Tabatabaei House – Kashan, Isfahan Province, Iran

If you want to get familiar with an Iranian family’s culture and lifestyle in the past, the calculated and unique architecture of the Iranian house is without a doubt the best way.

Archeologists believe that the history of building houses goes back to the Neolithic era, when humans began to settle down. The first houses based on the basic rules of architecture in Iran were built in the archeological site of Tepe Sialk in Kashan and Zagheh Cemetery in Ghazvin. The houses belong to late 6th century. As the craft of house-building developed peripheral factors such as weather, people’s professions and economic and social models affected the structure of the house and the materials used in it.

Inwardness, the most distinguished feature of Iranian house

Houses built in desert areas are epitomes of Iranian traditional houses that have been built in other parts of Iran with a bit of difference. The most significant characteristics of Iranian house are its big size and the attention given to keeping the privacy of the inhabitants, both taken from the culture and religion of Iran. Based on this the yard is the most important part of the house and the part that links the inner sections to the outer ones. The yard provides the light and allows heat to be contained in the walls. The other parts of the house are located around the yard; namely, five-door and three-door rooms, the warming room, the hall, the porch which was mostly used for resting, the dining room and the reception room. There are some spaces used for house services such as kitchen, stable, restroom, bath, pool, storeroom, underground, water source and closet. Other spaces link the parts to each other. Some of them are: entrance, Hashti, corridor, porch, and stairway. The spaces mentioned right now were placed either around the yard or a bit farther, based on their importance. The most needed parts were immediately built after the yard, then were the private parts and finally service rooms.

Tabatabaei House – Kashan, Isfahan Province, Iran

It’s good to know that desert houses use parts such as wind catcher, basement, and cooling area to create a suitable living condition in the warm atmosphere of the desert. So the wind catcher could be called the most distinguished part of desert houses. Moreover, houses have been covered with arches and round roofs in desert areas.

Saving Natural Energy

It’s an important principle to save energy in Iranian houses. So, walls were built as thick as possible to prevent cold and warm weather from entering the house. Wooden doors were also used in different parts to complete the task. All the houses opened to the yard and had enough light. Windows were designed in small parts to keep the privacy of the inner parts.

Tabatabaei House – Kashan, Isfahan Province, Iran

Similar activities adjoin

Another principle that had to be observed in these houses was the fact of putting similar activities next to each other, meaning that all the choirs that complete each other would be put in a certain area. On the other hand activities that do not resemble each other were placed as far as possible. The paths connecting different parts to each other were used to locate the position of these activities in a way to separate private parts from public ones. Another principle used in Iranian houses is that of using decorations that stand in contrast to the plain exterior of the buildings. Using architecture-related items such as tiles, blocs, mirrors and stucco works exemplified Iranian art’s grandeur.

Tabatabaei House – Kashan, Isfahan Province, Iran

The houses built in northern and southern parts of Iran differ a little bit with those in desert areas regarding the density of the house spaces but all of them stem from a shared philosophy that make them dependent on each other. All principles of desert houses have been observed in others too but with a bit of difference in appearance.

Of course now that technology has progressed, traditional ideas about heating and cooling the house no longer work as before and all building processes around the world are now in line with modern technologies.

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By the formation of civilization, cities and villages, good exchange became a crucial part of culture of societies and the bazaars gradually appeared.

Grand Bazar of Tabriz, Tabriz, Azerbaijan Sharqi (East) Province, Iran
Photo by Rei nikoo via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

Bazaar is an economic-social unit which can be architecturally indoor or outdoor, periodic or permanent, geographically urban or suburban. In large cities, bazaar is an indoor complex with sale units and relevant buildings which are held permanently.

The bazaars start from out of city gates and continue till the city center. The structure of market consisted of different parts including: rasteh (Part of a market containing a series of shop) as the main elements which create charsou once intersecting each other, rasteh (where guilds are located), corridor and hall (trading company), khanbaar, as a place to store and analyze goods, store, homogeneous and qeysarie trading company, as the workplace of craftsmen like jewelers. There were some others units like mosques, bathrooms, café, restaurants, service or cultural units to fulfill needs of traders, seller and buyers who use the services of a bazaar.

