Oct 14 - Leave Yazd on the main highway heading north. This is the road that connects the Persian Gulf port of Bandar Abbas with Tehran, so has a lot of truck traffic. Iran produces several brands of cars, including IKCO (Iran Khodro) and Saipa. Most of the foreign made cars I see are Peugeot, Renault, and some Hyundai. Many of the truck beds (not cabs) are the brand Mammut, also made in Iran.
It has a real desert feel out here. The air is bone dry, and the brown lowlands stretch out to the horizon. Occasionally mountains can be seen in the hazy distance. This region is one of extremes: hot in summer, cold in winter. This drives much of the architecture we see, where giving people warmth in winter and cool in summer is the motivation for placement of room and ventilation. This is especially true for mosques, as making people as comfortable as possible undoubtedly encouraged them to go there at prayer time.
A make of pickup called Zamyad, which is just Nissan parts assembled in Iran. It is a typical car used by people living in the countryside.
Our first stop of the day is in the town of Meybod. The main attraction here is the well-preserved Narin Fortress.
Archaeological evidence shows that this has been a spot for fortifications since at least Parthian times. It sits on a slight hill, just within sight of two distant mountain ranges. Hence it could be used to monitor activity in the entire plain.
The larger bricks underneath are Parthian, while the newer, smaller bricks are early Islamic age.
There is a good view of Meybod from the top of the fortress.
Go by a nearby caravanserai that was on the old Tehran-Kerman trading route. The original structure (since repaired) dates from the Safavid Dynasty. It is Friday so not much going on today.
The middle of the caravanserai has an outlet of the qanat, so that travelers could obtain fresh water. Unlike most qanats we saw, this one still has water.
A water reservoir in Meybod, with some thin wind towers. There is a cypress tree symbol on the wall. This symbol is ubiquitous in Iran.
A pigeon tower (dovecote) in Meybod. We are entering a region with a lot of these around. This one is large, potentially holding 8000 pairs of pigeons. The droppings were collected regularly and used as high-quality fertilizer.
At the point where the road splits west toward Esfahan is the city of Na’in. We stop here for lunch and to see some things.
The bazaar of Na’in was abandoned years ago, but portions have been remodeled and tax incentives given for merchants to set up shops here again. Like many towns in Iran, traditionally the bazaar and caravanserais were the heart of the urban communities.
This carver of bronze and brassware is one of the artisans who have moved back into the bazaar.
Na’in has an abandoned fortress, like Meybod, built of mud brick and dating from about the Parthian Empire.
The main attraction of Na’in is the main mosque. It is the oldest we’ve seen, built in the 8th century, before the advent of evans and domes. It also has no original tilework, and only in a few small spots was it added later.
The artwork is all of plaster, very finely detailed. The method was to coat the building frame with a thick coat of plaster, then the design is carved deep into it. The top bit of the minbar in the photo is made of maple wood.
The columns are also very detailed.
This raised brick pattern is characteristic of very early Islamic design in Iran.
This mosque has an underground prayer room, directly underneath the one above. Even the columns for the underground portion had to line up with those above to maintain structural integrity. It was used in the summer months when it was too hot at prayer time in the above prayer hall, and also in the winter when it was excessively cold outside. It was not constructed but excavated.
While we ate lunch, someone came in and told us that there would be a wedding next door. We went out to look. Turns out that it was a sort of pre-wedding with just close family, performed on the day the couple registered at the ministry office. Hence, they weren’t allowed to live together yet, not until the full-on ceremony perhaps in a few weeks.
Arrival at the venue.
The couple in their wedding garb. It is not that different from wedding attire in many places.
Odette with the group of women who were hired to drum and chant for the couple.
Enter Esfahan at sundown. Stop at Khajoo Bridge first.
This popular pedestrian bridge was built around 1650 CE by Shah Abbas II (the seventh Safavid ruler). It has two levels. The lower one, with numerous stairways down, was meant for people who wanted to be close to the water to cool off.
Notably in the above photo, there is no water. There hasn’t been for decades, excepting the occasional release of water from a dam upstream. Iran is in a prolonged drought, for about 20 years now, and the Zayandeh River has run dry as a result.
On the lower level, there are benches to sit underneath the bridge, in the shade.
Khajoo Bridge has become a venue for people who want to sing, dance, or play musical instruments. Today is just singing, but in three different places on the lower level.
I’ve heard some famous Iranian singers use this method.
On the upper level, some old tilework still adorns the many arches.
Historically, the south side of the Zayandeh River has been where the Armenians live. There have been several exoduses of Armenians from the north. The first one, in Safavid times, was not entirely voluntary. A later one, during the Armenian Genocide of 1915, was. Armenians did get some incentives to live in Iran that other non-Muslims did not. There is no notable difference between ethnic Armenians and native Iranians here now, and only the older Armenians can be noted by their accents. The part of town we visit is called Jolfa and has 27 Orthodox Christian churches. To Odette’s relief, we only visit one. On the map it is called Vank Church, though the word ‘vank’ in Armenian means cathedral.
Vank mixes elements of a mosque and a church. It looks nothing at all like the churches I’ve seen in Armenia.
One of the other church buildings in the Vank complex.
The frescos in Vank are intense and cover every bit of the interior. On this wall was an encouraging map of Hell.
There was a museum here with many religious artifacts, including many books, all written in Armenian. The most interesting display (for Odette) was a sentence in Armenian written on a strand of hair. There was a microscope set up to see it.
After a walk through the Jolfa market district, which was the most modern we’ve seen in Iran thus far, we walk across the Si O Se Pol Bridge. It is the longest in Esfahan, with 33 arches. Like Khajoo Bridge, it is a popular hangout, and is nicely lit at night.
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