Yezdikhwast is between Isfahan and Shiraz – or, for Vita Sackville-West in 1927, from Isfahan on the way across the Zagros Mountains when she visited the Bakhtiari. She described the town as: “that fantastic grey eyrie overhanging a chasm. Pierre Loti compared it to the abode of sea birds [click here and scroll down for …
The madrese (religious school) at Khargird, in Khorasan (built 1438-45), is a showpiece of Timurid decorative art. Click here to see a short walk-through film I made (just learning!) about the six different sorts of tiles, some elegantly geometrical wallpaintings and some amazing plaster effects in the muqarnas (stalactite vaultings). Professor Grube and I discussed …
This lovely little shrine is around 20 km out of Nishapur. It has a Safavid-era building, a spring of good water and – most importantly – the footprints of Imam Reza impressed deep into rock. There are various stories about both the water and the footprints. It is said that, in 921CE, when Imam Reza …
I’ve already written about archaeology being carried out in the current war-zone on the Iran-Afghan border. But the rest of Khurasan was a busy conflict zone before and in the early years of Shah Abbas’ reign –with either the Safavid or the Uzbeg army, or both, invading pretty much every year. While the sieges and …
I’m fascinated by the renowned polymath Shaykh Bahaie – and an earlier posting on the blog has already showcased his amazing camel-powered oil mill, and mentioned his one-candle-powered hamam. Now his house in Isfahan is apparently up for sale. The house website explains that the building was nominated for the UNESCO prize of “most beautiful …