In a Persian Garden
Spent some time strolling in a classical Persian garden. Lovely place. Apparently the common features are a pool, a pavilion, cedar trees, and an orchard. I understand that even in fairly modest houses, these features will be included, albeit in simpler form than we saw here. The orchard offered me my first sight of pomegranates not in a grocery store!
Here’s a trivia side-note. Paisley pattern originated in Persia, and the distinctive swirls are based on the shape of cedar trees. Cedars are thought to be auspicious because, as evergreens, they are associated with long life.
The coolest feature in this garden — both literally and figuratively — was the Wind Tower arising from the pavilion. We have seen many here, but this is the first one where we could experience the effect. As the wind blows through openings in the tower, it is funnelled downward into several long shafts terminating in the basement ceiling, and when you stand in the room under it, it honestly feels like a blast from an air conditioner. In the hotter weather, they fill a small pool at the foot of the shafts and the air cools even further as it crosses the water. Amazing engineering!
Arg e-Rayen
The walled city of Arg-e Rayen (“Rayen Citadel”) was built some time in the period 300-600 AD, and was the second largest in Iran until the complete collapse of Arg-e Bam in a 2003 earthquake. Bam was apparently 10 times larger, so this was indeed a great loss. We wandered through Rayen, seeing the bazaar, the mosque, the siege-storage area, the extremely modest dwellings of the common folk, and the extremely large quarters of the Governor, complete with an enclosed garden. Some things never change!
Clearly not all ladies behave well…
On a lighter note, check out the final exhortation in this sign. More commonly seen at the opera, I would say, but — hey! — in a land of squat toilets, if it works, it works. ?
Fun stuff. I remember the wind towers from Dubai. By the way, that picture and the washroom sign (funny!) are both sideways in the post.
Elizabeth, I personally find this trip fascinating…
One thing that I noticed from the pictures is how few tourists I see…Is that how it is? Not a lot of tourists?
There are tourists, but we have been in quieter places, not the biggest tourist sites. The next few days (Persepolis and Isfahan) we will encounter more tourists, they tell us. ?