Esfahan Things to Do

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The Chehel Sotun palace was built as a reception hall by Shah Abbas II in 1647. It is set in the old royal park between the Ali Qapu Palace and the Chahar Bagh Avenue. The name means "The Forty Columns" and though there are only twenty columns of cypress wood, their reflections in the adjacent pool provide the other twenty.

There is also a small museum inside the building. Six Friezes are painted on the upper part of the inside walls representing Safavid court life and their military exploits. Beneath these great scenes are smaller paintings, closer in style and subject matter to Persian miniature. Covered in plaster during the Qajar period, they have recently been carefully restored. All around the room are a series of Safavid objects including carpets, armour, porcelain and coins.

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The Si-o-se Pol (Persian: سی وسه پل, pronounced [siː oˈseh pol],[1] which means 33 Pol, literally 33 Bridge) or the Bridge of 33 Arches, also called the Allah-Verdi Khan Bridge, is one of the eleven bridges of Esfahan, Iran. It is highly ranked as being one of the most famous examples of Safavid bridge design.

Zayandeh River is the largest river on the central plateau of Iran, Isfahan Province. The Zayandeh starts in the Zagros Mountains and travels 400 kilometres (200 mi) eastward before ending in the Gavkhouni swamp, a seasonal salt lake, southeast of Esfahan city. The Zayandeh has significant flow all year long, unlike many of Iran's rivers which are seasonal. The Zayandeh is spanned by many historical Safavid era bridges, and flows through many parks.

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Vank Cathedral, also known as The Church of the Saintly Sisters, is the most visited cathedral in Isfahan, Iran. Vank means "cathedral" in the Armenian language.

Vank Cathedral was one of the first churches to be established in the city's Jolfa district by Armenian immigrants settled by Shah Abbas I after the Ottoman War of 1603-1605. The varying fortunes and independence of this suburb across the Zayandeh River and its eclectic mix of European missionaries, mercenaries and travelers can be traced almost chronologically in the cathedral's combination of building styles and contrasts in its external and internal architectural treatment.

Construction is believed to have begun in 1606, and completed with major alterations to design between 1655 and 1664 under the supervision of Archbishop David. The cathedral consists of a domed sanctuary, much like a Persian mosque, but with the significant addition of a semi-octagonal apse and raised chancel usually seen in western churches. The cathedral's exteriors are in relatively modern brickwork and are exceptionally plain compared to its elaborately decorated interior.

The interior is covered with fine paintings and gilded carvings and includes a wainscot of rich tile work. The delicately blue and gold painted central dome depicts the Biblical story of creation of the world and man's expulsion from Eden. Pendentives throughout the church are painted with a distinctly Armenian motif of a cherub's head surrounded by folded wings. The ceiling above the entrance is painted with delicate floral motifs in the style of Persian miniature. Two sections, or bands, of murals run around the interior walls: the top section depicts events from the life of Jesus, while the bottom section depicts tortures inflicted upon Armenian martyrs by the Ottoman Empire. No picture inside unless you buy separate ticket for taking pics.

The courtyard contains a large freestanding belfry towering over the graves of both Orthodox and Protestant Christians. A tile work plaque inscribed in Armenian can be seen by the entrance to the cathedral; graves are also placed along the exterior wall before the entrance, with inscriptions in Armenian. In one corner of the courtyard is a raised area with a memorial to the 1915 Armenian Genocide in Turkey. Across the courtyard and facing the cathedral is a building housing a library and museum; outside of this building are several carved stones showing scenes from the Bible

The library contains over 700 handwritten books and many invaluable and unique resources for research in Armenian and medieval European languages and arts. The museum displays numerous artifacts from the history of the cathedral and the Armenian community in Isfahan,

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The Si-o-se Pol, which means 33 Pol, literally 33 Bridge or the Bridge of 33 Arches, also called the Allah-Verdi Khan Bridge, is one of the eleven bridges of Esfahan, Iran. It is highly ranked as being one of the most famous examples of Safavid bridge design.

Commissioned in 1602 by Shah Abbas I from his chancellor Allahverdi Khan Undiladze, an Iranian ethnic Georgian, it consists of two layers of 33 arches. There is a larger base plank at the start of the bridge where the Zayandeh River flows under it, with a mounted tea house there.

See more pic for night view.

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Khaju Bridge is one of the most famous bridges in Isfahan, Iran and has roused the admiration of travelers since the 17th century. Shah Abbas II built it on the foundations of an older bridge around 1650. It has 23 arches and is 105 metres long and 14 metres wide. It links the Khaju quarter on the north bank with the Zoroastrian quarter across the Zayandeh River. It also functions as a weir; the downstream side is formed as a series of steps carrying the water to a much lower level.

The pass way of the bridge is 7.5 meters wide, made of bricks and stones with 21 larger and 26 smaller inlet and outlet channels. The pieces of stone used in this bridge are over 2 meters long and the distance between every channel and the ceiling base is 20 meters. The existing inscriptions suggest that the bridge was repaired in 1873.

Khaju is one of the bridges that regulate the water flow in the river because there are sluice gates under the archways over the river. When the sluice gates are closed, the water level behind the bridge is raised to facilitate the irrigation of the many gardens along the river upstream of this bridge.

On the upper level of the bridge, the main central aisle was utilized by horses and carts and the vaulted paths on either side by pedestrians. Octagonal pavilions in the center of the bridge on both the down and the upstream sides provide vantage points for the remarkable views. The lower level of the bridge may be accessed by pedestrians and remains a popular shady place for relaxing.

Esfahan has long been one of the centers for production of the famous Persian Rug. Weaving in Esfahan flourished in the Safavid era. But when the Afghans invaded Iran, ending the Safavid dynasty, the craft also became stagnant.

Not until 1920s, between two world wars, was weaving again taken seriously by the people of Esfahan. They started to weave Safavid designs and once again became one of the most important nexus of the Iranian rug weaving industry. Esfahani carpets today are among the most wanted in world markets, having many customers in western countries.

Esfahani rugs and carpets usually have ivory backgrounds with blue, rose, and indigo motifs. Rugs and carpets often have very symmetrical and balanced designs. They usually have a single medallion that is surrounded with vines and palmettos and are of excellent quality.

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Jamé Mosque is the result of continual construction, reconstruction, additions and renovations on the site from around 771 to the end of the 20th century. Jamé stems from the Arabic root word Jam, signifying the place of gathering. This is one of the oldest mosques still standing in Iran, and it was built in the four-iwan architectural style, placing four gates face to face. An iwan is a vaulted open room. The qibla iwan on the southern side of the mosque was vaulted with muqarnas during the thirteen hundreds. Muqarnas are niche-like cells.

Construction under the Seljuqs included the addition of two brick domed chambers, for which the mosque is renowned. The south dome was built to house the mihrab in 1086-87 by Nizam al-Mulk, the famous vizier of Malik Shah, and was larger than any dome known at its time. The north dome was constructed a year later by Nizam al-Mulk's rival Taj al-Mulk. The function of this domed chamber is uncertain. Although it was situated along the north-south axis, it was located outside the boundaries of the mosque. The dome was certainly built as a direct riposte to the earlier south dome, and successfully so, claiming its place as a masterpiece in Persian architecture for its structural clarity and geometric balance. Iwans were also added in stages under the Seljuqs, giving the mosque its current four-iwan form, a type which subsequently became prevalent in Iran and the rest of the Islamic world.

Admission IR4,000 (May 2008).