10/09/2008

Isfahan and the religious capital of Qom

Iran, its lands more than twice the size of Turkey, is a nation that is close to Turkey not only geographically, but culturally.

It lies between Iraq and Pakistan, with coastlines that run along the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf as well as the Caspian Sea.

With a population of close to 70 million, this Middle Eastern country, second only to Saudi Arabia in terms of land mass in the region, is a neighbor of Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan. Its natural resources include abundant amounts of oil and natural gas. The great majority of Iranians live in urban centers.

Officially known as the Islamic Republic of Iran, the country chose a new flag in 1980, one with green, white and red stripes with "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) written 22 times on it. Allah, or God, is written in the middle of the white stripe. For 850 years this nation was ruled by Sunni Muslims, but in the 1500s, with the rise of the Safavid Empire under Shah Ismail, the country adopted Shiite Islam.

Persian has for a long time been the language of poetry and literature, and Iran has produced many significant names in this field. Iranian poets and writers such as Saadi, Ferdowsi, Nizami, Hafiz and Omar Khayyam are renowned worldwide. Iran has a very old and deep-rooted culture. In fact, the Persians created their first state here 2,500 years ago.

In pre-Islamic Persia, the predominant religion was Zoroastrianism. Remnants of this community remain, as well as temples used for Zoroastrian rituals. Today, followers of this religion number close to 100,000 and can be found throughout Iran, but most live in the city of Yazd, located in the middle of the country.

Iranian law prohibits women from singing in public except as part of a chorus, so many Iranian male and female artists choose to live abroad and give concerts in neighboring countries, including Turkey.

One of the most important cities in Iran is Qom. Some 100 kilometers southeast of Tehran, it is known as the country's religious capital and is home to many schools of theology. Qom is the birthplace of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the man who led the 1979 Iranian Revolution that sought to remove Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who had had many people imprisoned, tortured and killed to maintain his grip on Persia. Ayatollah Khomeini is buried near the Tehran-Qom highway and his gravesite is a popular place to visit among Iranians. Roads leading to various Iranian cities pass through Qom, so it is no wonder that thousands upon thousands of students continue to come here to receive their religious education.

Shiite Islam is by far the most widespread form of Islam in Iran. The grave of Fatimah al-Ma'sumah, the daughter of Shiite Islam's seventh imam, Musa al-Kadhim, and the sister of the eighth imam, Ali Reza, is found in Qom. This grave is very important for Iranians and is heavily visited. Qom, unsurprisingly, is Iran's most conservative city and gained enormous importance and power following the Iranian Revolution. State funding for Qom's schools skyrocketed and they began accepting students from around the world.

Another important Iranian city is Isfahan, located 424 kilometers south of Tehran. Isfahan pulls in many visitors from all around the world. It is a well-planned and well-laid out city, with much attention having been paid to keeping it green.

The mountain ranges that surround Isfahan are the continuation of the Zagros Mountains. Isfahan is said to be the city where the best Farsi is spoken, where the locals are known for loving to joke around and, because of the city's aesthetic beauty, about which it is said "Isfahan nisf jihan," or Isfahan is half the world (in beauty). From an Islamic perspective, Isfahan is important as it was the city from which Salman al-Farisi, a close companion of Prophet Muhammad, came.

Isfahan boasts what is actually one of the world's largest squares, the Naqsh-e Jahan Square. Chogan, a type of polo, was played here and the shah used to watch the polo games from his balcony. This stunning square includes the Shah Mosque and Ali Qapu Palace. Visitors can enjoy a beautiful display of color thanks to the domes decorated by gorgeous tiles. The square, built between 1602 and 1619 by Shah Abbas I, is completely surrounded by various shops these days. The Ali Qapu Palace is under restoration right now, but the square's mosques are quite famous and the decorative tiles you will see here are unforgettable.

One of the most important and historical of the mosques in this central Isfahan square is the Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque, ordered to be built in the 17th century by Shah Abbas I. This mosque has no minaret and no courtyard, though the tiling is breathtaking.

A bridge over the Zayandeh River in Isfahan is also historical; Shah Abbas I had this 300-meter-long, 14-meter-wide bridge built in 1602. It is breathtaking to behold and attracts many tourists. It goes by the name 33 Pol but is also popularly known as the Allah-Verdi Khan Bridge, named after an advisor to Shah Abbas I.

Of course many more bridges span the Zayandeh River. Another historical bridge here is the Khaju Bridge, which was built in a completely different architectural style.

Any visit to Isfahan is incomplete without a stop at the famous 40-column palace Chehel Sotoun. This palace, built by Shah Abbas II, has a generous courtyard and a pool in the courtyard. But despite being known as the 40 columns palace, there are really only 20 columns; it got the epithet "40 columns" because people counted the reflections of the 20 columns in the water of the reflecting pool here. One of the walls of this palace is decorated with miniatures that portray the various wars the shahs were engaged in. Another wall focuses only on the Battle of Chalderan between Shah Ismail I and Yavuz Sultan Selim. This palace also has handwritten copies of the Quran on deerskin dating back to the ninth century. Another artistic display peculiar to this palace is the mirror work you will find, as well as great masterpieces of coral inlaying.

Little by little, tourism is in fact developing in Iran, though there is still a long way to go, especially when it comes to services. Of all the cities we visited, Isfahan was the best city in terms of quality of service offered to tourists.

[TRAVEL TIPS]

Visa: Iran does not require visas from Turkish citizens. Citizens of the US, the UK, Australia, EU countries and Canada need visas.

How to go: Direct flights offered by Turkish Airlines (THY) and IranAir connect Turkey with Iran (Tehran and Tabriz).

Tehran
Turkish Airlines: 289 euros + tax
Flights run every day
Departure: 11:05 p.m.
Arrival 2:30 a.m.
IranAir: 291 euros + tax
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Departure: 11 a.m.
Arrival 2:30 p.m.

Tabriz
Turkish Airlines: 289 euros + tax
Wednesday, Friday, Sunday
Departure: 11:25 p.m.
Arrival: 3:30 a.m.
IranAir: 260 euros + tax
Thursday, Sunday
Departure: 7:35 p.m.
Arrival: 9:25 p.m.

Where to stay: Iran is slowly beginning to understand the importance of tourism and is making more and more investments in this area. The average price for a night at a luxurious hotel in one of these cities starts at $110.

Best time to go: The best months to visit Iran are April, May, September and October. In the month of July, temperatures can range between 35 and 45 degrees Celsius.

By SAİM ORHAN published on Today's Zaman

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