Grand Bazar of Tabriz, Tabriz, Azerbaijan Sharqi (East) Province, Iran
Photo by Kianooshmohebian via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

Bazaar, an urban news center

Bazaars as an economic- social unit had close relation with society since it was always the urban news center, official information and news were firstly published in main bazaar and then spread all over the city. Holding official ceremonies like national- religious celebrations or mourning is another representation of cultural relation between bazaar and populace. Norwruz is an occasion which annually boosts bazaars, on the other hand closing bazaars to take part in mourning or any other important religious occasion has an old background. Also, bazaar and some of its rasteh like bookseller’s rasteh is the circle of scientists, philosophers, poets, and other thinkers, sometimes these people were among craftsmen. Besides, in all political- social movements like Mashrouteh movement which occurred in Iran a trace of marketers can be observed.

The indoor bazaar of Tabriz has been registered in UNESCO as the representative of Iran in bazaar architecture and economic – traditional system.

All cities of Iran have traditional bazaars like Tehran bazaar, Isfahan bazaar, Shiraz bazaar and Tabriz bazaar. The architectural structures which have attracted tourists in addition to preserving economic approach.

The indoor bazaar of Tabriz has been registered in UNESCO as the representative of Iran in bazaar architecture and economic – traditional system.

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Partico of Kaboud Mosque (Blue Mosque) – Tabriz Province, Iran
Photo by Tappasan Phurisamrit / Shutterstock

Mosque is a holy place where Muslims worship God and it is also one of the most important buildings in Islamic architecture of Iran. The first mosques had a very simple architecture and they were mainly built in a square or rectangular shape whose walls were made of clay and the direction of mosques was toward Qibla.

Based on the archeological and historical researches, the oldest mosques of Iran are Shush Mosque and Jameh Mosque of Fahraj. The simple plan of mosques include minaret and semi-dome. The second oldest mosque of Iran is Tarikhaneh Mosque in Damghan city which was built at the beginning of 10th century. Shiraz Jameh Mosque, Jameh Mosque of Nā’īn and Neyriz Mosque in Fars Province were built during 10th and 11th centuries.

Seljuq Dynasty (11^th and 12^th centuries) is known as a time when mosque building flourished in different cities of Iran, there are some mosques made of bricks which can be considered the mementos of this era. They followed some of the instructions of Sassanid era such as Four-Iwan design (Chahar Iwani) in mosque building. Some of the mosque built in Seljuq era are Jameh mosques of Isfahan, Ardestan, Bersiyan, Borujerd, Ardabil.

Jam-e Mosque of Yazd – Yaz Province, Iran
Photo by Leonid Andronov / Shutterstock

The construction of huge buildings with their large domes became common in Ilkhanate Era (13^th and 15^th centuries) which can be abundantly observed in the architecture of the mosques. To make the buildings more attractive, they decorated the facades with long and thin frames and sharp crescents. The Jameh mosques of Yazd, Varamin and Oshtorjan were built in this era.

Timurid Empire (14^th century) witnessed the flourishment of decorating mosques with tiles. The mosques were mainly built using Four-Iwan methods with tall iwans and portals having beautiful muqarnas. Building domes which were like Kulah Khud (the helmets used in ancient western Asia for battle which were bowl-shaped and pointed) was one of the salient characteristics of this era. The most significant and famous mosques of this era were Goharshad (Mashhad), Blue (Tabriz) and Jameh mosque of Kashan.

Blue Mosque in Tabriz is an indoor mosque without any yard, it is called turquoise of Islam.

The glory and resplendence of architecture and specially mosque building in Iran was observed in Safavid Dynasty (16^th – 18^th centuries). Some instances of the mosque in this era are Imam (or Shah) Mosque and Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque. In this era, the patterns used for mosque building were Four-Iwan design and large domes.

Kabud Gonbad Mosque (in Sarakhs) and Vakil Mosque (in Shiraz) are the memorials of Afsharid and Zand dynasties (18^th century).

Mihrab of Nasir Ol Molk Mosque – Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran
Photo by NICOLA MESSANA/ Shutterstock

Although the traces of Safavid mosque building style can be observed in Qajar Dynasty (18^th century), it is not as glorious as theirs. Also, the European art and decorations were used in this era. Imam Mosque of Semnan is an absolute example of Four-Iwan mosque which is a representative of Qajar architecture as well. Some of these examples are Shah Mosque (Tehran), Sepahsalar or Motahari Mosque (Tehran), Nasir al-Mulk Mosque (Shiraz) and Agha Bozorg Mosque and school (Kashan).

