Kashan

FIn Garden in Kashan

The Fin Garden is a World Heritage Site in Kashan which contains a Persian garden and bath, and includes a great many water features. While it has always been a significant site during the Safavid, Zandiye and Qajar eras, it's perhaps most famous as the assassination place of Amir Kabir, the prime minister of Nasser el-din Shah Qajar, believed by many Iranians to be one of the most capable and innovative figures in the entire Qajar period, and perhaps Iran's first reformer. His assassination is said to be conspired by the King's mother who was afraid of his increasing influence with the young king.

click to enlarge pictures

Borujerdi and TabatabaEi Houses

The historic houses of Borujerdi and Tabatabaei in Kashan, belonging to old wealthy families of the same names, were built by the same architecht in the 19th century, and feature all the delightful details and design of traditional Persian residential architecture, the best examples of which one finds in Central Iran. Islamic beliefs and the necessity to defend cities against frequent foreign invasions led to 'inward seeking' designs for the houses: enclosed gardens with maximum privacy, preventing any view into the house from the outside world. Even the entrance of these houses were built in a way that inhibited the sight of any person entering the house from the dark entrance to the fully sun-lit courtyard, long enough for the inhabitants, especially the women of the house, to be alerted to the new arrival.

Borujerdi house

click to enlarge pictures

tabatabaei house

click to enlarge pictures

See also: Bazaar in Kashan