Isfahan - a City on the Silk Road

There is a Persian proverb which says "Esfahān nesf-e- jahān ast" (Isfahan is half of the world). Without a doubt Isfahan is one of the most architecturally beautiful cities in Asia. The central feature of the city is the Naqsh-e Jahan, which roughly translates as ‘Image of the World Square’ which was commonly known as Shah Square until Shah Reza Pahlavi was deposed in 1979, since then it has become Imam Square. This is one of the largest city squares in the world and was laid out by the architect Shaykh Bahai, on the instructions of Shah Abbas, towards the end of the 16th century and by the early 17th century work had begun on the beautiful blue-domed Masjed-e Shah, or Imam Mosque, the smaller but equally beautifully ornate Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque as well as the Ali Qapu, the grand palace of Shah Abbas. In 1598 Shah Abbas I the Great, who ruled Persia from 1588 until 1629, moved his capital from Qazvin in the north to the more central Isfahan which was further from the threats and encroachments being made by the Ottoman Empire into the border regions of the Caucasus and Zagros Mountains. As a result many Georgians, Circassians, Daghistanis and, particularly, Armenians, fleeing the Ottoman Turks, moved into what was then the Persian heartland. This ushered in the city’s golden age which flourished under Safavid rule until the third decade of the 18th century.

The Imam Mosque in Isfahan

Elsewhere in the city construction had begun on the Madrasa Chahar Bagh, the Royal Theological College, and the picturesque Seeyosepol, or Bridge of 33 Arches, over the Zayandeh River giving easy access to New Julfa, the Armenian quarter. Shah Abbas had recognised that Armenian traders had an in depth knowledge of the silk trade and consequently New Julfa became the hub of "one of the greatest trade networks of the early modern era," with outposts as far east as Canton, Surabaya, and Manila, and as far west as Cadiz, London, and Amsterdam, with a few merchants traveling across the Atlantic or Pacific oceans to Acapulco or Mexico City, this making Isfahan an important trading city on the Silk Road. The Holy Saviour Cathedral was constructed about this time in New Julfa and today is known as the Vank Cathedral – Vank, incidentally, means cathedral in Armenian. I first visited Isfahan in March 1970 and was immediately struck by the beauty of the city when I saw it in the early morning spring sunlight. Outside the Grand Bazaar stood exquisite pieces of brassware for which the city is also well known and I could see the blue-domed Shah Mosque and the more muted Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque towards the opposite end of the Square as I slowly strolled towards them. Horse-carriages outside the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque gave the scene an old world ambiance. The intricate tilework in these two mosques and also in the Madrasa is truly amazing. A kaleidoscope of colours – blues, greens, yellows, oranges, pinks, reds – swirl upwards, across the both exterior and interior walls, and up into the interior domes. They cover what is known as the ‘stalactite’ formations over the entrance to the Sheikh Lotfollah mosque. The detail and variety of patterns is truly amazing.

Brassware outside the Isfahan Bazaar

Horse carriage in Naqsh e-Jahan, opposite the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque

From the mosques I walked across the early 17th century Seeyosepol, the Bridge of 33 Arches, over the Zayandeh River to the Armenian Quarter of New Julfa. Here I visited the Vank Cathedral, and was fascinated by the graphic Armenian wall murals, painted in vivid colour, of the martyrdom of early Christian saints such as Boniface, Sebastian, John, George, Stephen and many more. Many of the murals are higher up and in semi-darkness but somehow this seems to add to the horror of the scenes depicted of these unfortunates being dragged over nails, beaten with sticks, castrated or having boiling oil poured over them for their Christian beliefs and it was probably very effective in keeping a simple, uneducated congregation on the straight and narrow. To further remind them of the correct righteous ways as decreed by the orthodox Armenian clergy there was a large mural depicting the horrors of Hell painted immediately above the door through which all had to pass!

The amazing tilework on the monuments of Isfahan

I again visited Isfahan almost ten years later and it was still as beautiful. The Islamic Revolution had occurred between my visits and the great square, Naqsh e-Jahan, was now called Imam Square after Ayatollah Khomeini, the great mosque was now the Imam Mosque. It was a Friday and more and more people were gathering outside the mosque. Due to the tense political climate at the time – the U.S. had frozen all Iran’s assets in retaliation for the ongoing American hostage impasse – I decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and surreptitiously moved away. Unfortunately the famous Isfahan bazaar was closed but, surprisingly, the splendid Ali Qapu Palace built for Shah Abbas the Great was open and I was able to enjoy the amazing wall murals painted by Reza Abbassi, the court painter of Shah Abbas, and his pupils. In the last couple of years the relationship between Iran and the West has eased considerably and tourists are once again beginning to visit this historic and fascinating country.

© Neil Rawlins  text & photography

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