Sights in Kashan
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Shotorgalu-ye Safavi
At the centre of Bagh-e Tarikhi-ye Fin (Fin Garden) is Shotorgalu-ye Safavi , a two-storey pavilion. At the rear is the Shotorgalu-ye Qajari, built by the Qajars, with ornately painted ceilings and walls. Nearby is a delightful teahouse, which sells cheap tea and kababs.
But it is the bathhouse that is most historically significant as the place where Iranian nationalist hero Amir Kabir was murdered. Mirza Taqi Khan, known as Amir Kabir, served as prime minister under Nasir od-Din Shah from 1848. He was a moderniser who instituted significant change, especially in the fields of education and administration. But his popularity proved unpopular in the royal court and the sha…
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Khan-e Tabatabei
Built around 1880 by wealthy carpet merchant Seyyed Ja’far Tabatabei, the Khan-e Tabatabei is renowned for its intricate stone reliefs, fine stucco and wonderful mirror and stained-glass work; photographers will love it. It covers 4730 sq metres, has 40 rooms and more than 200 doors. It consists of three sections: the andaruni (internal area), where family members lived; the biruni (external area), used for entertaining guests; and the khadameh (servants’ quarters). They are set around four courtyards, the largest of which boasts a fountain pool. From mid-afternoon (depending on the month), sunlight and stained glass combine to bathe some rooms in brilliant colour.
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Timche-ye Amin al Dowleh
The best way to appreciate the extent of Kashan's bazaar is to climb to its roof. There are tiny staircases throughout and it's fun to ask a bazari (bazaar shopkeeper) to lead you up. If that doesn't work, head to the magnificent Timche-ye Amin al Dowleh , a high dome with lavish interior mouldings completed in 1868. Beneath the dome, in a square dominated by carpet shops, ask the guys at the Chaykhaneh Caravan Sara to show you to the roof (they might ask for a payment, but not if you eat there).
You can climb all the way to the top of the dome, from where the views over the brown town and bulbous roofscape of the bazaar are inspired. Look for the just-dyed wool drying i…
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Agha Bozorg Mosque & Madraseh
Arguably the finest Islamic complex in Kashan and one of the best of the mid-19th century, Agha Bozorg Mosque & Madraseh is famous for its precise architecture, including four storeys beginning in a large sunken courtyard, an austere dome and unusual lofty badgirs above the entrance. It also has a fine portal and mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca) at the back. The imposing dome is flanked by two minarets adorned with coloured tiles in geometric designs. Quranic inscriptions and mosaics stand out against the mud-brick used for much of the construction. The wooden front door is said to have as many studs as there are verses in the Quran.
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Bagh-e Tarikhi-ye Fin
Designed for Shah Abbas I, Bagh-e Tarikhi-ye Fin is a classical Persian vision of paradise and is renowned as one of the finest gardens in Iran. It’s famous for its spring water, which flows into the garden via the Lasegah, an octagonal pool behind the garden. From here the water, which has unusually high levels of mercury, is channelled through several pools and fountains, watering the garden’s orchards and tall trees, before continuing on down the road in jubs (canals, pronounced ‘joobs’).
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Traditional Houses
Hiding behind the high mud-brick walls of Kashan are hundreds of once-grand traditional houses. Built during the 19th century, most have long-since been carved up or are literally turning to dust, but several have been restored and, mercifully for the city, the idea is catching.
Those that can be visited are monuments to the importance of Kashan as a Qajar-era commercial hub, embellished with fine stucco panels, ostentatious stained glass and lofty badgirs (windtowers), all set around a series of interlinked courtyards.
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Khan-e Abbasian
Famous for its ground-breaking design, the Khan-e Abbasian is a bewildering complex of six buildings spread over several levels. Unusually, the numerous courtyards are designed to enhance the sense of space by becoming larger as they step up, culminating in an open courtyard on top. The high porticos and reception halls are decorated as extravagantly as you’d expect, with the usual plaster reliefs, fine mirror work and exceptionally beautiful and detailed stained-glass windows.
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Tappeh-ye Seyalk
One of the oldest and richest archaeological sites in central Iran, the Tappeh-ye Seyalk has given up a plethora of interesting pottery pieces, metal tools and domestic implements made from stone, clay and bone. They date from as early as the 4th millennium BC. More significant, perhaps, is the structure itself – what is emerging from the dust is clearly a ziggurat (stepped pyramidal temple), and some Iranians are claiming this predates those of the Mesopotamians.
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Hammam-e Sultan Mir Ahmad
Hammam-e Sultan Mir Ahmad is a superb example of an Iranian bathhouse, built around 450 years ago. A recent restoration has stripped away 17 layers of plaster (look just inside the second room to see them) to reveal the original sarough, a type of plaster made of milk, egg white, soy flour and lime, which is said to be stronger than cement. There is usually an English-speaking guide at the door who can show you around.
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Imamzadeh-e Habib Ibn-e Musa Shrine
The revered Shah Abbas I might well be turning in his grave at the senseless destruction wrought on what was once a fine Seljuk-era shrine. Shah Abbas chose to be buried here because he revered the saint Habib Ibn-e Musa. The king’s low, black porphyry tombstone is near the shrine’s entrance, but almost everything else from the original tomb has been cleared away and replaced by a bigger, uglier concrete monstrosity.
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Bazaar
Kashan’s bazaar is one of the most enjoyable in Iran. Busy but not hectic, traditional but with a wide variety of goods, large enough to surprise but not to get lost in, it is a great place to wander for a couple of hours, especially before lunch and in the late afternoon. The multidomed roof of the bazaar dates from the 19th century, but the site has been the centre of trade in Kashan for much longer.
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Khan-e Borujerdi
Legend has it that when Sayyed Jafar Natanzi, a merchant known as Borujerdi, met Sayyed Jafar Tabatabei to discuss taking his daughter’s hand in marriage, Agha Tabatabei set one condition: his daughter must be able to live in a home at least as lovely as his own. The result – finished some 18 years later – was the Khan-e Borujerdi.
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Shahzadeh-ye Ibrahim
The delightful Shahzadeh-ye Ibrahim shrine was built in 1894 and boasts European-style painted ceilings, colourful tiles, tall minarets and a pretty courtyard. The conical, tiled roof is distinctive to this area and chances are you’ll have seen it on posters long before you arrive. It’s clearly visible from the main road to Fin.
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Imamzadeh-ye Abu Lolou
Off the left of the road as you come from Kashan, the Imamzadeh-ye Abu Lolou is the shrine to the man believed to be the assassin of Omar, the second Muslim caliph. It dates to the Seljuk or Mongol periods, though it has been heavily renovated since. The shrine is notable for its fine, slender dome.
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Old City Walls
As one of the few remnants of the ancient city of Kashan, this circular wall and an attractive park to the southeast are worth a quick look if you're visiting the nearby traditional houses. Enter the interior of the circular walls from the southeast and climb the northeastern part of the wall for some city views.
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Fin Road
There are several sights worth a quick look on the road to Fin Garden. If you decide to walk, it's all downhill if you start at Fin. Otherwise, jumping on and off buses is easy enough, or hire a taxi.
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Soltaniyeh Mosque
Lost in the midst of Kashan's labyrinthine bazaar is the Seljuk-era Soltaniyeh Mosque. The current structure was built in 1808 by Fath Ali Shah and now houses a madraseh, which is not open to women.
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