IRAN/PERSIA

[alitezar]

Originally Posted by TEHR_IR

Kashan



Kashan is a city in the province of Isfahan, Iran. It had an estimated population of 272,359 in 2005.

The etymology of the city name comes from Kasian, the original inhabitants of Kashan whose remains are found at Tapeh Sialk dating back 9,000 years over mellenia this changed to kashian and the the town became kashan.the Persian word Kashi, which translates into the English word tile. Kashan is the first of the large oases along the Qom-Kerman road which runs along the edge of the central deserts of Iran. Its charm is thus mainly due to the contrast between the parched immensities of the deserts and the greenery of the well-tended oasis.

Archeological discoveries in the Sialk Hillocks which lie 2.5 miles (4 km) west of Kashan reveal that this region was one of the primary centers of civilization in pre-historic ages. Hence Kashan dates back to the Elamite period of Iran. The Sialk ziggurat still stands today in the suburbs of Kashan after 7000 years.

The artifacts uncovered at Sialk reside in the Louvre in Paris and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Iran's National Museum.

By some accounts - though not all - Kashan was the origin of the three wise men who followed the star that guided them to Bethlehem to witness the nativity of Jesus, as recounted in the Bible. Whatever the historical validity of this story, the attribution of Kashan as their original home testifies to the city prestige at the time the story was set down.
Teemcheh-e-Amin o Dowleh, Kashan Bazaar, Iran. 1800s. Persian architects used these structures to naturally decrease temperatures, regulate sunlight, and ventilate the interior spaces during the daytime.

Abu-Lu'lu'ah/Pirouz Nahāvandi, the Persian soldier who was enslaved by the Islamic conquerors and eventually assassinated the caliph Umar al-Khattab in 23 AH (644–645) CE, reportedly fled to Kashan after the assasination and lived there some years before being finally caught and executed. His tomb is one of Kashan's conspicuous landmarks (see gallery below).

Sultan Malik Shah I of the Seljukid dynasty ordered the building of a fortress in the middle of Kashan in the 11th century. The fortress walls, called Ghal'eh Jalali still stand today in central Kashan.

Kashan was also a leisure vacation spot for Safavi Kings. Bagh-e Fin (Fin Garden), specifically, is one of the most famous gardens of Iran. This beautiful garden with its pool and orchards was designed for Shah Abbas I as a classical Persian vision of paradise. The original Safavid buildings have been substantially replaced and rebuilt by the Qajar dynasty although the layout of trees and marble basins is close to the original. The garden itself however, was first founded 7000 years ago alongside the Cheshmeh-ye-Soleiman. The garden is also notorious as the sight of the murder of Mirza Taghi Khan known as Amir Kabir, chancellor of Nasser-al-Din Shah, Iran's King in 1852.

The earthquake of 1778 leveled the city of Kashan and all the edifices of Shah Abbas Safavi, leaving 8000 casualties. But the city started afresh and has today become a focal tourist attraction via the numerous large houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, illustrating the finest examples of Qajari aesthetics.

Kashan today

Although extremely wealthy in terms of tourism potentials, the city remains largely undeveloped in this sector. However, hundreds of foreign tourists from all over the world visit this historical city every year. Qamsar and Abyaneh are notable towns around Kashan, attract tourists year around. An incredible man made cave and a historical fireplace in the town of Niasar, near Kashan, are also notable although not known for tourists.

Nevertheless Kashan is internationally famous for manufacturing carpets, silk and other textiles. Kashan today houses most of Iran's mechanized carpet-weaving factories, and has an active marble and copper mining industry.

Kashan is connected via freeways to Isfahan and Natanz to the South, and Qom, which is an hour drive away to the north. Kashan and suburbs have a population of 400,000.

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The architecture is so unique

[christos-greece]

The architecture is very nice, and also unique indeed

[Densetsu]

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Alone in the desert.

[christos-greece]

[noonghandi]

I remember playing on sand hills in Omidiyeh (AghaJari) when I was 5 years old.

[Rookie83]

some parts of it reminds me of kapadokia turkey

[Donkie]

I just love Iran pictures !

[christos-greece]

Originally Posted by noonghandi

I remember playing on sand hills in Omidiyeh (AghaJari) when I was 5 years old.

Playing in the desert?

[intensivecarebear]

deserts are so much fun. They're the best places in the world to have peace of mind and tranquility, and to contemplate life and one's place in the world uh, except during sandstorms...

