Kashan

For the historical city in Volga Bulgaria and Khanate of Kazan, see Qashan.
Kashan
کاشان
—  City  —
Tabatabaei House, early 1800s, Kashan. A fine example of traditional Persian architecture.
Kashan is located in Iran
Kashan
Location in Iran
Coordinates:
Country Flag of Iran.svg Iran
Province Isfahan Province
Time zone IRST (UTC+3:30)
 - Summer (DST) IRDT (UTC+4:30)
Website Kashan.ir
Teemcheh-e-Amin o Dowleh, Kashan Bazaar (19th century). Persian architects used these structures to naturally decrease temperatures, regulate sunlight, and ventilate the interior spaces during the daytime.
The rug of Kashan.
Part of the Tabatabaei House.
The Agha Bozorg Mosque and its "sunken" courtyard (18th century)
Tomb of Abu-Lu'lu'ah is not far from Fin Garden.
The Borujerdi ha House has become a famous landmark and sample of Persian traditional residential architecture.

Kashan (Persian: کاشان, Kāshān) is a city in the province of Isfahan, Iran. It had an estimated population of 272,359 in 2005.[1]

The etymology of the city name comes from Kasian, the original inhabitants of the city, whose remains are found at Tapeh Sialk dating back 9,000 years; later this changed to Kashian, whence the town name. The Persian word Kashi, which translates into the English word "tile". Kashan is the first of the large oases along the Qom-Kerman road which runs along the edge of the central deserts of Iran. Its charm is thus mainly due to the contrast between the parched immensities of the deserts and the greenery of the well-tended oasis.

Contents

History

Amin-o-Dowleh, Persian Royal envoy to the court of Napoleon III. He financed the building of Timcheh Amin-o-dowleh.

Archeological discoveries in the Sialk Hillocks which lie 4 km west of Kashan reveal that this region was one of the primary centers of civilization in pre-historic ages. Hence Kashan dates back to the Elamite period of Iran. The Sialk ziggurat still stands today in the suburbs of Kashan after 7000 years.

The artifacts uncovered at Sialk reside in the Louvre in Paris and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Iran's National Museum.

By some accounts - though not all - Kashan was the origin of the three wise men who followed the star that guided them to Bethlehem to witness the nativity of Jesus, as recounted in the Bible. Whatever the historical validity of this story, the attribution of Kashan as their original home testifies to the city prestige at the time the story was set down.

Abu-Lu'lu'ah/Pirouz Nahāvandi, the Persian soldier who was enslaved by the Islamic conquerors and eventually assassinated the caliph Umar al-Khattab in 23 AH (644–645) CE, reportedly fled to Kashan after the assassination and lived there some years before being finally caught and executed. His tomb is one of Kashan's conspicuous landmarks (see gallery below).

Sultan Malik Shah I of the Seljukid dynasty ordered the building of a fortress in the middle of Kashan in the 11th century. The fortress walls, called Ghal'eh Jalali still stand today in central Kashan.

Kashan was also a leisure vacation spot for Safavi Kings. Bagh-e Fin (Fin Garden), specifically, is one of the most famous gardens of Iran. This beautiful garden with its pool and orchards was designed for Shah Abbas I as a classical Persian vision of paradise. The original Safavid buildings have been substantially replaced and rebuilt by the Qajar dynasty although the layout of trees and marble basins is close to the original. The garden itself however, was first founded 7000 years ago alongside the Cheshmeh-ye-Soleiman. The garden is also notorious as the sight of the murder of Mirza Taghi Khan known as Amir Kabir, chancellor of Nasser-al-Din Shah, Iran's King in 1852.

The earthquake of 1778 leveled the city of Kashan and all the edifices of Shah Abbas Safavi, leaving 8000 casualties. But the city started afresh and has today become a focal tourist attraction via the numerous large houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, illustrating the finest examples of Qajari aesthetics.

Today

Although there are many sites in Kashan of potential interest to tourists, the city remains largely undeveloped in this sector, with fewer than a thousand foreign tourists per year. Qamsar and Abyaneh are notable towns around Kashan, which attract tourists year around. The nearby town of Niasar features a man-made cave and fireplace of historical interest.

Kashan is internationally famous for manufacturing carpets, silk and other textiles. Kashan today houses most of Iran's mechanized carpet-weaving factories, and has an active marble and copper mining industry. Kashan and suburbs have a population of 400,000.

Main sights

Kashan's architectural sights include:

Education

Colleges and universities in Kashan include:

Roads

Kashan is connected via freeways to Isfahan and Natanz to the South, and Qom, which is an hour drive away to the north.

Famous Kashanis

Famous families

Sister cities

See also

References

  1. ↑ City population

External links