ENGLISH
26.11.21 - 11.09.22 26.11.21 - 11.09.22
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IRAN BETWEEN TIMES The exhibition includes a selection of 60 photographs from Seiland’s Iran series, which he began in 2017. Similar to his previous project, Imperium Romanum, this series draws on the interplay between past and present and the ways in which people relate to it. The selection encompasses landscape photographs, illustrating the rich and complex history of Iran, as well as photographs of unadulterated scenes from everyday Iranian life. Analogue large-format photographs, for which Seiland is known, alternate with more spontaneous medium-format camera shots, always maintaining the uniform visual language from his previous Imperium Romanum series. With this project, the photographer aims to challenge the viewer to critically think about how Western media oftentimes fail to represent an unprejudiced and unbiased view of the former Persian Empire, and to reflect at the same time on the major socio-political topics that are at the forefront of Iran’s society today. To fully understand Alfred Seiland’s artistic approach, you are cordially invited to take along a printed brochure in the language of your choice. You can also download the brochure as a PDF via the QR code below. The order in which the works are exhibited differs from the order in which they are discussed in the brochure. However, the numbers on each text label in the exhibition correspond to the numbers in the brochure, so that it is relatively easy to find the information about a specific work in the brochure.
Photographs discussed in the brochure
Photographs that are not discussed in the brochure
IRAN | BETWEEN TIMES ALFRED SEILAND
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ARG-E BAM
Bam, Iran, 2017
Arg-e-Bam is located in the province of Kerman, in an oasis on the central plateau of Eastern Iran, between the steppes and the sand desert. Probably founded in the 6th century BC by the Sassanid dynasty and provided with an underground irrigation system of qanats, it was an important trading centre on the Silk Road. The destiny of the city was determined by its proximity to the border and its wealth, which incited repeated attacks by neighbouring tribes. However, like Kerman, it developed into a centre for the manufacture of textiles and carpets. Especially under the Safavid dynasty (1501-1722), Bam developed into a fortified city with a citadel, towers, schools, and a bazaar; all the buildings were made of mud bricks and plastered. In the middle of the 19th century, the inhabitants abandoned the city and founded modern Bam nearby; the old location continued to be used as a military base. A 6.6-strength earthquake destroyed the city and its citadel on 26 December 2003. Only the foundation walls remained; tens of thousands of people were killed or injured or were left homeless. The international community, with more than 60 states – including China, provided despite its troubled relationship with the Iranian government, and the USA – immediate assistance or promised support for reconstruction. Despite uncertain restoration aims, the Recovery Project of Bam’s Cultural Heritage was launched and a consortium of city planners, architects, archaeologists, engineers, and economists held long discussions about emergency maintenance, surveying, 3-D models, how to reconstruct, clay preparation, financing, schedules and, last but not least, the distribution of tasks between the various international teams. First attempts were destroyed by further earthquakes and a sandstorm. Nevertheless, thanks to donations amounting to around 1.1 billion US$, restoration has almost been completed and the site has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
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Tehran, Iran, 2017
Shiraz, Iran, 2019
VIEW FROM MILAD TOWER Planned during the time of the Shah but only erected after the Islamic Revolution as a counterweight to the ostentatious buildings of the Pahlavi period the Milad Tower opened in 2007. It measures 435 metres from ground level to the tip of its antenna and is not only the tallest building in Iran but also the sixth-tallest TV tower in the world. It is a reinforced-concrete structure with twelve floors that can be reached by three lifts and a staircase. Its observation deck has a restaurant that can host 400 people as well as several viewing platforms, from where, especially at night, one can see the whole city with its illuminated boulevards, bright districts, and neon-lit buildings that contrast with the parks, which lie in darkness. During the day, however, one can only rarely enjoy this view. Due to the high birthrate and rural exodus, the population has increased enormously: the 2016 census indicated that the city (without its hinterland) had more than eight million inhabitants. What results is tremendous environmental pollution, which leads to thick smog covering the city due to its geologically enclosed location, especially during winter. Tehran is thus one of the most polluted cities in Asia! It is said that 80% of carbon-dioxide emissions are caused by traffic; especially by motorcycles and private cars. The city administration, therefore, initiated a project to replace petrol engines with natural gas. The installation of ‘Pollution Indicator Boards’ is also an attempt to make the population aware of the problem –without success so far. Wealthier inhabitants and owners of extra-large SUVs live on the slopes of the Elburz Mountains in the north of the city, where down-winds drive off the smog, anyway.
IRAN | BETWEEN TIMES ALFRED SEILAND
NASIR-OL-MOLK MOSQUE Masjed-e Surati, the pink mosque, is the colloquial name for the Masjed-e Nasirol-Molk near the Lotf Ali Khan Zand high street. The name refers to the use of pink bricks, pink tiles, and, in particular, the red, yellow and blue window glass. Together with the reflection of the red-gound carpets, the whole interior is bathed in pink light. When the sun is shining through the glass, one has the impression of being inside a kaleidoscope. The mosque was commissioned by the Qajar ruler Mirza Hasan Ali Nasir al Molk in 1876 and was completed in 1888. Those were the years when the country was leaning strongly towards Europe, imitating European culture and importing European products. Although the Iranian architect Mohammad Hasan-e-Memār built the mosque with a traditional layout, a dome and iwans, it was not only decorated with tiles in the traditional, often turquoisebased, geometric pattern, it also has a European-inspired décor with brightly coloured floral motifs and rural scenes. In addition, it has so-called Orsi windows with unpainted brightly coloured panes of glass in wooden frames, which are arranged in geometrical patterns.
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DASHT-E LUT
Shahdad, Iran, 2017
The Lut desert (’empty plain’) on the Iranian plateau is among the hottest places on earth, with temperatures reaching up to 70°C. Since the climate is extremely arid, Dasht-e Lut has remained an almost untouched natural area. In the north, erosion by the wind and drifting sediment have created impressive eroded areas with a rocky wave-like structure. In the south, there are enormous sand dunes. The football goalposts near Shahdad, on the southwestern edge of the desert, give the impression of a bizarre public art installation while at the same time reflecting the Iranians’ enthusiasm for football. Iran’s football team (Tim-i Mellī) is one of the most successful Asian teams and has participated in the World Cup five times; Iran has also qualified for the Olympic Games three times. Football is popular with Iranian women too, although women’s football usually has to be played indoors and active participants are obliged to wear a Hijab headscarf, longsleeved shirts, and jogging pants. They were even forbidden to enter stadiums. In 2019, for the first time and against intense opposition, Iranian women were able to enter the Asadi Stadium in Teheran for the World Cup qualification game against Cambodia. About 4000 Iranian women followed the game - from four separate, screened-off, seating areas with female stewards. They now demand family seating and continue to fight for their sport with passion.
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STREET BOUTIQUE
Qaemiyeh, Iran, 2017
VIEW FROM TOCHAL
Tehran, Iran, 2019
Scholarly researchers were very excited when in 1970, the Sarab-e Qandil relief was discovered in the vicinity of Qaemiyeh, on a difficult-to-reach rock face near a spring. It does not depict a battle, nor a king’s triumph or a hunt like most of the Sassanid rock carvings, but instead presents a very unusual subject: a woman, a queen or goddess, standing in front of a king and a prince, perhaps Bahram II (276-293) and his son. She is handing him a lotus flower. In present-day Qaemiyeh, people have other problems, which they solve creatively and masterfully. With a good sense of business in mind, they have set up openair stands with crates of drinks, chairs, cardboard boxes, at crossroads and along dusty streets. They sell everything imaginable, especially American and German sought-after cult brands, to young customers at dumping prices. Shame on those who think these are pirated copies.
