The Si-o-Se-Pol Bridge was built in Isfahan City in 1602 during the Safavid Dynasty (1501-1736) mainly with stones, lime, bricks, and plaster under the supervision and sponsorship by Allah Verdi Khan who was one of Shah Abbas I’s commanders-in-chief. When Isfahan was selected as the capital city in the Safavid Dynasty, Si-o-Se-Pol was one of the first monuments constructed by the order of the Shah Abbas who aimed to expand and develop the city.
The title of the bridge means “33 bridges” in Farsi referring to its two parallel rows of 33 vaulted arches on the eastern of western sides of the structure on the first floor. In the past, the bridge used to have 40 vaulted arches but after a while, seven of them were blocked and 33 remained open.
The upper floor of the bridge has two vaulted arches above each lower level’s arch and one more arch above each pier. This floor has also two narrow sidewalks on the eastern and western sides of the bridge where people can visit the river from above it.
This bridge is also called Allahveridi-Khan, Chahar-Bagh, Si-o-Se springs, the Zayandeh-Rud River, and the Jolfa Bridge but today, it is most popular as Si-o-Se-Pol. Constructed on the Zayandeh Rud River, with a length of 298 meters and a width of 13.75 meters, it is considered the longest of the historical eleven bridges in Isfahan City.
The Si-o-Se-Pol Bridge connects the southern (Chahar Bagh Abbasi Street) and northern (Chahar Bagh Bala Street) parts of Isfahan to each other. During the Safavid Dynast, an annual water festival was held in Isfahan on the 13th day of Tir, the fourth month of the solar calendar, when Iranians splashed water to each other in order to celebrate the abundance of water in an arid country. The Si-o-Se-Pol Bridge was one of the venues of the festival.
