mosque, indicating the direction of Mecca, is said to be the finest in Iran, with lovely mosaics, stalactite mouldings and calligraphy.

The Ali Qapu Palace is of an unusual six-storey design, originally built as a monumental gateway to the old palaces in the parklands behind. Its highlight is an elevated terrace with 18 slender wooden carved columns holding up a wooden ceiling decorated with intricate inlay work. The terrace was used by the Safavid kings to view the various royal entertainments conducted in the square below. The inner building had a throne room off the terrace and, on an upper floor, a music room with intricately carved decorations.

About a kilometre or so through the bazaar area from the Emam Square was the vast Jameh (Friday) Mosque. At 30,000 sq. metres, it is the largest in Iran and displayed Islamic styles from the 11th to the 18th centuries. Over the centuries it has been damaged by a 12th century fire and, in more recent times, Iraqi bombs, but it remains in use as the main mosque of Isfahan. An interesting feature in the centre of the main courtyard was the usual ablutions fountain, but designed to imitate the Kaaba at Mecca. Intending haj pilgrims used it to practise the appropriate rituals.

Other visual highlights of Isfahan included the charming 17th century octagonal Hasht Behesht (Eight Paradises) Palace, with its mosaics, stalactite mouldings and mirror-work decorations, in the 8,000 sq. metre Nightingale Gardens. Also, the Chehel Sotun (Forty Columns) Palace, built as a pleasure pavilion and reception hall by Abbas II in 1647 AD. Its name is derived from the reflection in the garden’s large rectangular pool of the 20 slender, ribbed wooden pillars supporting the palace terrace. Designed to impress foreign dignitaries, there was, inside the palace, a rich array of miniatures, paintings, ceramics, and frescoes on a grand scale.

In contrast to the overwhelmingly Islamic architecture of most of Isfahan, we were surprised to become immersed in the Orthodox Christian iconography and biblical murals (albeit curiously mixed with Islamic tiles and designs) of the mosque-like Vank Cathedral, one of 13 Armenian churches in the 10,000-strong Armenian quarter of the city. The original Armenians of Isfahan were forcibly transported by Abbas I to make use of their skills and entrepreneurial talents. They were discouraged from returning to Armenia by the destruction of their villages and so had nothing to which to return!

While not visited by us, we were also told that two or three synagogues (out of some 14 which were in use from Babylonian times by a large Jewish population) were still in regular use by some 2000 Jews in Isfahan.

Finally, and certainly not to be missed, were the old bridges across the Zayandeh River. The finest was the 17th century Khaju Bridge, some 132 metres long with 23 arches. It had two levels and in the centre was a pavilion built for the exclusive use of Abbas II to enjoy the view. Longer by about 30 metres, older by 50 years and having 33 arches, was the less elegant Si-o-Seh Bridge, but which had the advantage of an excellent teahouse in which to linger and, this being the last day of our bus tour, to reflect upon the pleasures of the preceding three weeks.

Back to TehranA short 40 minute flight brought us back to our starting point in Tehran for a final few days in Iran.

A great way to finish our tour was to visit the National Archaeological Museum and the adjacent Museum of the Islamic Period, which displayed many artefacts recovered from the sites visited by us. This certainly helped to give us a better historical perspective on the millenia of history involved. Our final day was taken up with visits to the Carpet Museum, which had over 100 examples of the craft, dating from the 16th century to the present and to the Glass and Ceramics Museum, housed in a beautiful building gifted for museum use by Empress Farah Dibah.

So came to the end a fascinating visit to a little-known country to we westerners. We each came away with a much better understanding of the history, culture and nature of Iranian society.

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