In the central Elburz mountain range, just north of Tehran, Mount Tochal rises to a height of 3964 metres. Its peak and slopes are covered with snow for almost half the year. A trip to Mount Tochal is a popular weekend getaway for the city’s inhabitants and an ideal excursion for tourists during the Iranian working week. One can escape the smog and the heat of the city and enjoy the numerous (winter-) sports opportunities as well as the magnificent view over the city. In 1977, a 12-kilometre-long gondola lift with four stations was built: in thirty minutes, it can carry 15,000 snow-lovers to a height of 3740 metres, where the ski slopes start. These are not particularly difficult for experienced skiers but are ideal for cross-country skiing. There is a snowboard park with halfpipes, a toboggan run, and well-defined snowshoe trails. The lower stations feature a hotel, a restaurant, a summer skating rink as well as a roller coaster. During summertime, one can take advantage of the various climbing paths and mountain hiking trails. Also very popular are the widely spread fitness machines, installed in wide outdoor spaces, for every level of competency and all ages. Iranian men are keen on keeping in shape with strength training and other types of exercises. The fact that gyms had to close during lockdown while mosques remained open was therefore widely questioned.
IRAN | BETWEEN TIMES ALFRED SEILAND
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COURTYARD OF IMAM MOSQUE
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WAR MEMORIAL
Arvand Kenar, Iran, 2017
Isfahan, Iran, 2019
The Imam Square in Isfahan is considered to be one of the most beautiful squares in the world. The Ali Qapu gateway palace, the Imam Mosque, and the imperial Shaikh Lotfollah private mosque surround it. The Safavid Shah Abbas I had these magnificent buildings erected following his master plan for the renewal of the area in the early 17th century. The facades of the gateway palace and the mosques, as well as the arcades of the iwans surrounding the square, are covered with gorgeous tiles forming carpet-like ornaments and floral patterns primarily based on the colours blue, turquoise and yellow ochre. In the courtyard, it is not uncommon that visitors are approached by Iranians, especially young Iranians, and invited for a chat, for example in a tent that is colourcoordinated with the surrounding buildings. Often they are students, speaking fluent English, who seek to revise the mediapropagated perception foreigners have of Iran... Indeed, the good relationships with the West and the United States in the 19th century have been strained as a result of the Islamic Revolution, the Tehran hostage-taking in 1980, the Gulf War, the 9/11 terrorist attack, the uraniumenrichment project, or the assassination of General Soleimani. Rejection of the West is part of the identity of the theocratic state, even if the population – in private – adopts a western lifestyle, with its trends in music and fashion, and suffers from a lack of medicine, for example, as a result of sanctions and banking restrictions.
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ZIGGURAT DUR UNTASH Chogha Zanbil, Iran, 2017
Schatt al-Arab, the ‘Arab coast’, is what people in Iraq call the river known in Iran as ‘Arvand Rud’. It takes its source from the confluence of the Euphrates and the Tigris, and the southern part of it represents the border between the two states. Between 1823 and 1937, the use of the river was contractually determined repeatedly – each time subject to an exact designation of the border. It was not until 1975 that Iran and Iraq came to a firm agreement. However, shortly thereafter, Saddam Hussein laid claim to the entire river, thus sparking the Iran-Iraq War. The war was marked by extreme brutality on both sides and caused countless deaths – but the end of the war did nothing to change the border. A peculiarity of the warfare was the decapitating of the palm trees near the river to rob enemy combatants of a possibility to take cover. Today they are part of a national memorial. The borderlands along the Euphrates (which originally flowed directly into the Persian Gulf) have been the site of military conflict ever since antiquity. In AD 116, Emperor Trajan crossed the Tigris, conquered Ktesiphon, and advanced to the Persian Gulf. According to Cassius Dio (book 68), Trajan even expressed the desire to sail to India from the gulf coast – a country that only Alexander the Great had previously reached– and only his advanced age prevented him from carrying out the plan. No other Roman emperor had ever made it that far east! However, only a year later, Jewish revolts forced the emperor to give up the whole province: the Roman Empire never extended that far east again.
IRAN | BETWEEN TIMES ALFRED SEILAND
The Chogha Zanbil ziggurat is located in the province of Khuzestan, not far from the river Dez. It is probably the most impressive temple tower of the ancient Orient. When the Middle-Elamite King UntashNapirisha (1275-1240 BC) ascended to the throne, he built a new capital city, Dur Untash, 40 km south of the old residence, Susa. In the centre was an enclosed temple area dedicated to Napirisha, the god of waterways and wisdom who reigned over the earth, and to Inshushinak, the divine patroness of Susa. The ziggurat, measuring 105x105 metres and originally about 50 metres in height, is built over a flat temple. Four terraces made of air-dried mud bricks and covered with blue-green glazed terracotta bricks decorated with knob-like ceramic tiles formed the base of the upper temple. Access was granted via an inner staircase and not via the usual outer ramp. The entrances were flanked by statues of bulls and winged griffins. In 640 BC, the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal conquered Elam. Dur Untash was destroyed and abandoned. Temple towers like the Chogha Zanbil ziggurat are at the origin of the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. Chogha Zanbil, discovered in 1925 during a geological aerial survey and first excavated by a team of French archaeologists led by Roman Ghirshman, is now registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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GUNDESHAPUR
Shahadad, Iran, 2017
Sparse remnants of parallel walls and the remains of wells on a huge area with numerous tells are all that have been excavated at Gundeshapur, the former most prestigious medical school in the Middle East. The Sassanid king Shahpur I (240/42–270) founded the city as a winter residence, probably in the year 253, after conquering Antiochia, the Roman metropolis on the Orontes. Three years later, after he had managed to defeat the Roman army and capture Emperor Valerian near Edessa (today Sanliurfa in Turkey), he deported most of the vanquished army - around 70,000 soldiers, as well as officers, tribunes, prefects, architects, and technical support staff - to southwestern Persia, including Gundeshapur. The regular soldiers, experienced in construction, built streets and houses as they had been taught, while the experienced engineers were entrusted with planning and overseeing the construction of more sophisticated structures such as bridges and dams. The King of Kings, Chosrau I (died 579), converted Gundeshapur into a centre for medicine and science, consisting of a teaching hospital, a library, and an academy. The young doctors were given holistic training that included philosophy and theology. Scholars translated the Persian, Greek, and Indian learning contained in works on astronomy, mathematics, and herbal medicine – and even the Kalila wa Dimna, a book of fables.