It is interesting to know that Now or Atabak Mosque in Shiraz and Ard-Khorma (Flour and Date) Mosque in Ardakan are the largest and smallest mosques of Iran respectively.

Iranian Architecture Infographic / Historic Imam Mosque – Isfahan, Isfahan Province, Iran
Photo by Alexandre Rotenberg / Shutterstock
Infographic by Negar Ganji

Components of a Mosque

All the mosques have some common components regardless of their construction style including: Courtyard, Iwan (a rectangular hall), Portico, Minaret, Dome, Shabestan (an underground space) and Mihrab (semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the Qibla). Each of these components can be removed from the components of a mosque except Mihrab which is the most important part of a mosque and shows the direction of Qibla.

Courtyard

courtyard or “Sahn” is a common element in religious buildings and residences, used in urban and rural settings which is called Mian Sara as well. The Iwan is located around Mian Sara.

Iwan

it is a sitting room which is higher than its surrounding spaces and is usually built in the exterior parts of the buildings. The Iwan of Iranian mosque is usually decorated with muqarnas.

Portico

it is an indoor space having pillars which is built between two sides of courtyard or Mian Sara of the mosque. Its entrance is opened to courtyard and connects the entrance of the mosque to the Shabestan.

Minaret

the first minaret was built in 10th century. It was primarily built as a single construction but later, it became a paired element in the architecture of the mosques.

Dome

the hemispherical ceilings in the traditional architecture of Iran which are decorated with bricks or tiles.

Mihrab

it is a semicircular niche in the wall of mosque which indicates the Qibla and is the turning point of a mosque.

Shabestan

it is an indoor space with uniform and parallel pillars which is connected to the courtyard of the mosque wherein people can say prayers. Some of them lack pillars.

Shabestan of Vakil Mosque – Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran
Photo by javarman / Shutterstock

Different Iranian Mosques

Generally, there are two kinds of mosque in Iran: the mosques with Shabestan or with Iwan, of course, the crucial role of Chahartaqi mosques (an architectural unit consisted of four barrel vaults) cannot be ignored.

Shabestan Mosques

different parts of these mosques are an indoor area next to Qibla, central yard and platforms.

Chahartaqi Mosques

the mosques having a quadrilateral plan and domical ceiling including four pillars and a domical vault are called Chahartaqi mosques.

Iwan Mosques

in 11th century, using pillars was no longer common and the architecture style changed from Shabestani to Iwan design. Iwan is a component which is used in this style and the mosques are named based on the architectural style and number of Iwans used in building them e.g. One-Iwan, Two-Iwan, Four-Iwan and the combination of Chahartaq and Iwan. In Two-Iwan mosques, the Iwans were built in front of each other.

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Sultan Amir Ahmad Historic Bath – Kashan, Isfahan Province, Iran
Photo by Alexander Mazurkevich / Shutterstock

Wash and cleanliness are very important concepts among the Iranian in a way that both religion and mythology have paid attention to them and Jamshid the mythological king of Iran commanded to build the first bath. Besides, there are some proofs in archeological excavations of Chogha Zanbil which show the existence of bath in second millennium before the birth of Christ. Also, in some archeological investigations, it was revealed that there were some constructions in Sassanid Empire which were associated with baths. By the advent of Islam in Iran in 7th century and its emphasis on cleanliness, building baths found more importance. In the sources remained from different Islamic centuries of Iran, the significance of bath and its related customs can be observed.

