Tourist attractions of Isfahan

Extracted from Rasekhoon
Si-o-se-pol (Allah Verdi Khan), which is continuation of Chaharbagh (Main Street of Isfahan) is located on the Zayandar-e-Rood. The bridge, which was built in the early 17th century on the orders of Shah Abbas for one of his wars, was named after one of his commanders, Allah Verdi Khan...
● Tourist attractions of Isfahan
▪ Chahar Bagh
An American researcher named Arthur Upham Pope, whose work is in six volumes and is considered to be a review of the Iranian art, and studying it is a must to all students of the field, has described the school in his book (probably the last huge building in Iran). It was built between 1706 and 1714 during the reign of King Soltan Hussein (the last Safavid king).
It is said that the mother of king paid for the construction of this building and the adjoining caravanserai, which led to a special power for the school. In the years 1962-65, the building became the most interesting and ambitious hotel in the Middle East.
The large dome of the brick is on top of the holy sanctuary on the northern end of the building with yellow, black and white Islamic tiles that have a special effect on its turquoise shine, and there is a strip of Armenian Azeri stone around its cylindrical section. It is decorated with white calligraphic inscriptions.
The brightness of the dome and minaret’s colors are multiplied by their bricks. Lord Karzan, a politician and tourist whose book, Iran and the Iranian issue, was published in 1982, is a source of unique information, he mentions the school as one of the most sophisticated ruins ever in Iran. Although they have rebuilt the building masterly, they still call it a mosques not a religious science school.
▪ Si-o-se-pol
Si-o-se-pol (Allah Verdi Khan Bridge) is the continuation of Chaharbagh (main street of Isfahan) and is located on the Zayandar-e-Rood. The bridge was built in the early 17th century on the orders of Shah Abbas for one of his wars, and it was named after one of his main commanders, Allah Verdi Khan.
It also has 33 arches and that is the reason why they call it Si-o-se-pol (in Persian it means 33 bridges). The building is 45 feet wide and 175 yards long.
Although the bridge has a very nice view, it is not historic and beautiful as the two bridges down the river. This bridge is located at the southern end of Chaharbagh Street in Isfahan and has the name of its builder. This bridge is also called Jolfa Bridge.
This bridge is made of bricks and rocks.
It is said that this bridge used to have 40 arches at first, and it gradually declined to 33 arches. Referring to authentic historical documents that have remained since Shah Abbas, it seems that the construction of this bridge was completed by the construction of Chaharbagh at the same time (1596). The bridge is called Si-o-se-pol (33 bridges) because of having 33 arches.
▪ Chehel Sotoun

This building, which is a real museum of ceramics and paintings, was a pavilion used for recreation by the king and his guests. The building is located in a beautiful royal garden and is one of the first buildings built by King Abbas II.
An inscription or handwritten article states that the decorations and water-color paintings on the plaster of the building were completed in about 1647, and only two of its famous watercolors are related to the period of the kingdom of the Zendian dynasty. This mansion has a beautiful porch that joins it to the garden, a porch with beautiful, elegant wooden columns.
The area of the Chehel Sotoun garden is over 67,000 square meters. It was built in the period of Shah Abbas I and Chehel Sotoun is located in the middle of this garden. The reflection of the twenty pillars of the Chehel Sotoun’s halls in the pond in front of the mansion inspires the concept of the Chehel Sotoun (in Persian it means 40 pillars), but in fact the word "Chehel Emarat (40 mansions)" shows plurality, and the name of the mansion is due to its plurality of columns.
This porch has pillars which hold the roof made of light wood, a ceiling with a unique embankment on it. All the walls of this building are decorated with large mirrors and pieces of color glass and beautiful paintings.
The large swimming pool, located in front of the Chehel Sotoun, is 110 meters long and 16 meters wide, with 4 stone lions on its four sides, which expelled water from their mouths.
▪ Khaju Bridge
The Khaju Bridge, one of the most famous bridges of Isfahan, has inspired many visitors since the 17th century.
The bridge was built on a river in the same spot, an area around Khaju valley that was located on the old Shiraz road. This bridge was probably built during the Temurian kingdom.
King Abbas II built this bridge in 1650. The bridge has 23 arches, with a length of 436 feet and a width of 39 feet.
King Abbas, the second king of the Safavid Dynasty, built this bridge on the ruins of the Hassan Bayak Bridge in the years 1650 or 1655. The bridge has had several names such as Shah Bridge, Khaju, Baba Renkoddin and Gabrha Bridge.
The bridge entrance has a width of 5.7 meters and consists of bricks and stones made up of 21 larger channels and 26 smaller ones. The stone blocks used in the construction of this bridge are 2 meters in length, and the distance between each channel and roof is 20 meters high.
▪ Menar Jonban
The tomb of Amu Abdullah, which dates back to 716 AD, has two minarets, and each one side is located on one side of the porch of this tomb and they are the main reason of attraction of this place, because any movement that occurs in either of these minarets will be reflected independently not only in the other minaret, but throughout the porch.
Hence, the Menar Jonban (shaking minaret) is given to it. The architectural style of this monument dates back to the Mongol period. The porch of the tomb is decorated with azure polygonal and square tiles, and there is an inscription on the tomb as follows: (This is the tomb of noble believer, Amu Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud Sagla, God bless his soul. (716th Hijri Shamsi).
Menar Jonban is one of the most beautiful monuments of Isfahan, located 6 km west of Isfahan, on the way to Najaf Abad in the village of Karlatan.
▪ Ali Qapu

