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This satellite image of Natanz shows the main street, lined with plane trees (chenar). The Ilkhanid shrine of Abd al-Samad – and even the shadow of its’ lofty minaret – is easily visible. The ‘monstrous’ chenar under which Shah Abbas lodged (123km from Isfahan) is now only a struggling stump: Figueroa described it in 1618 as easily …
Sardahan is one of the few caravanserais ever to be marked on maps. Siroux describes it as a “lost Italianate palace, rich in theatrical effects” – and even its ruins are still splendid.
This satellite image shows the Sardahan pass. The caravanserai remains (87km from Isfahan on Shah Abbas’ 1601 walk) are near the modern road.
Older men in villages were both helpful and knowledgeable when I was looking for specific stopping places. This man, shown here with his wife, helped me find the Sardahan caravanserai.
This schematic drawing shows the first part of Shah Abbas’ 1601 walk (bigger dots), as well as the later Safavid Royal Highroad (small dots) up to the palaces in Mazanderan.
This satellite image shows the first part of Shah Abbas’ walk (blue line) – up to Kashan. The ziggle to Ribat-i Qazi Imad may be because of marshy ground north of Isfahan (labelled as the Maydan-i Shah). Abbas was then guided across 30km of fearsome salt desert, using pillars of black stones; before embarking across …
Near the site of Masjid-i Tuqchi was the Qushkane or Aviary Gardens, the site for the reception of dignitaries and ambassadors arriving in Isfahan. It is now the public ‘Park of the Birds’.
Masjid-i Tuqchi was the first stopping place for Shah Abbas, just outside the city walls. Now the location is covered by a large roundabout. [SA1.6]
This satellite image shows the modern locations of some of the key sites in Safavid Isfahan. Masjid-i Tuqchi, now destroyed, was just outside the city walls in 1601. The modern ‘Park of the Birds’ was originally an elite bagh (garden), for the reception of dignitaries and foreign ambassadors, visiting Shah Abbas’ Isfahan. [SA1.5]
The holly-oak tree, with its large, oval acorns, used to cover the inner ranges of the Bakhtiari country. Now, environmental changes mean that it’s being lost. Lorimer describes how, in the old days of its abundance and “in time of scarcity [acorns] are ground into flour after prolonged treatment to get rid of their more …