Ganjali-Khan Historic Bath – Kerman, Kerman Province, Iran
Photo by Udompeter / Shutterstock

The Structure of Iranian Bath

The Iranian baths have one common structure and what is considerably important in building them is to minimize the significant temperature changes. Hence, the baths were build lower than ground level to preserve interior heat of the bath. Another action was to build spiral corridors between the entrance of the bath and “Dehliz” (a dark space between the corridor and dressing room) which prevented the exit of heat. Dressing room or “Beyne” was a well-decorated space in which people prepared themselves for taking bath, it was a semi-warm and moderately dry environment. The next space was called “Garmkhane” which was a completely warm and moist room. Passing from a semi-warm environment to a warm one or vice versa was that sudden change of temperature which must have been moderated as much as possible, it happened through spiral corridors which were called “Miandar” (a dividing space between the warm and cool parts of baths). There were one or two platforms in Miandar wherein people could use “gamucha” (a traditional thin, coarse cotton towel) and placed their bathroom stuff like soap, shampoo and so on. After passing Miandar, people reached Garmkhane, this room was divided into different spaces such as a place for using washing mitt, a place for cleaning yourself and a pool for washing your body which was called “Khazane”. Around Garmkhane of the old public baths there were some relatively deep arcades which were similar to stalls equipped with platforms, they were called “Shahneshin” and also there were one or two small rooms called “Khalvat” which were used only for particular people. The Iranian traditional baths lacked shower and were mainly equipped with “Khazineh” (a large water-filled basin). The fully equipped baths had 3 types of Khazineh for using hot water, cold water and lukewarm water. The thermal reservoir which was called “Toon” was located beneath Khazineh, the heat was spread in Garmkhane through small channels which were under ground and called “Gorbero”. The lighting of bath was provided from the ceiling and through an object which was called “Jaam Khaneh”, it was made of glass and its thickness varied depending on the heat or cold of the environment.

The Pahneh Bath (Pahne and Hazrat) – Semnan, Iran
Photo by Hessam Mirrahimi

Applications of the Baths

In the past, in addition to the main application of baths i.e. a place for washing yourself, people gathered there with the purpose of consulting and sorting out social issues. Besides, different ceremonies such as “Hanabandan” (bridal henna party), wedding bath and the bath after giving birth to a baby were held in the baths as well. In some neighborhoods which had only one bath, there was a specific schedule in which some days it was used by women and the other days, the men were allowed to use it. In the neighborhoods having more than one bath, there were separate baths for men and women and even religious minorities had their own special bath. In addition to public baths, there were some authorities in different historical eras who had their own special baths. Using the traditional baths in Iran was common till the last decade, today these baths have been replaced with public baths. However, in some small cities and villages, using traditional baths is still common among their inhabitants. Until recently, the baths, like mosques and schools, were considered public buildings and all of the people, from all walks of life, used public baths, even the authorities of Qajar dynasty used these baths as they did not have any personal bath in their own homes.

Vakil Bath House – Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran

Replacement of Khazineh with Shower

From the early 20th century, Khazineh was replaced with shower in order to observe hygiene and they were no longer used for washing and cleaning body. Unlike old baths, the buildings of new baths were constructed from the floor and the showers of public baths were installed inside of small chambers around Garmkhane. Today, many of the historical baths have become a tourist attraction because of their impressive and beautiful decorations such as paintings, tiling and forging and even some of them have become museum from among them, it can be pointed out to Vakil Bath in Shiraz, Pahneh Bath in Semnan, Ganjali Khan Bath in Kerman, Four-Season Bathhouse in Arak, Ali Shah and Shaykh Bahai Baths in Isfahan.

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Si-o-Se-Pol, Safavid era – Isfahan, Isfahan province, Iran
Photo by Inigolai/ Shutterstock

Bridges and dams are architectural structures which have been built in the path of caravan roads, ways and on the rivers to both facilitate passage and provide the possibility of storing water for agricultural purposes and other required affairs.

Shapuri Bridge (Broken Bridge), Sassanid era – Khorram Abad, Lorestan province, Iran
Photo by Kia79 via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

There is not any exact information about the history of building bridges in Iran but the most ancient signs are related to the remnants of a bridge in historical complex of Pasargad. There are remnants of bridges and dams from Sasanian Empire especially in Lorestan, Khuzestan and Fars provinces.

Khaju Bridge, Safavid era – Isfahan, Isfahan province, Iran
Photo by Grigvovan / Shutterstock

Building bridges in Islamic period was still common, they were built of stones and bricks. For example, it can be pointed out to the remnants of bridges in Daylamites era (Buyid Dynasty) in regions like Rey, Isfahan and Fars such as Amir Dyke in Fars province (Band-e-Azodi) in Safavid dynasty. By the development of road construction, building other architectural constructions such as inns and bridges was flourished. The most prominent bridges of this era are in Isfahan.

