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Isfahan Tourism Attractions

Isfahan Chehelsotoon Palace, A Unique Art from The Safavid Dynasty Era

  |   Isfahan Tourism Attractions

Chehelsotoon Palace of Isfahan, A Unique Art from The Safavid Dynasty Era

Isfahan is the city of turquoise domes, one of the cities of Iran that captures the heart of every tourist with the presence of many historical buildings, .

There are few people who have not heard the name of Chehelsotoon Palace in Isfahan. Every tourist or traveler who travels to the city of Isfahan does not miss the opportunity to visit this magnificent palace from the Safavid Dynasty era.

As one of the royal gardens of the Safavid era, Isfahan Chehelsotoon Palace, is located in the south of today Sepah Street and west of Isfahan Naqsh-e Jahan Square, right on the Ostandari Street.

A lot of beauty and grandeur has been used in the design of Chehelsotoon mansion. Chehelsotoon has 3 entrances, after traveling a not so long pathway, the main entrance leads to a large swimming pool in front of the main Chehelsotoon mansion. This pathway to Chehelsotoon palace is decorated with beautiful trees. Different types of sycamore, pine, juniper, elm and black maple trees in the gardens of the Isfahan Cheelsotoon Palace have doubled its beauty and magnificence.

Isfahan Chehelsotoon Palace , also called Chehelsotoon Museum Garden, which is one of the sightseeing places of Isfahan, has become one of the unique palaces of Iran with its long history and eye-catching architecture.

Isfahan Chehelsotoon Palace was built during the time of Shah Abbas and when Isfahan, the city of turquoise domes, was the capital. Chehelsotoon, was in fact a connecting passage way between Chaharbagh Street and Naqsh-e Jahan Square, where a Kushki mansion was built to welcome Iranian and foreign guests. The newly established mansion of Shah Abbas II was decorated with works of great artists such as mirror work, tile work, muqarnas, and miniatures. Until today, it has become one of the most beautiful ancient works of Iran.

In the middle of the 17th century, during the reign of Shah Abbas II, the Kushki mansion was expanded and many halls such as the mirror hall, the 18-column hall and large rooms on the first floor were added to it.

The architecture of Chehelsotoon Palace is a combination of Iranian, European and Chinese style. Chehelsotoon has a main porch with a height of 14 meters, length of 38 meters and width of 17 meters. Long octagonal columns made of plantain and pine have doubled the beauty of Chehelsotoon porch.

The four central columns of the magnificent porch of Chehelsotoon Palace are placed on stone lions, which in the past poured water from the mouths of the lions into the beautiful marble pool of the hall.

The porch roof of Chehelsotoon mansion is made of wooden frame and in different geometric shapes.

One of the most important parts of the Chehelsotoon mansion is called the main hall. This hall is decorated with spectacular paintings as well as inlaid windows and a beautiful ceiling.

The paintings on the ceiling of the main hall of Chehelsotoon are a beautiful example of Isfahan school painting in the 17th and 18th centuries. The technique of these paintings is generally tempera and oil paint.

The painting of Shah Abbas I, the beautiful miniatures in the treasure room and the paintings of the Safavid kings in the King’s Hall are among the other sights of the Chehelsotoon mansion.

Each room in Chehelsotoon building tells a unique story. From old walls to detailed decorations, every detail seen in the rooms reflects the history and culture of the past.

Chehelsotoon Mansion is a symbol of the beauty and history of Isfahan. By visiting this cultural building, you will enter a world of Iranian beauty, art, and history. As a friendly and peaceful place, we recommend visiting Isfahan Chehelsotoon Mansion to all lovers of travel and history.

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Isfahan’s Vank Cathedral ( Armenian Apostolic ) Church

  |   Isfahan Tourism Attractions

The Vank Cathedral Church, Armenia at the heart of Isfahan

If you ask anyone from Isfahan, they undoubtedly have heard the name of The Vank Church. Isfahan Vank Church is located in the Armenian district of Isfahan, called The Jolfa neighbourhood.

The unique architecture, long antiquity and distinctive paintings of The IsfahanVank Church have made this building stand out from all the other churches in Iran.

This historical building is remained from the Safavid Dynasty,The Shah Abbas era. The Armenian immigrants started building TheVank Church in 1655 AD. The Vank Church was built with an area of 8731 square meters where became the community center of the Armenian immigrants.

The Isfahan Vank Church was recorded in the list of national works of Iran on January 6, 1932 . Isfahan Vank Church includes the main church, the museum, the belfry, the monastery, the library, the clock tower, the bishop’s residence room, the meeting halls and the historic printing house.

Two entrances have been designed for the Isfahan Vank Church. The main door facing the outer pond is made of wood and It is for Armenians, visitors, and tourists commute. Above the main door, there is an inscription made of azure and gray tiles and there is an Armenian phrase “Monastery, savior of all, the place for monks” along with the interior view of the Monastery.

Isfahan Vank Church is considered the largest and one of the most beautiful churches in Iran, which is also the Cathedral Church for Armenians from Isfahan.

The exterior wall of the Isfahan Vank Church is built with bricks, however in the past, stones were usually used in the architecture of most churches. But in Isfahan Vank Church, brick has given its place to stone. Among the brick texture of the walls, tiles with the image of winged angels can be seen. The main entrance road to Isfahan Vank Church is paved and decorated with cobblestones where provides a special beauty to the exterior of the church.

There is a bell tower at the entrance of The Isfahan Vank Church The Isfahan Vank Church has three floors. On the second floor, there is a big clock that weighs 300 kg.

Under the clock tower of Isfahan Vank Church, there are two graves, one of which belongs to an Armenian soldier and the other belongs to one of the Armenian leaders.

On the roof of Isfahan Vank Church, right above the entrance door and between the western wall and the edge of the church’s small dome , there is a square-shaped area where a small bell tower has been built and it is considered as the second bell tower of the church.

Isfahan Vank Church has two domes. one big and one small. The big dome of Isfahan Vank Church is built over the altar with a mosque architecture style.

This exquisite dome is made of wood. The Isfahan Vank Church The inside of the dome is painted with azure color. There are 8 windows all around the dome, and between each of these windows there are paintings that narrate the creation of Adam and Eve and also the killing of Abel.

Like all other churches,The Vank Church, promotes visiting and worshiping, in addition to carrying out the task of transmitting Armenian culture to the next generations.

Therefore, there is a museum in this church, which is the location of keeping precious and historical objects . The museum of TheVank Church was built by Thaddeus Hunanian in the northern side of the church.

Inside of Isfahan Vank Church Museum ,valuable objects such as outstanding historical paintings, exquisite manuscripts and other valuable old works are kept, which can be attractive and spectacular for tourists and travelers of the Isfahan Luxurious Chaharbagh Hotel

One of the most visited and famous objects kept in The Isfahan Vank Church Museum of Isfahan is a strand of a girl’s hair on which the sentence “To know wisdom and justice and to understand the words of intelligence” is written.

The creator of this special work is the Armenian artist, Vahram Hakopian, who created such a wonderful work with a diamond pen in 1974 and donated it to Isfahan Vank Church Museum the following year. The writing on the hair can be seen with a microscope placed in the museum.

There is a library on the north side of Isfahan Vank Church. The Library of Isfahan Vank Church was built in 1884 by Hohanes Sornian, the Caliph of the time, with the aim of preserving Armenian manuscripts and books.

More than 30,000 copies of books in Armenian, Farsi, English, etc. exist in the library of The Vank Church .

Only Armenians can have access to the books. However, other people can also use this library by writing a letter and owning an official permission.

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