"He who has not see Isfahan has not seen half the world," goes the
famous Persian proverb.
The magnificent Naghsh-e-Jahan square is
the most celebrated sight in Iran. Once a polo ground for Shah Abbas,
the 17th century Safavid ruler, the square itself is now a pleasant
place where Iranians come to relax, talk or read while their children
run after a football.
It is surrounded by stunning architecture:
beautiful mosques - the minarets and dome of Masjid-e-Imam and exquisitely-tiled
Sheikh Lotfollah - the balconied terrace of the elegant Ali Qapu
palace and the labyrinthine Great Bazaar with its vaulted roof.
Here you could happily stay, bargain for and buy carpets, tiles
and miniature paintings, but beyond the bounds of the square lie
other places to explore..Shah Abbas' palace of the Forty Columns
with its sumptuous frescoes and exotic leafy gardens. Tea-houses
tucked beneath the mediaeval bridges.
The zoorkhanehs, where men
practise traditional moves and juggle clubs to the rhythm of a drum.
Or, just outside the city, the extraordinarily mobile 'shaking'
minarets of Minar-e-Junban or visit the ancient Zoroastrian fire
temple.. |