Kashkan Bridge, 10th Century AD – Lorestan province, Iran
Photo by Kiavash safarian via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

Building bridge in Safavid dynasty increasingly focuses on architectural blaze and facade decoration and the distance between piers and width of bridge spans increases.

Two of the most prominent examples of these bridges are Allahverdi Khan Bridge (Si-o-se-pol) and Khaju Bridge in Isfahan having tiling and brickwork which are among the tourism attractions of this province.

There are some other bridges remained from eras after Safavid Dynasty. In Qajar Dynasty and during the premiership of Amir Kabir, many of the bridges were repaired and in Pahlavi Dynasty building bridges was also developed due to paying attention to constructing ways and by the establishment of ways and streets ministry in 1929. In this period, cement and steel structures were used to build bridges and the most salient one is Veresk Bridge on the way of Tehran-Shomal railway.

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Nasir Al-Mulk Mosque – Shiraz, Fars Province, Iran

The architecture of pre-Islamic Iran is divided into two styles of “Parsian” and “Parthian”.

Parsian Style

it is the first architectural style in Iran starting from Achaemenid era until the invasion of Alexander (from 6th to 4th B.C). Rectangular spaces with columned halls, construction of buildings on platform, introverted style, using wooden ceilings, carved stones, plinth and capital, decoration of entrance and glazed tile in interior sectors are among the main features of Parsian architecture.

Parthian Style

As the name suggests, Parthian Style is the architecture used by the Parthian, it includes diversity in patterns, introverted style, symmetry in construction of palaces and temples, increase in the height of buildings, curved arches and domes, squinches below the domes, using local materials like rubble, adobe, brick, mud, and stucco work.

Iran’s Architecture from the Advent of Islam to Seljuk (6^th to 11^th centuries)

In spite of the advent of Islam, for years, Iran’s architectural style was dependent on the past elements. After that, Muslim artists introduced new forms, buildings, and constructs like mosque, school, bridge, castle and caravanserai with respect to previous artistic features especially Sassanid ones and inspired Islamic mind-set.

At the beginning of Islamic time, more attention was paid to the construction of mosque. The mosques usually had simple structures, but from this time, we witnessed the rise of Muqarnas decorative designs (decorations made of brick, tile, stone, plaster and wood) as an ornament of the mosque. The Muqarnas decorative styles used in Gonbad-e Qabus tower is one of the earliest examples of it in 10th century. Besides, Ribat-i Mahi, contemporary to Gonbad-e Qabus tower, has muddy brick and stucco decorations as well and acts as a precedent for the more lavish decorations of Seljuk and Ilkhanate Eras.

Iran’s Architecture from Seljuk to Timurid (11^th to 15^th Centuries)

Seljuk dynasty (11th century) is one of the most outstanding periods of Iran’s architecture. The construction of schools was popular in this time and many schools were built in the cities of Baghdad, Neyshabur, Marv, Rey and Hyrcania (current Gorgan). The plans of most of the buildings in this era was Four-Iwan design (Chahar Iwani) with stucco and brick as their prominent decorations. Iwan is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. They are mostly build in exterior space of the buildings having entrance/ exit spaces. Different buildings such as mosque, school, tomb and caravanserai were constructed in this era as well. The splendour and glory of Seljuk architecture are completely visible in Jameh mosque of Isfahan. Although, Jameh mosque of Isfahan is the result of continual construction, reconstruction, additions and renovations of 15 centuries of Islamic Era, the most beautiful and important part of the mosque belongs to Seljuk Dynasty. It is interesting to know that the use of tile as a decorative element has become popular since the end of 10th century. The oldest examples are the tiles of Kharraqan towers in Qazvin which were built in Seljuk Dynasty.

Preserving the Seljuk architectural styles including Four-Iwan design, Ilkhanate architecture entered a new stage; Iwan became higher with narrow width and the walls got narrower as well. Decorations like stucco, tile work and brick with special patterns adorned buildings. Mihrabs of Isfahan Jameh Mosque, Urmia and Oshtorjan mosques are the obvious proofs of the mastery in stucco art in that era.

