​IRAN

o Na'in

TEHERAN: SHAHID BEHESHTI UNIVERSITY

TOUR PROGRAM. .ProgrammIran.jpg​

BI-NATIONAL STUDENT DESIGN WORKSHOP

The objective of the joint student design workshop os two-fold: on the one hand, it is a good excuse for the foreigners to intensively visit a residential quarter and to understand better the complexity of semi-formal urban development. on the other hand, also the students of both countries learn different academic approaches and to get to know colleagues from the host country and to meet them maybe outside the academic walls as well and to get connected to the social life of visited country.

professionally speaking,  ​the task of the exercise was a proposal for the upgrading of a lower-to middle class neighbourhood next to the university, and to develop both, physical and strategic alternatives for improvement. 

THE CITY OF TEHERAN


Teheran within its municipal borders only counts 8,7 million inhabitants - but considering the entire metropolitan area the number raises to over 15 million. this makes teheran the biggest city in the arab world. It only became capital in 1786, subsequent to 31 other locations for persian capitals.  But the growth of teheran only started in the 1920s. because of the high exposure to earthquake risk, and more recently, considering the high air pollution, there have been proposal to move the capital again - although no decisions were taken.

the potential sites to explore in teheran for a visitor are endless. but since some particpants planned to extend their stay in iran after the tour anyway, we only dedicated one day for visiting the principal sites: there are so many unique locations to visit elsewhere in the country, and which are more difficult to reach for an individual traveler. ​as a world city, teheran shares many of its standard attractions, and problems, with the 22 metropolis of the same or larger size elsewhere.

THE CITY OF KERMAN

Jabaliyeh Dome

Heading 3

Zericf Icehouse

Being the first really oriental city where we stayed overnight, there were fascinating impressions to be collected, like the bazar, the big mosque etc. A unique building type is the ice house. Different to some other ice-houses in the persian countryside which produce ice all year round by using the air current described by the scottish author susan ross - the kerman ice house is just a storage building for ice collected in winter and use up during the summer. 

THE OLD CITY OF BAM

the citadel of BAM, a listed UNESCO world heritage site for representing the largest adobe building in the world, together with the rest of the city.  the origins of this enormous citadel, forming part of the famous silk road, can be traced back to the achaemenid empire (sixth to fourth centuries BC) and even beyond. The heyday of the citadel was from the seventh to eleventh centuries, when it was at the crossroads of important trade routes and known for the production of silk and cotton garments.

Bam citadel and and the city on its feet were almost completely destroyed by a big earthquake in 2003. 26,000 inhabtans were killed, another 75,000 lost their homes. A week later, the iranian president declared that the citadel would be rebuilt, and many foreign countries sent missions to help with the reconstruction. But most of them withdrew after they missed the any assistance from the iranian counterpart. when we arrived 3 years later, only the japanese helpers were still on site.

THE MODERN CITY OF BAM

Also outside the historical mud-city, many modern steel frame building in the suburbs were demolished, some other ones are being built new. there also was a small research centre dedicated to earthquake resistant construction, and some private entrepreneurs who hoped to be able to sell american-style prefabricated bungalows to some donors or private clients. ​​

YAZD ZEIN-O-DIN CARAVANSERAI

KHARANAGH also know as KHARANAQ


On our way from to yazd we staid in the Zein-o-Din Caravanserai (زين الدين), which  is located in zein-o-din, yazd province. The caravanserai dates to the 16th century and is situated on the ancient Silk Road. It is one of 999 such inns that were built during the reign of Shah Abbas I to provide facilities to travelers. 

The first caravanserais were reported 2,500 years ago, when persia was ruled by the Achaemenid Empire.[5] During the Safavid period in Iran, caravanserais were established at convenient sites at a distance of every 20 to 30 miles along the trade routes across the country.

The caretaker of the caravanserai was legally authorized to collect sales tax and oversee all transactions; they sometimes tended to overcharge and cheat the merchants. It was incumbent on the caretakers to provide security to the merchants and their goods against theft.