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STREET GALLERY
Yazd, Iran, 2017
TOWERS OF SILENCE
Yazd, Iran, 2017
The oasis city of Yazd, on the edge of the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts, in the shadow of the Zagros mountains, is one of the oldest cities in Iran. It was a center of Zoroastrianism, a religion based on the teachings of the prophet Zarathustra, as evidenced by the remains of fire temples and “Towers of Silence” in the city and its surrounding areas. Oases like Yazd have always been vital for the caravans bringing luxury goods from the East to the Mediterranean area – in exchange for raw materials, semi-finished products, or glass. The military campaigns of Alexander the Great increased the knowledge of geography greatly and, as a result, the trading routes expanded. The Romans took advantage of these routes and contacts to import silk from China, lapis lazuli from northern Afghanistan, spices from India, etc., often with the help of numerous middlemen. In the 1st century AD, the Roman officer and author Pliny the Elder, therefore, complained, “According to the lowest estimates, India, the Serer (Chinese people), and the peninsula of Arabia, cost our state as much as 100 million sesterces a year: that is how much we spend on luxury and women”. (nat. hist.) Today, the cityscape of Yazd is characterised by traditional clay and mudbrick buildings and the turquoise glazed tiles on domes and minarets. In 2017, the old city became a UNESCO World Heritage site. Some clever traders exploit the resulting attention paid to the city and the increase in tourism by decorating their carpets not only with verses from the Koran or flowers but also with rococo scenes or depictions of chariot races in the Roman circus - although hardly any Romans ever got as far as Yazd.
“Where, O Ahura Mazda, shall we carry the body of a dead man, where lay it down?” – “On the highest places, Spitama Zarathustra, so that most readily corpseeating dogs or corpse-eating birds shall perceive it. There these Mazda-worshippers shall fasten it down, this corpse, by its feet and hair, with [pegs of] metal or stone or horn. If they do not, corpse-eating dogs and corpse-eating birds will come to drag these bones on to water and plants.” These words from the Avesta, the holy book of the Zoroastrians, provide the background to the Dakhma or Towers of Silence. Since the elements were sacred for Parsis, cremation and burial in the ground were forbidden so that the impure corpse would not contaminate fire and earth. Instead, a ‘sky burial’ was chosen: in earlier days by exposure in an area surrounded by a wall, later on, towers in a high place without water or plants. Vultures, in particular, would consume the soft tissues; the bones would then be deposited in pits. The Dakhma near the desert city of Yazd was originally located far away from the city. The circular structure is open to the sky and the area inside is divided into three concentric rings. The corpses of men were placed in the outer ring, women in the middle ring, and children in the inner ring. Finally, the clean bones of the deceased were placed in a pit in the centre. This practice was forbidden in the 1970s, for hygienic reasons – the inhabitants of the city, which had vastly increased in size, complained that the vultures sometimes dropped human limbs. Today, the Zoroastrians of Yazd bury their dead in cement containers at the foot of the mountain.
IRAN | BETWEEN TIMES ALFRED SEILAND
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NAQSH-E ROSTAM
Marvdasht, Iran, 2017
Four kilometres to the north of the ancient Persian residence at Persepolis lies Naqsh-e Rostam, where the King of Kings, Darius I (549–486 BC), had his rock tomb carved into the steep face of the mountain. It consists of three connected chambers, with a relief-decorated facade in the shape of a cross: four columns flank the entrance in the centre. Inscriptions in ancient Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian tell of the reign of the King of Kings and are regarded as his testament. The relief above the entrance shows Darius receiving the symbolic ring of kingship from Ahura Mazda; the king stands on a platform carried by representatives of the 28 peoples of the empire. His successors, Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I, and Darius II, copied the design of this royal tomb for themselves. Perhaps as a symbol of legitimacy, the first Sassanid king, Ardashir I, also had a depiction of himself receiving the ring of kingship carved on the same rock: but he was on horseback and on eye level with his god. Nevertheless, the most famous relief on the rock is of Shahpur I triumphing over the Roman Emperors Philip the Arab and Valerian, in combination with the proud inscription: “In the third campaign, when we attacked Carrhae and Urhai [Edessa] and were besieging Carrhae and Edessa Valerian Caesar marched against us. He had with him a force of 70,000. And beyond Carrhae and Edessa, we had a great battle with Valerian Caesar. We made prisoner ourselves with our own hands Valerian Caesar and the others, chiefs of that army, the praetorian prefect, senators; we made all prisoners and deported them to Persis”.
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BAND-E KAISAR
Shushtar, Iran, 2017
The use of opus caementicium, the waterproof Roman concrete, is the reason for the great stability of the Band-e Kaisar, a barrier across the Karun, the largest and only navigable river in Iran. The winding, approximately 500-metre-long, the structure is a combination of a weir and an arched bridge. According to Persian records it was built by Roman prisoners of war brought to Shushtar by Shahpur I. The aim was to irrigate the hinterland effectively and sustainably, and open up large areas for cultivation: thus, in enemy territory, the advantage was taken of the experience of Roman engineers in the fields of civil engineering, such as the construction of bridges. To build the Band-e Kaisar, the Karun River was first re-routed and a 10-metrewide were constructed to act as a base for an almost 500-metre-long bridge with about 40 arches on the road linking Pasargadae in the Zagros mountains with Ktesiphon on the Tigris. The bridge’s foundations and pillars are faced with sandstone blocks, with the pillars set in the river facing upstream to also act as wave breakers. In addition, the bed of the river is covered with stone slabs. No wonder that the bridge-cum-weir remained almost completely intact until the late 19th century. In 2009, Band-e Kaisar was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
IRAN | BETWEEN TIMES ALFRED SEILAND
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RED VILLAGE
Abyaneh, Iran, 2017
Abyaneh, the “red village”, is located on the eastern flank of the Kulz-e Karkas mountain, at an altitude of about 2500 m. It is known as the red village because that is the colour of its houses, which can hardly be distinguished from the surrounding hills due to the iron oxide in the local clay used in their construction. The houses form steep lanes, mainly oriented towards the east, with the roof of each house serving as the courtyard of the house above. Following the old tradition, they are uniformly built in the half-timbered technique using wood and mud bricks tempered with straw. Many of them have enclosed balconies and wooden screens on the windows. The doors have different knockers for men and women and are often decorated with carved verses from the Koran or poems. The inhabitants speak an archaic Parthian Pahlavi (Middle Persian). The clothing, too, is traditional: the women wear a charghad, a long white scarf with printed or embroidered roses, over a colourful dress, a black under-skirt that reaches just below the knee, and narrow trousers. Ever fewer men now wear the old traditional black jacket over baggy trousers. But that is not all that Abyaneh has to offer. Evidence of its very long history can be found, for example, in the remains of a Zoroastrian fire temple, three forts from the Sassanid period, and a Seljuk Friday mosque. Other mosques date to the Ilkhanate period, and there are houses from the Qajar period. It is hoped that the necessary repairs will be carried out carefully so that the unique character of the village will maintained for a long time.
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KASHGAN BRIDGE
Kuhdasht, Iran, 2017
The old bridge over the river Kashgan near Kuhdasht originally had eleven pointed arches – only four exist today. Pointed arches allow a bridge to have a greater span, although the horizontal thrust that has to be absorbed by the adjoining arches is considerable. It was therefore a good decision by the engineer to place one end of the almost 190-metres-long bridge right up against a high rocky terrace. This had the additional advantage that both pedestrians and vehicles had a level approach to the bridge, without an incline, whereas nine pillars of increasing heights had to be constructed on the other bank of the river in order to reach the level of the bridge. The pillars are made of terracotta bricks in three layers. An inscription in decorative Kufic script informs us that the construction of the bridge began on the orders of Badr Ebne Hosnooyieh Al Hossain in the year 388 Anno Hegirae (AD 999): nine years passed before it was completed. Already in the Sassanid period, there was a bridge across the Kashgan about one hundred metres away. In the immediate vicinity, a modern bridge with eight rounded arches is now also able to bear the weight of heavy trucks. However, the bed of the river is rarely completely full of water, which flows from the Zagros Mountains to the arid plains of western Iran.
