According to UNESCO, Iran is one of the world’s richest countries on the historical and archaeological level. It occupies the tenth place in terms of the number of ancient historical sites, and Isfahan is one of its oldest and most famous historical cities to the extent that UNESCO classifies it as a “human heritage city” because of the quantity The huge number of heritage places that are still a tourist destination for many visitors after being a destination for colonists in the past.

In Isfahan, the faces of the past and the present merge, where the ancient history of Persia is clearly visible in its architectural edifices and artistic centers, and the footsteps of the modern world are heard, but without stepping on its legendary and charming face that has characterized it through the ages.

To compete with the most ancient cities, not only around the world, but even inside Iran.

Abu Yahya Zakaria al-Qazwini said about her in his book Athar al-Bilad wa Akhbar al-Abbad that “Isfahan is a great city that gathers various good descriptions of good soil, healthy air, sweet water, purity of air, and health of bodies.”

phoenix city

Isfahan today has many architectural edifices that create special spatial relationships, giving the city its distinctive identity in architecture and urban planning without being drawn towards modern European architecture styles.

However, this was not always the case. The city was destroyed several times due to the conflict and wars that raged in that region. Persia itself was ruled by different dynasties, each of whom had its own culture of urban growth and urbanization, however, the city remained like a phoenix rising from Under the ashes and build its glory anew every time it is crushed by battles and wars.

The reason for this is the interest of the rulers of Isfahan from the Seljuks and the Safavids, and those who preceded them in architecture and its arts, so they built bridges and built castles and mosques, until its residents called it “Isfahan half Jahan” (in Arabic: Isfahan half the world), its treasures qualified it for that rank well-deserved, as well as its history.

As Iranian art critic Jamshid Noor Salehi says, "The wonderful periods of human civilization have always been associated with the promotion of a special architectural culture and distinctive urban planning because this indicates the cultural advancement of nations."

Isfahan merges the two faces of the past and the present (Shutterstock)

Isfahan's glorious past

The inherited stories and folk tales such as the “Shahnameh” convey the nature of the arts and aesthetics of the region of Isfahan and Persia in the ancient world. The Turks came to power in 1038.

Professor Kim S.

Sexton, of the Department of Architecture at the University of Arkansas, said that the Seljuks planted in Iran innovative and daring structural ideas as well as new spatial concepts, which would later serve as the basis for Safavid architectural developments. The task is about open fields and large squares.

The Naqsh Shah Square (also known as Imam Square) gives a clear picture of this artistic philosophy. The square has an area of ​​9 hectares and is the second largest square in the world after Tiananmen Square in China. It is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as an archaeological landmark. In the early 17th century by Abbas I (Safavid dynasty) at a time when Isfahan was the capital of Iran.

Abbas I is credited with a lot of credit for the achievement of Isfahan as an Islamic and Persian architecture, as it pumped a lot of capital and labor to build bridges and extend roads that serve the Silk Road. The main iwan, and proceeded to polish everything that might highlight the beauty of Isfahan, the strategic capital in which he settled.

In Isfahan, more than 162 mosques, 48 ​​schools, 1,802 commercial buildings and 283 hammams remain from the 17th century (Shutterstock)

Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque

The Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque (1603-1619) is the first huge building to be erected in Isfahan under Abbas I. Sheikh Lotfollah was an Arabic-speaking Shiite and a professor of Sharia and close to Abbas I. Abbas I ordered the construction of the mosque after him in a new style that included two traditional architectural types.

The entire mosque is a centrally planned domed space, which is the well-known model for shrines and not mosques, but this building does not include a tomb, and multi-colored tiles cover the outside surface and resemble prayer rugs, and delicate mosaic works cover the entrance arch, so it looks like mosques, and although the use of multiple tiles Colors as a surface decoration It was known in other periods of the history of the region, it was the Safavids who established the philosophy of colors as the most prominent features of Persian architecture.

Kim S. describes.

Sexton, The Beauty of Architecture in Isfahan, said, "This tendency to elaborate surface decoration is a victory of Persian aesthetic purpose over complex worldly values ​​(arabesques, floral motifs, kufic reliefs, imitation carpets); all this obscures the structure of the work and prevents the viewer from contemplating the workings of the physical laws that preserve The building is standing, and then a huge building can be made to appear somewhat weightless as another mundane miracle hovering over the earth.”

Today, more than 162 mosques, 48 ​​schools, 1,802 commercial buildings and 283 hammams remain in the 17th century, all these monuments testify to the amount of genius and talent that made Isfahan, the ordinary desert region on the Silk Road, a city that cuts half the world.