KHARNARAGH has been another over 1000 years old town built from sun-dried mud bricks. It was not destructed by force, like bam, but simply because it ran out of water for some reason. This explanation is open for interpretation, since on the back of the site there is a new and rectangular planned new housing settlement  where some 500 people live - presumably not without access to water. 

THE CITY OF YAZD

YAZD  is the one city in the world that can teach us more about natural climatization than any other place in the world. there are, of course, all different variations of classical wind towers documented, which direct wind into the building and cool the skin of the residents through ventilation. the mechanism of these wind towers is generally tested and improved over time, since any particular variation does not necessarily function in a different location or climate. 

Another climatization method, particularly typical for yazd, are the courtyards of the house whose two or three floors of the surrounding buildings provide shadow for those who use the space for working or social purposes. But the most innovative element are the tents covering the courtyard in winter, and keep the warm air from escaping. 

Third, there is the habit of migrating between the different floors between basement and roof, which can be observed in many places in the orient. Even the school of architecture in yazd has prepared basement halls for temporary use. ​

YAZD NATURAL BUILDING CLIMATIZATION

The Amir Chakhmaq complex (also known as Tekieh e Amir Chakhmagh) is an imposing facade with many alcoves and two tall towers, which in older times was the entrance to a large bazaar, which has been replaced by a much smaller one. The main function of this building, reminding us of typical fairground architecture in our century,  was to host the Taziyeh, a series of rituals to commemorate the martyrdom of the Imam Hossein. The site dates back to the 15th century, although the current structure was built in the 19th century.

YAZD ARCHITECTURE​

NA'IN

NAIN is another natural oasis along the ancient silk road. its friday mosque is supposed to be the oldest one in persia and the entire region.
equally impressive, though not well preserved, is the old castle built from mud - known as Mohamadi-e Qala.​

THE CITY OF ISPAHAHAN

DOVECOTS

ISFAHAN is iran's second city with 1.9 million inhabitants, plus another one million if you include the closer region. Having been the county's capital before it moved to teheran, it has plenty of monuments, enough to fill books. But once you have seen your first 1000 documents in your life, you learn to appreciate exploring and enjoy the small and unique details of each city where you spend a certain time. nowadays, monuments are at lest 50% tourist business.  a better way to enjoy such a city is to find an alibi business, like a research project, an exchange or a visiting lectureship...  by the way, there is an excellent and welcoming faculty of architecture in isfahan!  offering a more moderate climate and a healthily matured urban society isfahan is the destination for connoisseurs, while teheran is left for the business people. 

there is plenty of literature and clips available as introduction to isfahan, and one of the might be the encyclopedia britannica. last but not least a personal recommendation from our own visit to isfahan: there is an excellent jewish restaurant in a place, where the first street calming experiment in the city took place.  The food was the best we found on the entire trip - and it was accompanied by joyful [recorded] music - which at least at the time of our visit was forbidden in iranian places. thanks to the waiter who organized a digital copy of the CD to take home!




In many cultures, pigeons are considered a welcome addition to the national cuisine - except for those cultures, where the animal is considered saint.  But the greatest benefit of these animals is their manure rich in nitrogen, an excellent fertilizer. in iran, and especially in isfahan, there used to be thousands of them, and each housing up to 14.000 birds at a time. sometimes 6 storeys high, they were constructed like fortresses - because in case a snake manages to get into such a stable, thousands of pigeons get into panic and trying to fly away simultaneously the vibration of their wings could easily make collapse the entire building. Some of these constructions were more elaborate and ornamented inside compared to human residences! Nowadays not many of those towers have survived, since the use of chemical fertilizers is more convenient.

ISFAHAN'S PIGEON CASTLES

ABYANEH

Because of its mountainous setting, Abyaneh stayed isolated for many years and people’s customs and language is untouched and preserved. In abyaneh people speak Farsi with a special dialect belonging to the village only.  [recommended: VIDEO]


KASHAN

​According to Kami from poland, the biggest attraction of KASHAN are the traditional mansions, a perfect example of fine persian architecture [to be followed by the local basar]. In 18th and 19th century, the town was a favorite holiday destination for rich and famous, many of them have built their vacation houses in Kashan. [recommended video]

GLOBUS
globus-berlin.org  // globus-berlin@gmx.net