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RIVERSIDE SHOP
Dezful, Iran, 2017
DEZFUL BRIDGE
Iran, 2017
Locals and tourists both enjoy the opportunity to rent a shisha, the traditional oriental water pipe, from the shop on the bank of the river Dez. The shop is set up on the former base of a 3rd century BC water mill and cannot always be reached with dry feet. Originally, almost 60 mills were in use to grind the large amounts of grain harvested on the irrigated land around the Dez. Today, however, the ruins of only about 20 are all that remain. The Dez is one of the largest tributaries of the Karun. It was already used in prehistoric times to irrigate the area. In the Sassanid period, a dense network of irrigation channels was constructed on both sides of the river. These deteriorated after the conquest of the weakened empire by the Arabs or were destroyed during attacks by the Mongols. In the 1960s, still during the reign of the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Iranian government initiated an irrigation programme on the Dez, with the Dez Reservoir planned to be the crowning achievement. The massive impact on the property-ownership situation led to a certain amount of conflict.
Just like the Shushtar reservoir, the Dezful bridge was planned by Roman engineers. Roman soldiers, taken prisoner by the Sassanid King Shahpur I after his victory over the army of Emperor Valerian I in AD 260, constructed it. The pillars probably rest on older, Elamite, foundations. Fourteen large pointed arches alternate with thirteen smaller arches that do not reach as far as the surface of the water. Maximum stability was achieved thanks to the opus caementicium technique, stone rubble mixed with water-resistant mortar, faced with easy-to-handle stone blocks. The bridge was repaired many times, including with fired mud bricks, so that it is not easy to determine the individual phases today – except for the modern additions made of reinforced concrete. The part of the old city of Dezful adjacent to the bridge is called Ghal’eh, i.e. castle. It can therefore be assumed that this fortification existed to protect this strategically significant bridge. In order to preserve the historic bridge, motorised vehicles are prohibited since 2010.
IRAN | BETWEEN TIMES ALFRED SEILAND
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Arvand Kenar, Iran, 2017
Tehran, Iran, 2019
Tehran, Iran, 2017
OPERATION VALFAJR-8 # 2 Fluttering flags, a gigantic panel proclaiming “we are resisting” with the portraits of the supreme religious leaders Khomeini and Khamenei, the remains of a pontoon bridge: Iran demonstrates its presence on the left bank of the Arvand river. As a memorial site for Iran’s fallen martyrs, it is also a controversial location in modern history. In the first Gulf War, Iraq, the fifth-largest oil-producing nation in the world, had no access to the sea for 26 months. The reason for this was operation ‘Valfajr-8’ (Operation Dawn 8), which is considered one of Iran’s great successes in this conflict. The name was chosen because the operation started long before dawn. An armada of frogmen carried out the mission with supporting boats that were able to take the al-Faw peninsula on the opposite bank in less than 24 hours, while the enemy was misled by a diversionary attack on Basra, further to the north. Over the following months, a pontoon bridge was constructed of 5000 pipes, which allowed tanks to cross the river. Only more than two years later was the heavily armed Iraqi army able to re-take al-Faw, aided by the massive, illegal, use of poison gas. Iraq is now again able to ship a large portion of this valuable export product, oil, from there, since ocean-going vessels cannot reach Basra, 80 km up-river, and access to Umm Qasi, to the west of the river, is constrained by the offshore islands of Kuwait.
OFFICE (FORMER US EMBASSY) In 1979, the deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was suffering from cancer, was admitted to the USA by President Jimmy Carter. For weeks that autumn, student ‘Followers of the Imam’s Line’ protested in front of the US embassy in Tehran demanding his extradition. On 4 November, they stormed the embassy and took diplomats and staff hostage. The USA refused to extradite the Shah and, in April 1980, a rescue mission failed. Only after the death of the Shah, after Ronald Reagan had taken office and sanctions had been lifted at the start of the Gulf War, were the (remaining) 52 hostages freed – after 444 days. Even today, diplomatic relations with the ‘mortal enemy’ are maintained exclusively via third parties. Meanwhile, the US embassy building has become a museum, looking more or less the same as in 1979/80. It can only be visited a few days a year. ‘Former US Embassy’ is the name of the bus station in front of the building and the surrounding wall is painted in Iranian colours. On the first floor, the visitor can see the former tap-proof communications room with its original installations and equipment – they look like remnants of a past age. Nothing could be bleaker than the empty offices with their antiquated photocopiers, old-fashioned typewriters, and dusty index-card boxes.
IRAN | BETWEEN TIMES ALFRED SEILAND
TEHRAN AND ELBURZ MOUNTAINS In 1789, after Agha Mohammad Khan had come to power, he decided to locate his capital in the provincial town of Safavid of Tehran in the north of the empire for strategic reasons. The town on the slopes of the Elburz Mountains developed rapidly under the Qajar rulers: the fortification wall was renewed, mosques, madrasas, and palaces were built, e.g. the Golestan, Saadabad, and Niavaran palaces and the city area increased fivefold. In the 1930s, Shah Reza Pahlavi had numerous historical buildings torn down to create a modern metropolis with a geometrical road system, including a central kilometre-long city motorway. In the 1960s and 1970s, under Shah Mohammad Reza, countless high-rise buildings and an efficient infrastructure were added. The government of the Islamic Republic, too, also erected remarkable buildings. The metropolitan region now covers an area of almost 19,000 square kilometres. Today, the city promotes both its historical and hyper-modern monuments with pride: the old imperial palaces and magnificent gardens, the city theatre built in a historic style by the architect Ali Sardar Afcham, the Tabiat footbridge, and a tower that was planned to commemorate the 2,500-year jubilee of the Iranian monarchy but has now been declared the Azadi (freedom) Tower. Finally, there is the Borj-e Milad, the 435-metre TV tower, a Tehran eyecatcher that offers a view over the whole city.
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MARTYRS’ SECTION, BEHESHT-E ZAHRA CEMETERY Tehran, Iran, 2019
Behesht-e Zahra, the central cemetery in Tehran, is the largest cemetery in Iran: it is 424 hectares in size and thus the second largest burial ground in the world after Wadi as-Salam in Iraq. It is so large that visitors must travel by bus to reach the graves of their relatives. It was established in 1971 south of the city by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi: in those days it was seen as the cemetery of the poor and of political prisoners who died in prison. However, when Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile in Paris, he held his first speech there and described those buried there as martyrs and the pride and honour of the country. The prestige of the cemetery increased greatly and it became the so-called ‘Eternal Resting Place of the Martyrs’. Thousands of young men had the good fortune to die as martyrs in the Iran-Iraq War – at least, that is what they were told before they were sent to the front. A special section in Behesht-e Zahra is dedicated to those who were killed in action. One can see endless rows of tombstones bearing verses from the Koran and photographs of young men, or even adolescents, who were sent off with the promise of life in paradise to fight in the front line or to act as landmine triggers. In the front row are leading personalities from the early days of the revolution and members of the Council of the Islamic Revolution. Members of the National Front of Iran have their last resting place in their own section, while the tombstones of those executed as enemies of Islam are simply marked with a number. In the centre of the area, an abandoned tank is a reminder of the dreadful years of war… .
