The Heart of Iran

Jameh Mosque, Esfahan
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Mission Darkness: Imam Square

I arrived in Esfahan, and my sole mission for the evening was to see the fabulous Imam Square for the first time by night light. Reputedly the second biggest square in the world behind Tiananmen, it was build under the guidance of Shah Abbas in the 17th century. To pass the hour or so to sun down, I head to a tea shop laid out on the footings of a bridge over the city river. I'm sitting relaxing when out of nowhere a local sits uninvited opposite me, armed with his English phrase book. 'Are you enjoying your stay', 'Are you having a good time,........ , I formulate the simplest response that I can think of, but it was like as if I was answering him in Chinese. It didn't put him off. I think the fact that I could actually understand what he was saying to me was fueling his eagerness. For my troubles, he insists on paying for my tea!

Jameh Mosque, Esfahan
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I head towards the square. I must say that it was not the night time spectacle that I was expecting. With such colour in detail, it really is a place that needs the light of day. Sure it was very nice at night, but I hold off on the verdict.

Out and About

Next day I set off on a mission of exploration. A town famed for colour and grandeur, mosques and artisans. I started following the recommended walking tour from the guidebook. It was Friday, so the entire town bazaar was closed. I said, I'll keep going anyway. I come out on to the main road and turn for the Jameh Mosque. Wrong main Road! Totally wrong direction! Luckily a shared taxi for 4c got me back on track. The roundabout beside the Jameh mosque has a normal bird market, except for the ...... chickens. They paint them the brightest colours they can find so that the kids can enjoy them until they die of poisoning or start to get proper feathers and fall over. Either way, it's the very lucky chick that makes it as far as a roasting tin!

Esfahan Mosque
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I find the Jameh Mosque. The entrance opens into a large courtyard, centered with the ablutions pool that is used for cleaning before prayer. Even though each side of the courtyard was flanked by beautifully decorated iwans (recessed halls), there seemed very little life about the place. The rooms off the courtyard were under lock and key opened for a short period at a time. The complex itself was completed in the 15th century, and displays the full 800 years of Islamic architecture. I bumped into three English guys on a mission from London to Beijing by bicycle for Medecins sans Frontieres. Good gang and end up hanging out for the day (see photo from tea shop).

Imam Mosque, Esfahan
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Entry - Imam Square

When we eventually got to Imam Square, I really could see that the night lights were not the time to see the glories of the place. The colour on the domes were like an oil painting, which I suppose in a way they were. The imposing Imam mosque heading the square with it's blue dome in harmony with the perfect sky and the Sheikh Lotfallah Mosque flanking the square with it's more delicate cream tones. The center of the square a meticulously cared for park that the people only visit under the setting sun. Shame that they let the cars and buses of the city into the northern end.

Imam Mosque, Esfahan
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When we arrived Friday prayer was in full swing in the Imam mosque. Every shop door was closed. Not even a bottle water to be had. Rows of motorbikes lined the entrance to the mosque. We eventually are granted entry later in the afternoon. The Imam Mosque is an imposing work. It was eventually completed in 1629. Shah Abbas was getting worried about the time it was taking to cover the complex with mosaic, so the painted tiles were used instead. For a complex that artisans from the north of Iran devoted their lives to almost 400 years ago, modern development has certainly done it no favours. Facing the main prayer hall is an open courtyard that the people overflow into for prayer. Summer sun is hot, of course. Their idea for shelter, though is to kit the courtyard with scaffold bars with a scruffy covering. They could do better!

Imam Mosque, Esfahan
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We head for the smaller mosque, the Sheikh Lotfallah Mosque at the side of the square. Less imposing, it's decoration is just as impressive. Without a minaret or courtyard, entered through a twisting hall to reveal a fabulously decorated domed prayer hall. Combining tile and mosaic, the detail and colour were must have been the highlight for the city's artisans.

We sit and relax to enjoy the sunset from the Qeysarieh teashop overlooking the square. The colours becoming more vivid to fight the fading light of the dropping sun.

Imam Mosque, Esfahan
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Out and About, for a Second Time

Still things to see on the town, I make it to the Manar Jomban tomb, the city's famed shaking minarets. To get there I try out the local buses, a first for me in Iran. Equivalent of 4c gets me a return ticket! Inside the women take the back of the bus and men in the front. No question even of husband and wife sitting together. The ticket is just handed to the driver getting off. The women get off through the middle and have to walk to the front to hand in their fare.

Imam Mosque, Esfahan
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I got to the tomb, but the route to go up to shake the minarets was locked. I sat relaxing and a bus load of Japs arrived. They are everywhere! They're hanging around and at noon they guy at the gate made an announcement and up he goes to do his bit. He wedged himself in the top of the minaret and it shook it like rubber, with a bell on the side ringing to make sure that it's not an illusion. I hope his salary includes a good percentage danger money?

From there I bus it back to town and head for the Chehel Sotun Palace. Surrounded again by beautifully maintained gardens, it stands at the top of a lake flanked by roses in flull bloom. The tomb fronted by an entrance hall of twenty wooden columns opens into rooms fabulously covered with frescoes. Inside, famously one room contains a fresco of a man kissing the feet of a scantily clad woman. Not fitting with the Mullahs idea of what their revolution was about, the caretakers physically put their bodies between the Mullahs and the destruction of their heritage.

Imam Mosque, Esfahan
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The Jolfa district is where the Armenian artists that came to decorate the city came from. Still a thriving Armenian community, this is also the Christian district. The Vank Cathedral is their place of worship. Strangely, some of the Islamic designs that they were incorporated elsewhere in the city made their way into the church to compliment the walls covered with frescos from biblical scenes. The entrance fee was six times more than anything else in the city and the people seeming very distant. There is something about Christian sites in this country?

Imam Mosque, Esfahan
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At every turn there was someone to say hello to you in the city. Everyone has a relation that has a carpet shop, but their family are the only ones to have a warehouse and buy from the nomads. The rest just say it. It's really the only place that I have come across that they are just as welcoming to you if you don't part with a penny. They still sit you down and the problem is getting out before the third cup of tea! These are just the business people. Everyone else seems to be a teacher. They all just want to say hello.