The name of Ali Qapu or the gate of the mountain jump has been given to it because it is precisely located at the entrance to the Safavid palaces.
These palaces are located in the space between Chaharbagh and Naghsh-e Jahan Boulevard. This monument, which is another magnificent mansion of the Safavids, was built by Shah Abbas in the early 17th century.
This was built to accommodate special guests and foreign ambassadors who came to see the great king.
▪ during this time and at the time of Shah Abbas Nowruz was celebrated for the first time in the year 1006 Hijri. This rectangular structure is 48 meters high and has 6 floors, and it has a wide terrace that is located on the front of the building and includes wooden columns.
Ali Qapu walls have elaborate drawings drawn by Reza Abbasi. King Abbas II was very interested in the perfection and ornamnts of Ali Qapu, and his greatest contribution was in the magnificent hall, which was commissioned was in the magnificent hall and by his command they ornamented 18 columns of the hall by mirror and the ceiling was covered by unique paintings.
▪ Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque
The Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque is located on the east side of the Imam Square (Naghsh-e Jahan Square), which was built as a small holy place, in front of the pool and in the shaded area of the square at the time of Shah Abbas, between 1602 and 1619.
The name of this mosque was after the name of a person, who was an Islamic scholar and a researcher of Islam and at that time he was praised so much.
The Shah at that time invited the Sheikh from Lebanon first to Mashhad and near Imam Reza's Tomb, and then he appointed him in the capital city to be in charge of the mosque of the Shah and the school of theology. The ornaments of entrance porch of the mosque consists of yellow and blue mosaics, and its beauty is more than the grand porch of the mosque of Imam.
This small mosque does not have any central interior space and it only has a prayer room near the corridor.
But the true value of this mosque is the beauty of its wall mosaics in Isfahan, which have reached to the tip of the mosque. There are no defects in the quality of the materials. The balance and harmony of colors are unique.
Its walls are decorated with majestic carpets that have gilded geometric designs that are located on the green and blue background.
In the inscription on the altar, name of architect of this mosque is mentioned, the poor humble man who was seeking the forgiveness of the Lord and was named Master Mohammad Reza, the son of Master Hussein; he lived in 1028 AH. The mosque also has strange features, such as its unglazed place and dome, the lack of central vaults and empty holy porches and hall that are covered with mosaics of the best quality from the ceiling to the ground.
Its roof tiles are one of the most sophisticated samples in Isfahan and its quality is very high. The building was reconstructed very cleverly in 1954 and 1956.
▪ Hasht Behesht
Hasht Behesht is an eight-level structure that is an example of Isfahan's palaces. This building was made by order of Shah Solomon in 1081 Hijri
Its garden, which is always visible from its great arches, is a perfect part of this building. The dome-shaped roof of the main living room is painted with a crimson color, which is on a golden gorgeous base, and above the windows, mirrors create a special luminescence.
On the outer part of the arches, there are beautiful designs of birds, animals and hunting scenes. These images make the exterior view of Hasht Behesht unique.
At that time, hunting was one of the kings' entertainments, and usually seven days before the departure of the court for hunting, tents, rugs, gold services and other equipment were sent to the camp site. They needed almost five to seven thousands camels to carry them.
About the glory of these hunting camps, they judged that each prince had a 500-square-foot cubic meter for his tent and in his silk tents, there were rooms for the harem, a bath and a hall. The ceiling of the second floor of Hasht Behesht glows with a mirror decoration and is very brilliant and magnificent.
▪ Emamzadeh Haroun-e-Velayat
Emamzadeh Haroun-e-Velayat or "Haruniya" mansion consists of a dome, a tomb, two enclosed enclosures and two porches which are beautifully tiled.
This building was built in the year of 1512 at the time of the Safavid king (Shah Isma'il), and it was reconstructed by other rulers of the same dynasty.
The tiles of this tomb are one of the most remarkable historical remains of Isfahan. Numerous manuscripts have been used in various types of calligraphy on the background tiles.
Some of the lines of poetry that are related to Safavids and Qajars are also seen in the tomb and porch.
The magnificent tiled dome of this monument is also written in Kofi all around the column.