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TAKHT-E SOLEYMĀN
Tazeh Kand-e Nosratabad, Iran, 2017
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MARKING OF GREAT WALL OF GORGAN Aq Qala, Iran, 2017
The ‘Throne of Solomon’ in West Azerbaijan Province is one of the geologically most exciting, scenically most beautiful, and historically most interesting places in Iran. The result of former volcanic activity, it rises to a height of 2200 m from a large, deep lake fed by a thermal spring containing calcium bicarbonate at a constant temperature of around 21ºC. The lime in the water is deposited at the edge of the lake to form a hill that has grown as the water flowed over it: excess water was later channelled off. In the 5th century, in the Sassanid period, a large temple complex with an enclosing wall was built around the lake. In the 6th century, the enclosing wall was replaced by a stone wall with a massive gateway, and the central Zoroastrian fire temple, Atur Gushnasp (Fire of the Stallion), was removed to the lake, where it remained in use until the 10th century. It was an ambulatory temple with a square domed hall for the sacred fire. In addition, a second temple had a hall with three naves as well as other large rooms. There is also evidence of the palace of the King of Kings. The hill enjoyed a second heyday under the Mongolian Ilkhan Abaqa (1265-82), the grandson of Genghis Khan, who built his hunting palace, Soqurluq, in the ruins and covered it with star and cross-shaped tiles, with inscribed and pictorial friezes and stucco decorations. Only a century later the unusual landscape was associated with the name Solomon: the nearby sinter hill with its settlement and sanctuary was called Zendan-e Soleiman (Solomon’s prison), the neighbouring mountain peak was called Kuh-e Bilqius (after the Queen of Sheba), and the mountain range to the south-west Tavile-ye Soleiman.
The ‘Red Snake’ winds its way over 195 km, from the Caspian Sea, through the lowlands, until it disappears in the Pishkamar Mountains. Although the Great Wall of Gorgan is almost twice as long as Hadrian’s Wall in northern England and much older than the long Ming dynasty wall to the north of Beijing, it is almost unknown. That is because of its present sad condition. The wall is 6-10 metres wide and was built with fired mud bricks made of clay containing iron oxide: the inhabitants of the surrounding area have removed these for centuries as a cheap building material. Thanks to the efforts of an Iranian-British team of archaeologists employing modern methods, various aspects of the wall could be clarified. Parallel to the wall was a canal, five metres deep, which not only served as an additional line of defence but also provided water for the construction crews, the preparation of the bricks and the military garrisons. The water came from the river Gorgan via a reservoir. More than 30 forts along the wall contained barracks for about 30,000 soldiers. Judging from the large number of animal bones found, they were not stationed there temporarily. Above all, numerous kilns for the firing of the bricks were discovered. Radiocarbon dating of the charcoal and thermoluminescence analyses of the kilns revealed that the wall was probably built in the 5th or 6th century, perhaps on the orders of King Peroz (AD 459-484), as a protective wall against the Huns or the Hephthalites. Whatever the case may be, the Byzantine historian Procopius reports that Peroz was in Gorgan several times. It appears that the wall reached to a certain extend into the Caspian Sea, which was at a lower level at the time.
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RAILWAY CROSSING
Aq Qala, Iran, 2017
Rail transport is considered an environmentally friendly and cost-effective form of mass transport for both people and goods. However, in Iran, the construction of railway lines has always faced – and still faces – topographical, technical, financial, and political obstacles. The trans-Iranian line from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf had to cross the Zagros Mountains, which necessitated numerous feats of engineering, such as the construction of tunnels and bridges. The conversion of the broad-gauge railway system – built in the western and northern border areas during the two world wars, first by Russia and then by the Soviet Union – to the standard gauge of the European network, required considerable effort. Furthermore, the availability of inexpensive oil has still not encouraged the electrification of the railway. The political difficulties have been at least equally serious. Already towards the end of the 19th century, Iranian railway projects failed as a result of conflicts of interest and blockades by the Great Powers. In more recent times, the Islamic Revolution and the Gulf War slowed down railway construction. Other projects suffered due to differences between Armenia and Azerbaijan or the political situation in Iraq. Today, interruptions and delays are not infrequently caused by sanctions imposed by the United States of America. Companies such as Deutsche Bahn are also withdrawing from Iran – because international banks are refusing to do business directly with Iran. It is, therefore, no surprise that a road bridge over the railway lines is sometimes not completed. However, the greatest problem is the lack of acceptance of rail transport instead of road transport, both for goods and, especially, for individual travel.
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BUILDING COMPLEX AND SACRED MOUNTAIN OF BISOTUN Iran, 2017
Bilinguals are a stroke of luck for language researchers – surpassed only by trilinguals, written documents with versions of the same text in three languages. They are decisive for the study of unknown languages. Such a trilingual, with 1200 lines in Old Persian, Elamite, and New Babylonian was found in western Iran, 30 km to the east of Kermanshah, in the village of Bisotun: it is carved into a steep face of the mountain, the mountain of the gods. Darius the Great commissioned the placing of the inscription on a major trade route to affirm his claim to the throne, which he had secured by defeating the usurper Gaumata in 19 battles. A relief measuring about three-by five-metres depicts him with a bow in his hand and one foot on the chest of his opponent, while the ‘impostor kings’ are brought to him in shackles. The winged sun disc of Ahura Mazda floats above the scene. In 148 BC, in the Seljuk period, an almost three-dimensional statue of a reclining Hercules holding a beaker was carved in the rock, slightly above the relief. Behind it are reliefs dating to the Parthian period: four satraps before King Mithridates II; King Gotarzes II, on horseback, is piercing an enemy – the anti-king Mehredates? – with his spear. When carving the inscription, Darius’ stonemasons avoided the places where water had created channels in the rock face. These have since become deeper. An international, interdisciplinary programme is attempting to protect and preserve the reliefs and inscription. However, not even the gods can defeat encroaching modern housing developments.
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ARG-E RAYEN
Rayen, Iran, 2017
Rayen castle was abandoned by its inhabitants 150 years ago and, today, has the character of a museum – it is like a miniature version of Arg-e Bam. Like the latter, it is located in Kerman Province, on the slopes of the Kuh-e Hazar, the secondhighest mountain in Iran, which rises to a height of 4500 metres. Thanks to several streams that flow as waterfalls down the side of the mountain, it is even possible to irrigate orchards here, at the edge of the desert. The city and its citadel, enclosed within a protective wall, are entirely built of mud bricks. The citadel contained the residence of the royal family. The entrance to the royal residence was strictly forbidden to those of lesser rank. Entry was possible via a single gateway: from the platform above, military parades by the 1300 soldiers stationed in Rayen were reviewed. In the city, there is evidence of houses as well a mosque, a school, barracks, and what was probably a quarantine station. The inhabitants of Rayen owed their wealth not only to trade but also to the manufacture of high-quality metal goods such as swords and knives. Well-protected on all sides, Rayen castle was considered impregnable – until an earthquake conquered it.
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VAKIL BAZAAR
Shiraz, Iran, 2019
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GAHVAREH DID
TACHARA PALACE, PERSEPOLIS
Shiraz, Iran, 2019
Marvdasht, Iran, 2017
The Vakil Bazaar covers an area of 21,840 m2, which is indeed quite considerable. It is thought that building started in the 10th century on the orders of the Buyid dynasty, but the architecture visible today speaks more for its construction, or at least extensive renovation, during the reign of Karim Khan Zand (1760-1779). Six steps lead down to the bazaar, which is partially underground so that it remains cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Seventyfour brick arches support high domes, some of which have windows for aeration purposes. A vaulted crossing separates the main bazaar from its east and west wings. On offer is all that the heart could desire – and more: carpets, textiles, leather goods, copperware, silver, jewellery, antiques. It smells of saffron and all the spices of thousand-and-one nights; temptation in the form of Persian shirini, baklava and nokhodchi; there is tea or coffee to drink. Integrated into the bazaar is also a traditional bath, while imamzadeh shrines and the Vakil Mosque are immediately next doors. Of course, the modern world has also entered the Vakil Bazaar with tasteless installations and some of the arches were destroyed when Zand Avenue was extended.
