Places to visit in autumn

When it gets cold in autumn, it’s rather impossible to go over to mountains. Trees lose their leaves and the ground is wet and muddy due to rain. It’s also not a good time to visit gardens and forests. Therefore, the best option for recreation would be visiting historical and ancient monuments.

Tughrul Tower in Tehran

Red dome or red tower is the most ancient historical monument in Tehran, located in the southwest. It was built in 1147 CE [Common Era]at the order of Saad Badim, Azerbaijan’s ruler, according to the inscription in Kufic in the northern part of the tower.
This monument is square with beautiful blue tiling and exceptional plaster and brick works in a geometrical design. In the northern side of the building there is the entrance with seven stairs that lead us to the tomb. Goddard put an emphasis on the historical value of the building and decorations because they are the oldest in the north of Iran with glazed exterior decorations.

Ali Sadr cave

The water cave is located 120 km northwest of Hamedan in a village known as Ali Sadr. One interesting natural attraction, it lies on the slope of Kuh Bashi Mountain. It is a net of long caves with clear and crystalline water. It was discovered in the first half of the 1970s. The width in some areas reach over 100 meters and the high reaches 10 meters or so in some points. One of the most beautiful caves in the world, it has both small and large spiral water passages connected to one another.
The cave, discovered about half a century ago, is visited by many visitors in summer.

Shazde Mahan garden in Kerman

One of the most beautiful traditional gardens in Iran, it is located in Mahan, on the slope of Tigran mountains. It dates back to the late Qajar period in 1298 AH. With a very beautiful entrance door, it was built under the order of Kerman’s ruler. When the news of his death was spread in Mahan the mason, who was building the entrance structure, beat the lump of plaster on the wall strongly and then fled without finishing the job. That’s why there are some places without tiles. It has a monument known as Shah Neshin along with a bathhouse. Currently Shah Neshin has turned into a restaurant organized by the private sector. There are various fruit trees with small ponds and sprinkles which create a magnificent view.
Tourists visit there every year to enjoy the beauty and freshness of the garden.

Eram garden in Shiraz

The well-known beautiful garden is located in Shiraz near the levee of the Kushk, river which used to be in the northwest suburb but now belongs to the city.
It’s so beautiful that Forsat Shirazi , a poet who lived then, has praised it with its beautiful flowers, fresh climate, and cedar and Sarve Naz trees.
After a coup in 1332, Qashqai brothers who owned the garden were arrested and the government seized it and handed it over to the Pahlavi University in Shiraz. Its mud walls were replaced with iron fences. It’s in the central part of the city near the Eram square. It was built by the head of Qashqai tribe, Mohammad Ali Khan Qashqai , in the eighteenth century and seventy-five years later Nasyralmolk bought it. With a beautiful architecture, paintings, carvings and tailings it’s gorgeous and glorious.

Abyaneh in Isfahan

The beautiful village is located 70 km south of Kashan. It’s a living example of architectural styles and traditional customs and an interesting example which indicates human compatibility with nature. With its steep and narrow alleys, its houses lie on steep slopes; the roofs of houses below are the yards of the houses above them.
There are a number of Islamic and Zoroastrian buildings too. The village is located on the northern steep of the Mount of Karkas ,28 km from the city of Natanz. It’s mild. The customs and traditions of its people, like its buildings, represent a beautiful picture of ancient Iran. UNESCO has recorded it as a historical village.

Towers of silence

The glorious towers, remaining from the monuments on top of a hill near Yazd, about 15 km south west, are situated where Zoroasrians priests took dead bodies and performed religious ceremonies in the presence of their relatives and friends. They then took the corpses into the tower and put it on the flat stones on the floor, removing them from soil, water and fire (divine elements that are contaminated), and then the spirit of the dead person was owned by Ahura Mazda. After a while crows and vultures would tear them into pieces and the bones were transferred into a pit in the center of the tower.

Azadi(freedom) Tower in Tehran

Symbolizing Tehran, it’s a part of the cultural collection of Azadi and is located in Azadi square in an area of 5 hectares. Among other things the collection includes a 50-meter tower which is a main part of a museum with a combination of Islamic and Sassanid architecture , the broadcasting hall, Diorama hall with 12 rooms depicting cultural customs and displaying handicrafts and new inventions, a movie theater, and a library. The tower represents Iran’s geographical map along with its culture and life style in the past and religion as well as historical monuments. Visitors would pay a visit around peacefully in a car which is used to transfer them. Some of the corridors have been devoted to temporary exhibitions.