During Timurid dynasty, the art of mosaic tiling reached its zenith, it is the art of the assembling of small pieces of coloured tiles to make an image. Mosques like Goharshad in Mashhad, Blue in Tabriz, Khargerd Ghiasieh School in Khorasan and some buildings in Herat and Bukhara show the importance and application of this art in religious buildings.

In this era, Grand Khorasan in east of Iran played an important role in development of architecture as well. Khorasan was the origin of lots of innovations in architecture that spread it to other parts of the country. Two-Iwan style was used in Khorasan for the first time and it was one of the first cities that the traces of turquoise tile are found in, this style can be observed in Mosques of Zuzan, Gonabad and Forumad.

Iranian Architecture Infographic / Historic Imam Mosque – Isfahan, Isfahan Province, Iran
Photo by Alexandre Rotenberg / Shutterstock
Infographic by Negar Ganji

Iran’s Architecture from Safavid to the Contemporary Era

The 16th and 17th centuries are known as the period of flourishment of Islamic arts in Iran. In the shadow of the support of Safavid’s kings, art and architecture advanced drastically. The majority of buildings in Safavid era such as mosques, schools, and caravanserais were constructed in a four-Iwan style and Muaraq (Mosaic) and Haft Rang (Seven-Coloured) tiles were the main decorations used in the buildings, the template of tiles were square which were glazed and seven colors were used to design them. Calligraphy on tile became common in decoration of religious buildings as well. Public places like mosque, bridge, bathhouse, water reservoir and specially caravanserai were built more than ever. Amin Abad caravanserai in Isfahan, Deh-bid caravanserai on the road of Isfahan to Shiraz and the numerous Abbasi caravanserais built all over the country were important caravanserais of this period.

After the fall of Safavid Dynasty, the same architectural style of that time continued like before but it was not as glorious as before. Kalat Naderi Palace (Khorshid Palace) in Khorasan province (Afsharid era) and Vakil complex in Shiraz (Zandiyeh era) are outstanding buildings of this period. After this period and with the beginning of Qajar Reign, architecture was the centre of attention again. Some of the buildings from Qajar era like Al-Nabi Mosque in Qazvin, the Haj Ali Agha complex in Kerman, Imam Mosque, Sepahsalar Mosque and school in Tehran, as well as Golestan palace are the examples of the breathtaking architecture of Qajar era.

Contemporary Architecture

The contemporary architecture of Iran starts from early 19th century and continues up to now. Architectural structures of buildings in this time were the combination of traditional and western architecture styles which were witnessed in constructs like Shahrbani Palace, Marble Palace and Post Office building of Tehran, or modern architectural style was entirely used.

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Tekyeh of Moaven-al-Molk – Kermanshah, Kermanshah province, Iran
Photo by IsoGFX via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

In Iranian culture, these two words (Tekyeh & Hussainiya) are sometimes used for a special place wherein mourning ceremonies and religious Ta’zieh (a Muslim passion play celebrated by the Shiʽa in Muharram) are held and sometimes they are used separately i.e. Hussainiya is a place for mourning, Rawda khwani (the Shia Iranian Muslim ritual of the Mourning of Muharram) and Sineh Zani (a common form of mourning ritual in which mourners beat on their chest) and Tekyeh is a place for performing Ta’zieh. There is no proof for existence of Hussainiya in Iran before Safavid dynasty or even during that period.

Tekyeh of Moaven-al-Molk – Kermanshah, Kermanshah province, Iran
Photo by IsoGFX via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

The exact date of formation of Tekyeh in Iran is unknown, but it is believed that it was built in Safavid dynasty for Ta’zieh. The architectural structure of Tekyeh consists of a building with/without roof, a platform in internal space with two stairs in both sides or a gentle slope for horses to pass over there, a passage all around the platform for horse riding, a place for audience to watch the ceremony, and a locker room. They have several entrances, some are for the audiences and some others for the actors of Ta’zieh and their horses.

Ta’zieh and Tekyeh were highly flourished in Qajar dynasty. Tekyeh of Hasan Khan Moaven-al-Molk in Kermanshah province and Tekyeh of Dolat in Tehran province (destroyed in 1946) are the most well-known ones.