Shiraz is located at an altitude of about 1550 metres on an extensive plain in the southern part of the Zagros Mountains, and is known as the ‘Garden of Iran’. The city is famous for the cultivation of roses, for its beautiful gardens such as the Bagh-e Eram, the Bagh-e Afif-Abad, and the Bagh-e Naranjestan (orange grove) as well as for its wine and its poets. Hafiz lived there and wrote his lyrical ghazals about unrequited love and longing; Saadi wrote his Bustan (scented garden) and Golestan (rose garden) there. According to ancient clay tablets, the city is of Elamite origin, while fire temples on the plain suggest settlement in Sassanid times. The Saffarid dynasty made it its capital: as the centre of the province, it rapidly increased in importance. In the 10th and 11th centuries, it was the seat of the Buyid dynasty, who enclosed the city in a solid wall, built palaces, mosques, and a large library, and encouraged the manufacture of textiles. The Salghurids, too, resided in Shiraz. Epidemics and attacks by the Mongols had a negative impact on the city but Turkmen conquerors spared the city as the home of Hafiz. Its decline was due to flooding and Afghan invasions. The city rose again only in the middle of the 18th century, as testified by the citadel and the Vakil mosque built by the Kurdish tribal leader and later king, Karim Khan Zand. Shiraz suffered several earthquakes in the 19th century. The Gahvarah Did, a simple dome structure with four columns, offers the best view of the present city with over a million inhabitants. Built under Azed Aldoleh Deilami / Azur al-Dawla Deylami (982983), it was originally a guardhouse that could keep the whole city under control. By means of smoke signals, reflecting mirrors, signal horns, or, at night, by means of fire signals, information could be transmitted and emergencies reported at incredible speed.
‘The City of the Persians’ was what the Greeks called the new residence that the King of Kings, Darius I, had built at the foot of the Kuh-e Mehr around 520 BC. He and his successors erected more than 14 buildings on a 15-hectare artificial terrace, which was so high that a protecting wall was only needed on the eastern side. Access was via a double stairway consisting of 111 low steps leading to the ‘Gate of All Nations’, an entrance building with three porticos, two of which were embellished and protected by sculptures of bulls or sphinxes. From here, those admitted to an audience proceeded either to the Apadana, on a higher level, or, via a processional way, to the Hundred-Columns Hall. In the Apadana Palace stood the throne of the ruler. Both outer stairways were decorated with reliefs depicting the representatives of 28 nations being led in a long procession to the King of Kings to proffer him typical gifts from their countries for the New Year festivities. Xerxes I had some of the reliefs remodelled, such as one that showed him still as a prince. He also started building the Hundred-Columns Hall, the largest hall in the ancient world, with a roof supported by ten rows of ten columns topped by double-headed bull protomes. Various reliefs visualising the power and strength of the ruler flanked the entrances. The Tachara Palace is the best preserved. It was Darius’ winter palace, immediately to the south of the Apadana. Structural elements, especially door and window frames, were monoliths weighing tons, with shiny polished surfaces. Here, too, the walls are decorated with reliefs: at the main entrance, the King of Kings, wearing a crenelated crown and accompanied by lance bearers, masters of ceremonies, provincial representatives bearing tribute, a hero fighting a lion and a monster. In 330 BC, the army of Alexander the Great set fire to Persepolis, which was later declared to be revenge for the destruction of the Acropolis in Athens. Desert sand-covered – and protected – the ruins. For the Pahlavi dynasty, Persepolis became part of their identity.
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REMAINS OF THE TENT CITY FROM THE 2,500-YEARCELEBRATION OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, PERSEPOLIS Marvdasht, Iran, 2019
Today, a forest of tent poles on the Persepolis plain is evidence of one of the greatest spectacles in recent Iranian history. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ordered the celebration of the 2,500th anniversary of the Iranian monarchy in honour of the founder of the Persian Empire, Cyrus II, to mark the achievements of the dynasty and enhance Iran’s reputation in the world. Scientific conferences, exhibitions, and book publications were planned. In October 1971, a lavish gala took place. Sixty-nine official foreign guests, monarchs, and presidents had accepted the invitation. The Jansen company of Paris delivered the tents: tubular constructions covered with plastic tarpaulins, furnished like luxury apartments. Maxim’s was in charge of the catering. A conference of 500 scholars in Iranian studies met in Shiraz, followed by a banquet for 600 guests. On the birthday of Shahbanu Farah there was a state reception, a historical parade, and the ruins of Persepolis were illuminated. Opponents of the regime were arrested as a ‘precaution’. The western press published enthusiastic reports. However, from Paris, Ayatollah Khomeini declared that the participants were enemies of Islam. In general, the vast cost of the festivities was criticised: 100, 200, 300 million dollars were mentioned. On the other hand, the long-term investment in 3200 primary schools, a mosque, roads, airports, and hotels was not mentioned. Until 1978, the tent city remained untouched. In 1982, it became a military camp for the soldiers in the Iran-Iraq War and the bulletproof panels were used for firing practice. Today, the naked poles of the tent city attract sensationseeking tourists or serve as a model for art installations.
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AT THE TEMPLE OF ANAHITA Bishapur, Iran, 2017
Few, if any, visitors to Bishapur omit the opportunity to admire the reliefs carved in the rock face of a nearby gorge. With these reliefs, the Sassanid rulers Shapur I, Bahram I, and Shapur II celebrated their achievements. The city itself is visited less frequently and has only been partially studied. Around AD 266, on the site of an abandoned settlement, Shapur I set up his new capital with a grid street system and a magnificent palace, in which the throne room was decorated with mosaics and statues. To the north was a fire temple, where, protected from the rays of the sun, the fire burned day and night. In the building complex to the west of the temple, steep steps lead down to a room, seven metres below ground level, with a sunken floor that formed a basin. Corridors from the four walls of the room were linked with the nearby river. The building is therefore interpreted as an Anahita sanctuary. In the originally abstract Zoroastrian religion, Anahita was revered as a powerful goddess who was responsible for water, the immaculate dispenser of fertility, and the divine personification of the World River that feeds into the ocean. In the Avesta, she is described as a beautiful, strong maiden with a crown of stars, gold jewellery, and a bundle of twigs. Her character is mainly developed in later texts, in which she is equated with the Babylonian Astarte and Greek Artemis.
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ZENDAN-E SULEIMAN AND TOURIST BUS STATION Pasargadae, Iran, 2019
“O mortal, I am Cyrus, son of Cambyses, who founded the empire of the Persians and was king of Asia. Grudge me not then my monument!” is said to have been the cuniform inscription on the tomb of the Persian king. The historian Arrian reported that Aristobulus of Cassandreia, the chronicler of Alexander the Great, had read the inscription on the tomb when he visited it at the request of his king. The Achaemenid king, Cyrus II (559-529 BC), set up his military camp on a plateau in the Zagros Mountains, and thus founded Pasargadae. His palaces, his columned hall, the pavilions, and the fire temple were surrounded by large gardens, which were irrigated by an intricate underground canal system. Even today, the complex is a puzzle. Almost ten years after the death of Cyrus, Darius I transferred his residence further to the southwest, which became famously known as Persepolis. Another mystery concerns Zendan-e Suleiman, the nearby tower made of massive stone blocks known as Solomon’s Prison. The type of construction places it in the 6th century BC. It seems to be unfinished and it is still a point of scholarly debate, whether it was intended to be a tomb, a treasure house, or a temple – or whether it was supposed to have had a completely different purpose.
