Oct 16 - Out of town to the northeast, going through a low mountain pass and out into the desert again. We stop at Kashan, a town with a very long history and very active natural spring. It is one of the cities along the old Silk Road. It is known for its fine carpets, and some of the families here have great wealth associated with the carpet trade. Due to the spring, evidence of human habitation stretches back to the Neolithic.
Fin Garden in Kashan. You cannot go anywhere here without the sound of flowing water. This is the only garden we’ve gone to in Iran that is not fed by qanat water. It was built in its present form by Shah Abbas (1571-1629).
As always, there is fine artwork on the walls, ceilings, and arches. All for the enjoyment of the shah and his family.
There are some cypress trees here nearly 400 years old. They are not the same type as those in Shiraz.
The hammam of Fin Garden. Much more ornately decorated than we’ve seen on previous hammams.
A mock-up of the assassination of Chancellor Amir Kabir, in this hammam building, by agents sent from the Qajar King Naser al-din Shah in 1852. He was well known as incorruptible with his dealings as chancellor. This made him unpopular with powerful nobles, who used influence with the queen to get him out of the way. Today, he represents purity of character and governance, and is considered a national hero.
A shrine in Kashan. The conical tower between the minarets is characteristic of Kashan and its general area.
Visit one of the restored historical estates in Kashan, the house of Tabatabaee. A lot of carved plasterwork art here on the outer walls.
The main room at the back of the house, with fine stained-glass windows. The owner of this house was a well-known carpet seller.
Naturally it features a hammam. This part was the changing area.
The roof of the hammam portion features thick glass skylights set into little domes. Before electricity, this was the only lighting available for the hammam.
From here back to the highway for the long slog north. Still desert, pass the city of Qom along the way. Qom, as well as being known as a religiously conservative city with many madresas, is also famous for its silk carpets. Also pass by the Arak nuclear facility, one of the plants so maligned over the years for suspected production of material for nuclear weapons.
Onward to Tehran. This city holds about 13 million, significantly larger than anywhere yet visited in Iran. It certainly feels that way, with wide highways choked with traffic, webs of overpasses, and legions of dusty buildings marching off north to the foothills of the Alborz Mountains. It holds a particular ugliness upon arriving. We crawl through town, fending off the Afghan beggar children at the stoplights, and inundated by swarms of motorbikes at every street crossing. Before going to the hotel, we stop at the Carpet Museum.
This is a very well laid out exhibit, showing many types of Persian carpets. Since historically, Iran included the regions of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, carpets from these places are included and labeled as ‘Persian’.
This carpet, or rather the specific design, has a good story. When Russian archaeologists were excavating a royal Scythian tomb years ago, they found a carpet just like this one among the possessions buried with the person. It is probable that it had been a gift from Persia. The design is called Pazyryk, named for the Scythian tomb in which the example was found.
Dropped off at Marlik Hotel, just a few blocks from the (former) US Embassy.
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