Tekyeh of Amir Chakhmaq – Yazd, Yazd province, Iran
Photo by Babak.masarat via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

It can be certainly said that in all cities and villages of Iran that the Shia live in, there are always Hussainiya. Hussaniya of Haj Ghaffar (in Maragheh city) and Hussainiya of Mirza Mohsen Mojtahed (in Ardabil city) are the oldest ones in Iran which are considered as tourism attraction.

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Water Reservoir – Ab Anbar Haft Badgir – Asr Abad, Yazd Province, Iran
Photo by SeyedMahdiSalehi via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

The importance of water and its storage led to the creation of an architectural structure calling water reservoir (Ab Anbar) which is one of the tourism attraction in Iran. It is an important traditional architectural structure in Iran, a sealed and covered water tank which was built lower than ground level to store drinking water to be used during the days with low storage of water or to have cold water during summer.

One of the most ancient water reservoirs in Iran is next to Chogha Zanbil region (an ancient Elamite complex in Khuzestan province) which goes back to the 2nd century of B.C. and was built upon flourishment of Elam civilization. Building different types of qanats and dams was developed during the dynasty of Parthian and Sassanian which shows a great achievement in techniques used for building structures to store water.

Water Reservoir – Ab Anbar Rostam Giv- Yazd, Yazd Province, Iran
Photo by Meysamwiki via Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

After Islam, building water reservoirs was developed in the villages and roads where caravans passed over there, by the appearance of cities and new neighbors, the water reservoirs were built next to the mosques, schools, bazaars and governmental palaces as part of a joined architectural complex. One of the most ancient water reservoirs is “Azodi Pool” which was built in Istakhr city in Fars province on 10th A.D. by the command of Adud al-Dawla Deylami. In Iran building water reservoirs was developed after 16th & 17th A. D. centuries.

Different Types of Water Reservoir

The water reservoirs were built either privately (in rural or urban houses) or publically. The most important water reservoirs of Iran are: Seyed Esmail, Saheb Eyvan, Yuzbashi, Imamzadeh Yahya (Tehran), Gholi & Sorkheh (Semnan), Haj Kazem & Sardar (Qazvin) and Mosalla (Yazd).

Depending on the size of water reservoirs, the tanks of water reservoirs are with or without pillar and their section is square, square-rectangle, octagonal or circle. The tanks of mountainous water reservoirs were built by cutting stones with hammer and other required tools and their ceilings were covered but in other regions, tanks were made by digging the ground.

The water reservoirs were connected to the qanats or fountain by canals. Most of the water reservoirs which were located around the roads were filled by spring floods of rivers near them.

Some of the private water reservoirs and most of the public water reservoirs have pashir (a place to pick up water) which is connected to the ground by brick or stony stairs. Some of the public water reservoirs do not have pashir and there are stairs in the tank (from the ground level till its bottom) and water can be directly picked up. There are some other water reservoirs with a low capacity which do not have any stairs and their water can be picked up through a hatch which are directly connected to the tanks.

Ways to keep water cold

Some architectural ways were being applied in order to keep water healthy and cold in the water reservoirs, ways such as building tanks lower than ground level, building thick walls or building wind-catcher over the ceiling of water reservoirs. The wind-catchers play a crucial role in keeping water tanks cold, especially in deserts and southern regions of Iran. The 6-wind-catcher water reservoir in Yazd with the height of 12 meters is one of the most salient wind-catchers.

Water reservoirs have been constantly among the tourism attractions of Iran and currently have been used as dining salons, café, museum and theater hall to be preserved and displayed to others.

Water Reservoir – Ab Anbar Haji Abdol Karim- Yazd, Yazd Province, Iran
Photo by MREZA1977 via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

Ways to keep water cold

Some architectural ways were being applied in order to keep water healthy and cold in the water reservoirs, ways such as building tanks lower than ground level, building thick walls or building wind-catcher over the ceiling of water reservoirs. The wind-catchers play a crucial role in keeping water tanks cold, especially in deserts and southern regions of Iran. The 6-wind-catcher water reservoir in Yazd with the height of 12 meters is one of the most salient wind-catchers.

Water reservoirs have been constantly among the tourism attractions of Iran and currently have been used as dining salons, café, museum and theater hall to be preserved and displayed to others.