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VIEW FROM THE TERRACE (TAKHT-E MADAR-E SULEIMAN) Pasargadae, Iran, 2019
In the Koran, King Solomon – known there as Suleiman – is said to have had supernatural powers: he could converse with animals and demons, bring forth treasures from the sea or force the devil to do hard manual labour such as building the temple at Jerusalem. According to legend, he had a talisman, on which the true name of God was written and with which he could dominate everything. It is, therefore, no wonder that the Islamic population linked inexplicable buildings with King Solomon. Takht-e Madar-e Suleiman, the throne of Solomon’s mother, is the name given to a large structure once made of clamped stone blocks in the technique used for retaining walls in the 6th century. From there, one has a panoramic view over the plain in the direction of Persepolis. Meanwhile, the Sivand Dam can be seen between the ruined cities. Archaeologists’ fears that the water held back by the dam might soon flood Persepolis and, above all, Pasargadae, seem to be unfounded since the edge of the dam is below the level of the ruins. Nevertheless, it is totally unknown how the increased humidity will affect the monuments.
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ROADSIDE STORE
ASR ABAD WATER RESERVOIR AND WIND TOWERS
Sarch, Iran, 2017
Traditionally, one associates trading in the Orient with bazaars, often founded by the rulers, vizirs or rich citizens, in magnificent historical buildings as in Shiraz and Isfahan, with domed roofs and covered with colourful tiles, shop next to shop, boutique next to boutique, shops with similar goods grouped together in friendly competition. It is therefore not surprising that sophisticated department stores in western countries have long been called ‘bazaars’: ‘Au petit Bazar’ in Dresden; ‘Grand Bazar’ in Antwerp; ‘Bazar de l’Hotel de Ville’ in Paris, for example. There are hardly any large historical bazaars in the small town of Sarch, near Yazd. Nevertheless, clever traders have found a solution. Right on the heavily frequented roads leading out of town, they have erected plain, functional buildings: cubiform, unpretentious, and made of the simplest materials. Like in large European railway stations, travellers in Sarch can find everything they need for their journey – and much more. They can have a rest and drink some tea, purchase supplies for the trip, last-minute souvenirs – or even wash their car. Additionally, the traders often solicit for customers with luminous red colours that can be seen from afar.
Ashkezar, Iran, 2017
Clean water is a precious resource – especially in arid areas. It was not without reason that the goddess Anahita, the protectress of water, was worshipped by Zoroastrians in central Persia, on the high plateau between the Zagros Mountains and the Dasht-e-Kavir and Dasht-e-Lut deserts. A lot of effort has always been made to collect and preserve water and to keep it cool and pure. Mozafareddin Shah (1896–1907) of the Qajar Dynasty had a special type of water reservoir built at the now-abandoned site of Asrabad, on the road from Yazd to Mashad. The ab anbar (water reservoir) consists of two rectangular underground pashirs (cisterns), about six metres deep. They are covered by domes made of mud bricks, lined with a mixture of lime, sand, and ash that has sintered over time. Broad steps lead down to the pansheer, a platform located about one metre above the bottom of the cistern, from where the water could be drawn off. Nobody had direct access to the water, so it remained clean. It was cooled on the principle of a flow of air made to circulate by means of wind towers. The Asrabad reservoir alone had seven towers, each with four openings that caught the wind from all directions. Mozafareddin Shah was proud of the reservoir and had inscription panels installed above the entrances, on which his name was written in silver with the date of construction, i.e. 1321 according to the Islamic calendar.
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SI-O-SE-POL BRIDGE
Isfahan, Iran, 2017
The Si-o-se-Pol Bridge links two central city areas of Isfahan. Its name reflects the number of pointed arches in the lower row of arches: 33. On top is a pedestrian path, enclosed on either side by arcades made up of smaller pointed arches. The path and the niches are a popular meeting point for locals and tourists alike – to stroll, to meet each other, or just relax. The bridge was built in only three years, during the reign of the Safavid reformer Shah Abbas I (1587-1628), when he transferred his capital from Qazvin to Isfahan. With a width of almost 14 m and a length of 297 m, the bridge is the most prominent of the eleven bridges in Isfahan and is made of limestone blocks, fired mud bricks. The bridge spans the Zayandeh River, which was why Shah Abbas transferred his capital, or, more accurately, it used to span. The ‘life-giving’ river with its source in the Zagros Mountains, which used to be the largest river in Iran, has almost run dry. Drought, the diversion of water for reservoirs, illegal wells, and ineffective irrigation have all led to alarming exhaustion of the water reserves in western Iran – including ground-water reserves. Tremendous efforts will be needed to halt the mismanagement of the use of water and prevent a water crisis. Pedalos lying high and dry are an almost negligible evil.
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SWEET SHOP
Isfahan, Iran, 2017
All the sweetness of the Orient. It is incredible how many almonds and how much honey, rose water, cardamom and precious saffron have been processed here. Not even Sacher in Vienna or the Maison Pierre Hermé in Paris can accomplish that. A delight to the eye, and a pleasure for both the nose and the tastebuds. Core business is the sale of the usual sweets and confectionary. In many shapes and colours – milky white, yellow, orange, red or green, with lemon, orange, peach, or mint – they glow in their glass containers to the particular enchantment of the children. Connoisseurs and tourists alike have difficulty in making their choice between so many specialities. There is gaz, known as Persian nougat, an Isfahan speciality made of honey and beaten egg white, to which either nuts or pistachios are added. Then there is the tempting nan berenji, Kurdish rice biscuits with saffron and cardamom. Aard nokhoji, the traditional New Year’s pastries, are so soft that they melt in the mouth. Persian baklava with almonds, pistachios, and rose syrup is far less sticky than the Arabic or Turkish versions. Qottab are also available, fried moonshaped walnut pastries, originally from Yazd. Kerman’s speciality is kolompeh, date biscuits that are easy to transport, so a suitable souvenir for those back home – if they are not eaten up on the way. A veritable Cockaigne, a foretaste of the pleasures of paradise.
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GRAND BAZAAR
Isfahan, Iran, 2019
“Isfahan is half the world” is a well-known Persian play on words. The city lies on the southern Silk Road and has a Parthian, Achaemenid, Sassanid, and Persian history. It was the capital of the western Seljuks, then Mongolian and, finally, Turkmen. Its first heyday was under the Safavid Abbas I (1587-1629) who brought artisans and artists from all parts of the country to Isfahan. The first extension of the Grand Bazaar on the vast Naqsh-e Jahan (‘Image of the World”) Square was thanks to him (today it is called Imam Square). The square, bazaar, palace, and mosques now form the commercial, cultural and spiritual centre of the city. Today, the bazaar is especially famous for its carpet traders and local artisans. Small businesses are installed in the vaulted areas so that one can watch the coppersmiths, tinkers, bookbinders, or cobblers at work.