Behistun Inscription in Kermanshah

Remaining from the Achaemenid period, it’s located 30 km from Kermanshah on the slope of Bisotun Mountain. One of the main and most famous evidence of the world’s history , it depicts Darius the Great's victory over Geomat Mogh and imprisoning rebels. The monument was registered in UNESCO World Heritage‘s list in 2006. The embossed inscription is 6 m long and 3. 20 meters wide. On the top there is the image of Forouhar flying.
Darius has raised his right hand to praise Ahura Mazda and put his left foot on the chest of Geomat Mogh lying beneath him.
Rebels , with tied hands and linked with a rope round their necks, stand in a row in front of him.
A spear shooter and an archer can be seen behind him. He is 180 cm tall, while the shooter and archer are 150 cm and rebels about 120 cm.
It has been damaged to some extent by erosion and degradation, rain, wind, growth of algae on rock holes (which have left deposits),natural and physical phenomena, and human damage. Actually, after the development of firearms, people used the place for target practice.

Harun velayat in Isfahan

Harun velayat or Haruniye monument includes a dome, a tomb, two enclosed courtyards, and two beautifully tiled porches. It was built when Shah Ismail was the king in the Safavid Era in 1512 AD and was restored by other kings of the dynasty. The tile works of the building are considered as precious historical remains in Isfahan. There is handwriting in beautiful calligraphy done on tiles.
Some of the poems used in the tomb and the porches date back to the Safavid and Qajar periods.
The magnificently tiled dome, also, has an inscription in Kufic written throughout its pillar

Naqsh-e Rostam in Shiraz

About 4 km from the mountain of Haji Abad in the north of Persepolis, there are historical monuments dating back to the Elamite, Achaemenid and Sassanid kings. They are known as Naqsh-e Rustam thanks to their grandeur and height. On top of the mountain, there are four tombs believed to belong to Khargaz and Achaemenid Darius I and Darius II.
In the first relief carved at the bottom of the mountain, Narsi, the son of Shapur I ,is receiving the royal ring ,the symbol of Anahita. In the carvings, things like prom dresses, crowns, hairstyles, ornaments and the strips that are wrapped around the ankles are beautifully displayed. The first carving below the tomb of Darius the Great has two scenes that have been separated by a relatively narrow line. They are similar. The top scene shows Bahram II in one of his battle with the enemies (293 276 AD).
The third relief work is the largest and most glorious carving in the Sassanid Era. It depicts the victory of Shapur I over the Roman emperor, Valerian (271-242 AD). In the carving , Shapur I is riding his horse magnificently and the Roman emperor is giving him a bow behind him.
The fourth one shows the victory of Hormuz II, king of the Sassanid, who has defeated his enemy (310-302 AD). The fifth displays Bahram II’s victory and the sixth shows him accompanied by court’s people and ministers. The seventh, one of the oldest, shows Artaxerxes receiving the royal ring from Ahura Mazda (242-226 AD).
Ganjali Khan Collection (bathhouse, mosque, school, and mint)
The collection was built in the era of economic boom in the Safavid period in 1007 to 1029 AH with the effort of Ganjali Khan, then ruler in Kerman. His son completed it. The centralized collection is still in the core of the city, which displays a masterpiece of architecture surviving from the Safavid Era.

Chehel Sotun (fourty colomns)

The monument is like a museum of paintings and ceramic works. The pavilion was a place to entertain the king and his guests. Lying within a beautiful royal garden, it’s among the first monuments built when Shah Abbas II was the king. An inscription or handwriting indicates that plaster decorations and watercolor paintings were completed in 1674 AD and only 2 of the famous watercolors date back to the Zand dynasty’s reign.
Luxurious mansion overlooks the garden through a porch with beautiful and elegant wooden pillars. The ceiling of the porch is made with bright-colored wooden boards adorned with woodcarvings. All the walls are embellished with large mirrors, colorful pieces of glass and lovely paintings. There is a pool in front of the monument which is 110 meters long and 16 meters wide Also there are four stone lions on four sides with water issuing from their mouths.