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Interior of the traditional pigeon tower – Meybod, Yazd province, Iran
Photo: OPIS Zagreb/ shutterstock

Dovecote is an architectural structure of Iran, a tower-like structure for keeping pigeons. Three factors were necessary to build a dovecote: pigeon, agricultural land and access to water. Hence, the dovecotes were built close to agricultural lands so that pigeons do not fly long distances to find grains and water.

Honeycomb Architecture

The dovecotes were clay, high and hollow and at the same time firm and compact structures which were built in three models: cylindrical, cubic and polygon, most of the dovecotes in Iran are cylindrical. These structures are usually made of one internal and one external cylinder. In order to strengthen the building, the external cylinder was slightly inside-oriented and conic and it was connected to the internal cylinder by some levers.

Interior of the traditional pigeon house – Yazd province, Iran
Photo: Alexander Mazurkevich/ shutterstock

There were cavities like honey beehive in internal crusts of the walls which were used as pigeons nest. Usually more than 1000 pigeons can be kept in dovecotes, they are double-glazed and act like an insulation that prevent the entrance/exit of heat during summer/winter. All around the external building was covered with white and sometimes glazed plaster which prevented the entrance of reptiles like snake into the dovecote, its width was usually between 1 to 1.5 meters.

The history of dovecote in Iran is not clear but the oldest ones belong to Safavid and Qajar Dynasties like dovecote of Hezar Jarib Garden (Safavid Dynasty) and Meybod dovecote tower (Qajar Dynasty).

Exterior of the traditional pigeon houses – Yazd province, Iran
Photo: Alexander Mazurkevich/ shutterstock

A structure with Economic Approach

Dovecotes can be considered as economic buildings which were created with the purpose of utilizing agriculture but by the development of agriculture during the recent decades and using chemical fertilizers, these buildings are not as usable as before. Development of the cities and placing dovecotes in urban regions is a factor which make pigeons unwilling to nest in these towers.

Today, the remained dovecotes are used as tourism and agricultural attractions in Iran and their complicated architecture is attractive to tourists.

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Mil-e-Karat – Taybad – Khurasan

The history of building shafts goes back to pre-Islam era and the oldest available samples belong to Partian (Mil-e-Noor Abad Mamsani in Fars province) and Sasanian (Firuzabad Tower in Khorasan Razavi Province) Empires.

Shaft found a great importance in Iranian architecture after Islam and it was quickly used as a decorative structure in a way that it became a place to show different decorative arts such as brickwork and tiling. Since 1^st -5^th A. H. centuries, the shafts (which later became a pattern for building minarets as a part of mosques) were mainly built individually (Khosrogerd Minaret and Semnan Minaret), joint to the building (Arsalan Jazeb Tomb) and sometimes there was a distance between shaft and building (minaret of the mosque in Saveh Square).

Left: Khosrogerd Minaret, 12th century AD – Sabzevar, Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran
Photo by Farnaz Ghandi via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0
Right: Sarban Minaret, 12th century A.D – Isfahan, Isfahan Province, Iran
Photo by Haaft via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-4.0

During Ilkhante and Timurid empires the minarets were tall. Minaret of Mozafari Jame Mosque in Kerman and minaret of Goharshad Mosque are among the minarets of Ilkhante and Timurid minarets respectively.

Considering shafts and minarets of Iran as a structure, they can be divided into two categories of single and paired. The single minarets have long body with few decorations, and in term of appearance they have three categories: cylindrical (Golpayegan Minaret), conical (Tarikhaneh Minaret in Damghan and Minaret of Semnan) and polygonal or prismatic (Minaret of Jame Mosque in Nain). The most prominent paired minarets of Iran are minarets of Jame Mosque of Yazd having the longest height (8^th & 9^th A.H. centauries).

Jam-e Mosque of Yazd Minaret – Yazd Province, Iran
Photo by Leonid Andronov/ shutterstock

After Safavid Dynasty, building tall minarets was not much common e.g. minaret of Jame Mosque of Shahrud. The minarets of Pamenar, Shah Abdul Azim, Fatima Masumeh Shrine and old Sepahsalar School from Qajar dynasty are exemplary as well.

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