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PETROCHEMICAL DESALINATION POND
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POWER LINES
Bushehr, Iran, 2017
BEACH
Bandar Abbas, Iran, 2017
Mahshahr, Iran, 2017
Mahshahr, near the border with Iraq, is one of the important Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf. Gas and oil are exported from here, coming from the Abadan refinery, just 95 km away, which is the centre of the Iranian petroleum industry. From the economic and technological points of view, Mahshahr’s petrochemical industry is Iran’s showcase project. Nevertheless, progress has a downside, a tremendous amount of environmental pollution. As the industry expanded to include the production of liquid gas, plastics, synthetic fibres, and pesticides, the quantity of untreated waste gas also increased: significantly higher amounts of heavy metals, such as cadmium, nickel, or toluene, are being measured in the water, air, and soil here. Leaky pipelines cause pollution of the soil and oil slicks in the Persian Gulf. Moreover, the gigantic petrochemical desalination pond near Mahshahr produces, daily, many cubic metres of highly concentrated brine, most of which simply flows into the sea. The tens of thousands of employees, from specialized engineers to unskilled workers, must cope with extremely adverse conditions: short-term contracts, no insurance, over-long working hours, poor accommodation. Mahshahr made tragic headlines twice in 2019: on 8 November, when a ‘foreign’ drone was shot down, and, eight days later, when demonstrators protesting an increase in petrol prices were massacred.
Power pylons with miles of high-voltage cables spanning the arid landscape – the impression is both harmless and desolate. However, the associated nuclear power plant near Bushehr has made headlines repeatedly, most recently in June 2021, when it was shut down because of a “technical error”. It is suspected that necessary spare parts could not be obtained due to international sanctions. The nuclear power station was officially opened in September 2011. It is a hybrid reactor system with two different types of construction. Original planning by Siemens AG and AEG was for pressurized-water reactors, but it was completed with a newly developed 1000 MWe WWER reactor as an Iranian-Russian prestige project. While it was being built, it frequently attracted media attention because it was suspected that Iran was developing a secret nuclearweapons programme. An effort is now being made to add two more blocks to the nuclear power plant. The nearby city looks back on an eventful history. There is evidence of settlement in the Elamite, Seleucid, Parthian, and Sassanid periods. Re-founded in 1736 by the Afsharid Nadir Shah, Bushehr became a trading post, first for the Dutch and then for the English East India Company. It was the seat of a British Resident and occupied by the British during the Anglo-Persian War as well as during the two World Wars. The younger generation probably knows the city as the birthplace of the national football player, Mehdi Taremi.
Today, Bandar Abbas is a city of superlatives: its strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, opposite the islands of Hormuz and Qeshm, makes it the most important maritime port in Iran, through which almost three-quarters of all imports pass. It is the main base of the Iranian navy. Lying at the end of the motorway, its population is growing rapidly. Historical reports are meagre. An earlier port, apparently located to the east of the present city, was the starting point for journeys to India and the Red Sea in the days of Darius I. It was known as Hormirzad at the time of Alexander the Great. In the 16th century, the port and city were called Gamrun, perhaps derived from the Turkish word gümrük (customshouse). In 1514, the Portuguese captured Hormuz Island, favouring the port there and calling it Comorão. In English it became Gamron. When, in 1615, the Safavid Shah Abbas I took the island from the Portuguese with the help of the East India Company, he transferred the port back to the mainland and gave it his own – its present – name. Its ascent was not easy: Balochistanis plundered the foreign trading posts, the Afsharid dynasty preferred Bushehr, and Oman ruled Bandar Abbas for a while. Success came only under the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties. In addition to its enormous commercial port, another landmark in the modern city is the prizewinning TV building, which opened in 1966.
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HISTORICAL DAM
Guran, Qeshm Island, Iran, 2017
Qeshm is located on the Strait of Hormuz. It is the largest Iranian island, 136 kilometres long and, in parts, just two kilometres from the mainland. Since the Stone Age, its strategic location has not ony tempted almost all people and tribes of Persia to conquer - or merely visit - it; but it also attracted traders and adventurers as well as travellers from many European seafaring nations. Traces of the Elamites, Achaemenids, Sassanids, Umayyads, Abbasids, Buyids, Daylamites can be found here. Greek and Roman writers mentioned the island. The British, Portuguese and Dutch competed to possess it. In the west, in the Avicenna forests near the present town of Guran, the Achaemenids built a dam to supply its settlement with water all year round: the need for such a provision during hot summers is obvious. The mangrove forests and the crystalclear water draw today’s visitors. One can observe rare birds in the wild, pelicans and flamingos as well as reptiles and snakes that are almost extinct elsewhere. One can take a boat to the oyster banks and coral reefs, or go diving to see the brightly coloured fish, dolphins, both large and small humpback whales that seek the proximity of the coast, or even an occasional little – not dangerous – shark. Since 1991, Qeshm has been a free-trade zone with unusually extensive economic and political freedom, including the right to exploit oil and gas resources.
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GREEK SHIPWRECK
Kish Island, Iran, 2017
Kish Island, in the Persian Gulf, lies 20 km off the Iranian mainland. For Iranians, it is a luxurious winter holiday resort, with crystal-clear water, long sandy beaches and coral reefs. It is well-known to the jet-setters as a duty-free zone and as an enormous shopping centre: one can shop there until late in the night – there are no taxes or duty to pay. EU citizens can enter without a visa via Dubai. Shah Reza Pahlavi chose Kish as his personal holiday island. In the spirit of the Pahlavi dynasty and inspired by the architecture of Persepolis, the entrepreneur Hossein Sabet designed and developed the five-star Dariush Grand Hotel with its 185 rooms. The development of a holiday resort with a seven-star hotel, the ‘Flower of the East’, to compete with Burj al Arab in Dubai was cancelled in 2007. Many visitors enjoy wading way out into the sea where, in many places, the water between the island and the mainland is no more than one metre deep. They can also go diving, or take a glass-bottomed boat to the coral reefs. Another tourist attraction is the wreck of the ‘Greek ship’, which was built in 1943 in Glasgow with the name ‘Empire Trumpet’. Later called Khoula F, it ran aground in 1966. Lesser known than tourist attractions are the qanats and cisterns, a veritable underground city of tunnels under the ancient city of Harireh, which used to be a pearl-trading centre. Meanwhile, it should be borne in mind that alcohol is forbidden on Kish, women are only allowed to bathe in separate, fencedoff areas, and everything must be paid for in cash.
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PERSIAN MONUMENTS, NAQSH-E ROSTAM Marvdasht, Iran, 2019
There is hardly a tour to Shiraz and Persepolis that does not also offer a visit to Naqsh-e Rostam. The tourist trade has made an effort to help solve the tourists’ problem of how to describe their travel experiences and what to take home to their family, friends, and colleagues. On this photograph, you can see hundreds of fridge magnets: inexpensive, not subject to customs duty, easy to pack in the hand luggage, and not entirely useless. They are bought by the dozen and disseminate around the world the wonders of Iran’s architecture and art throughout the ages and in all provinces.
CURATOR Ruud Priem, assisted by Lis Hausemer and Anouk Bernard
GRAPHIC DESIGN A Designers’ Collective
CAPTIONS Friederike Naumann-Steckner ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS Beverley Hirschel ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank all those who have contributed to the realization of this project, above all Mr Alfred Seiland.
Arg-e Bam, Bam, Iran, 2017 © Alfred Seiland