[TEHR_IR]

Iran, Lut-Dessert

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Kashan dessert

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Hormozgan

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Golestan

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Urmia salt lake

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Siah Bisheh

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[noonghandi]

Even desert pictures are great. I feel the warmth.

[alitezar]

I never got a chance to visit the deserts of Iran and they seem so exotic and fun

[Metsada]

Originally Posted by Thermo

Ok, no problem But it's the first time someone says you can do more things in Iran than in Belgium, lol

Well, don't forget that Iran is a lot bigger than Belgium, and has a slightly older/richer history, lol Belgium is nice as well, actually all countries are beautiful if you ask me.

[Metsada]

Did I miss it, or are there no pics of Ahvaz, Qom, Kermanshah etc..?

[TEHR_IR]

Originally Posted by Metsada

Did I miss it, or are there no pics of Ahvaz, Qom, Kermanshah etc..?

sorry that I couldn't post more city's but I had exams but now I'm free

[TEHR_IR]

Ahvaz



Ancient history

Ahvaz is the anagram of "Avaz" and "Avaja" which appear in Darius's epigraph. This word appears in Naqsh-Rostam inscription as "Khaja" or "Khooja" too.

First named Ōhrmazd-Ardašēr (Persian: هرمزداردشیر) (Roamn Hormizdartazir) it was built near the beginning of the Sassanid dynasty on what historians believe to have been the site of the old city of Taryana, a notable city under the Persian Achaemenid dynasty. It was founded either by Ardashir I in 230 (cf. Encyclopædia Iranica, al-Muqaddasi, et al.) or (according to the Middle Persian Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr) by his grandson Hormizd I; the town's name either combined Ardashir's name with the Zoroastrian name for God, Ōhrmazd or Hormizd's name with that of his grandfather. It became the seat of the province, and was also referred to as Hūmšēr. During the Sassanid era, an irrigation system and several dams were constructed, and the city prospered. Examples of Sassanid-era dams are Band-e Bala-rud, Band-e Mizan, Band-e Borj Ayar and Band-e Khak. The city replaced Susa, the ancient capital of Susiana, as the capital of what was then called Xuzestān.

The city had two sections; the nobles of the city lived in one part while the other was inhabited by merchants. When the Arabs invaded the area in 640, the part of the city home to the nobility was demolished but the Hūj-ī-stānwāčār "Market of Khūz State", the merchant area, remained intact. The city was therefore renamed Sūq al-Ahwāz, "Market of the Khuz", a semi-literal translation of the Persian name of this quarter - Ahwāz being the Arabic broken plural of Hûz, taken from the ancient Persian term for the native Elamite peoples, Hūja (remaining in medieval Xūzīg "of the Khuz" and modern Xuzestān "Khuz State", as noted by Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179-1229) and Abu-Mansoor Javalighi.

Climate

Ahvaz has long, hot summers and mild, short winters. The maximum temperature in summer could soar up to 54 degrees Celsius while in winters the minimum temperature could fall around 2 degrees Celsius. The annual rainfall is 195 mm.

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Susa

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[alitezar]

Cool pix. Thanks

[christos-greece]

Cool pics indeed very nice

[shugs]

^That ziggurat is Chogha Zanbil in Susa...

Originally Posted by Gilgamesh

Ziggurat of Chogha Zanbil, Susa



Chogha Zanbil is situated in southwest Iran about 40 km southeast of the ancient city of Susa. It was built on a plateau above the banks of the Dez River. The complex consists of a ziggurat, temples, and three palaces built in 13th century BC by the Elamite king, Untash Gal.

The site was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1979, but it has still many secrets to reveal. Iranian archeologists have worked non-stop for the last 6 years on the site.

Its ancient name is Dur-Untash, which means the castle or the city of Untash. In the 13th century B.C., King Untash Napirisha founded an entirely new city. At the center of the city, a ziggurat was built of which two floors still exist. It was surrounded by a wall, which is the inner wall of three concentric walls in Dur Untash. Between the inner wall and the middle wall several temples belonging to different Elamite divinities were built. The outer city wall was about 4 km long enclosing an area of approximately 100 hectares.

Elam first came into existence sometime between 3500 and 2500 BC. In around 2000 BC the Elamite dynasty conquered most of southern Mesopotamia. At its zenith, Elam controlled an empire that stretched from what is now the Baghdad area to the entrance of the Persian Gulf. The Assyrians sacked the Elamite capital, Susa, in 647 BC.




A model of the current Chogha Zanbil ziggurat, showing the other buildings around the main structure.

[Arpels]

beautiful the ziggurat have some Cuneiform inscriptions