Isfahan's Heritage: Naqsh-e Jahan Square

The Owner of Naqsh-e Jahan Square

Sarem-o-Doleh, the son of Zell-o-Soltan, being the grandson of Naser-al-Din Shah and a descendant of the Safavid dynasty, claimed himself to be the inheritor of the Safavids.

Foreign Travel Writers in Isfahan: Jean-Baptiste Tavernier

Muharram Ambience in Naqsh-e Jahan Square

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who was in Isfahan at the beginning of Shah Suleiman’s rule, described the atmosphere of Muharram in Naqsh-e Jahan Square, in his traveloque.

Isfahan's Intangible Heritage: Traditional Games

The Ball and the Royal Field

Naqsh-e Jahan Square, with its vast dimensions, was the best place to play chogan. Another game called qapoq-andazi was also played in that field.

Isfahan's Natural Heritage: The Zayandeh Roud

Watching the Flood of 1333

The news of the flood had reached the people. Everyone flocked to the Zayandeh Roud to watch it. A strange mass of people had formed all along the banks of the river.

The Figures of Isfahan: Haj Mohammad-Hussein Kazeruni

He Left the Mortal World…

Haj Mohammad-Hussein Kazeruni was one of the merchants of the late Qajar and early Pahlavi periods, known as the second richest man in Isfahan.

The Figures of Isfahan: Fazlollah Dahesh

The Light

In 1305 SH, he founded the first electricity company of Isfahan at Telefonkhaneh Alley, Darvazeh Dowlat, and so the first lamps of the Chehel-Sotoun Palace and its surrounding streets were lit by the Dahesh Factory.

Foreign Travel Writers in Isfahan: Engelbert Kaempfer

The Ladies’ Street

Engelbert Kaempfer, the German physician and traveller who travelled to Iran at the time of Shah Suleiman’s coronation, recounted what he saw in his travelogue.

Isfahan's Heritage: Jahan Hotel

The Most Modern Hotel of Isfahan in the Pahlavi Era

Jahan Hotel, which had started working much before the Abbasi Hotel, continued its activities up until the 60s (SH), yet was suddenly abandoned.

Isfahan's Heritage: Chaharbagh

The Most Familiar Path

Isfahan’s Chaharbagh was the busiest passage of the city up until a few decades ago and not just a place to pass along, but one to stay in and visit friends at.

Foreign Travel Writers in Isfahan: Pierre Loti

A Skirt Full of Roses

Up until a hundred years ago, Isfahan’s rose was world famous so much so that a world traveler such as Pierre Loti would take the trouble of going all the way from Champs-Élysées to Chaharbagh.

Foreign Travel Writers in Isfahan: Merritt-Hawkes

The Legendary Fall of a Fact

Merritt-Hawkes is the American writer and Journalist who travelled to Iran during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi and visited the cities of Boushehr, Shiraz, Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman, Qom, Tehran, and the northern parts of Iran.

The Figures of Isfahan: Molla Abdolbaqi Tabrizi

Abdolbaqi’s Inscriptions

After the passing of Alireza Abbasi, there were no master calligraphers who could finish the inscriptions of the Abbasi Jame Mosque, which were in Thuluth script.