Showing 1-13 of 13 results
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Gonbad-e Jabaliye
At the edge of town is the mysterious, octagonal Gonbad-e Jabaliye, which houses a mildly interesting and poorly labelled museum of old gravestones. It's mysterious because its age and original function remain unknown - a Kerman Tourism brochure sums it up as 'A big, strange dome in the eastern part of Kerman'. Quite! Some scholars date it to the 2nd century AD and think it may have been an observatory.
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Grand Bazaar
Stretching for 1200m from Tohid Sq northeast to Shohada Sq, Kerman's Grand Bazaar is one of the oldest trading centres in Iran. This main thoroughfare is made up of four smaller bazaars, and a further 20 or so branch off to the north and south. It is, however, easy enough to navigate and has a vivacity that should keep you interested, especially in the morning and late afternoon.
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Hamam-e Ebrahim Khan
From the northeastern corner of Tohid Sq in the Grand Bazaar, the Gold Bazaar (Bazar-e Zargaran) leads to a small square with an attractive portal leading to an old (and now closed) madraseh. Follow the steps down into the Hamam-e Ebrahim Khan , one of Iran's few traditional bathhouses where men can still be rubbed, scrubbed and beaten. The welcoming manager might show women around if it's not busy.
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Hamam-e Ganj Ali Khan
Starting at Tohid Sq, the first section of the Grand Bazaar is the Bazar-e Ganj Ali Khan, built in the 17th century for Ganj Ali Khan (the governor of Kerman), which soon opens onto the pretty Ganj Ali Khan Square. Built in the Safavid period, this courtyard is home to what was once Kerman's most important hammam , the Hamam-e Ganj Ali Khan, now restored and transformed into a museum. Wonderful frescoes adorn the walls and wax dummies illustrate the workings of a traditional bathhouse.
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Imam Mosque
The expansive Imam Mosque is worth a look specifically if you're interested in the process of rehabilitating old buildings. Dating from the early Islamic period, the mosque has suffered considerable damage over the years, not least the destruction of a minaret during an earthquake in the 1970s. But the painstaking restoration goes on with the twin aims of uncovering and restoring early inscriptions while leaving no trace of the recent work.
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Jameh Mosque
The well-preserved Jameh Mosque is entered from both Shohada Sq and the bazaar. Its four lofty iwans (rectangular halls opening onto a courtyard) and shimmering blue tiles date from 1349 but were extensively modernised during the Safavid period and later. Interestingly, this mosque has no minaret. Instead there is a squat clock tower atop the main entrance (off Shohada Sq).
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Kerman National Library
The Kerman National Library modestly bills itself as the 'greatest informatic research center in the country', but it's the architecture - a forest of columns supporting vaulted ceilings - that is the real attraction. Built in 1929, the style is a harmonious variation on late-Qajar-era design that was purpose built as, wait for it, a textile factory! If only Manchester had been so blessed.
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Masjed-e Ganj Ali Khan
On the north side of the Tohid Sq courtyard in the Grand Bazaar is the photogenic Bazar-e Mesgari Shomali (Coppersmith's Bazaar), and at the square's northeastern end is Masjed-e Ganj Ali Khan, Ganj Ali Khan's lavishly decorated private mosque. A caravanserai next door was being restored when we passed.
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Moayedi Ice House
The Safavid-era Moayedi Ice House is a well-preserved, conical adobe structure that was used to store ice. The ice store was, and in some part still is, surrounded by gardens. The gardens would fill with water during winter, and when the water froze the ice would be slid into the Moayedi. It was being transformed into a theatre when we passed and wasn't open to the public.
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Moshtari-ye Moshtaq Ali Shah
The attractive Moshtari-ye Moshtaq Ali Shah is the mausoleum for Sufi mystic Moshtaq Ali Shah, and other Kerman notables. Moshtaq Ali Shah was renowned for his singing and ability with the setar (a four-stringed instrument) , and is apparently responsible for adding the fourth string to the setar (which literally means 'three strings'). He eventually fell so far out of favour with the local religious community that he was stoned in the Jameh Mosque.
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Museum of the Holy Defence
The Museum of the Holy Defence commemorates the eight-year Iran-Iraq War. Symbolism abounds, although much of it won't be obvious without an English-speaking guide. Inside is a gallery of gruesome photos, artefacts, letters and documents from the war, and an animated model re-enacting the Karbala V, a famous battle. Outside, along with a line-up of tanks and missile launchers, is a battlefield complete with bunkers, minefield and sound effects recorded from the actual war. Well worth a look.
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Paleontological Museum
Located underground in green Park-e Sangi, about 500m east of Shohada Sq, the Paleontological Museum is the passion and life's work of local mountaineer Mohsen Tajrobekar. Mohsen has collected a stunning array of fossils from the mountains around Kerman and his finds have caused scientists to re-assess the origins of some present-day species. They include a perfectly petrified fish believed to be 530 million years old.
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Sanati Museum Of Contemporary Art
This newly renovated Sanati Museum Of Contemporary Art is a pleasant surprise in a town that can otherwise feel a long way from modern cultural pursuits. In a Qajar-era building set around an attractive courtyard, the museum houses paintings, sculptures and stone inlays by famous local artist Sayyed Ali Akbar Sanati (1916-2006). It also has exhibitions by younger Iranian artists and even a bronze hand by Auguste Rodin. Not surprisingly, it's a good place to meet open-minded young Kermanis.
Showing 1-13 of 13 results
