Esfahan

Esfahan sfahan is and has been the capital of the province of Esfahan since 900 years. The elevation of the city is 1,570 meters above sea level, giving purity to the air under the brilliant blue sky and often violet-hued mountains. The population of the province amounts to 3,774,204 (1992 census). City of Esfahan itself has a population of 1,159,10' (1992 census). It is connected to Tehran by air (regular daily flights), rail and road. The most famous Persian description of the city of Esfahan is Esfahan nesf-e jahan (Esfahan is half the world), which the Esfahanis coined in the 16th century to express the city's grandeur. You may well agree that it has a ring of truth even today.

Esfahan, chosen and designed capital under Shah Abbas I, was reconstituted with so many new mosques, palaces, bridges, avenues and parks that even European travelers wrote rapturously of its beauties. Chardin, a dependable observer according to Arthur Upham Pope, reports that in 1666 Esfahan had 162 mosques, 48 madrasas (schools), 182 caravansaries and 173 baths. The great maydan (square) at Esfahan, scene of maneuvers, processions, games, and especially polo, is surrounded by two-storied arcades which focus on the recessed portal of the Masjid-e Imam (Imam mosque, formerly called the Shah Mosque). Esfahan At the north end of the square, opposite the mosque, is the royal caravanserai and bazaar, at the middle of the west side is the palace of Ali Qapu - the seat of government - and facing it, across the square, is the private oratory of Shah Abbas, the Mosque of Shaykh Lutf Allah. Except for intersections near the entrance to the bazaar on the west and east and an insignificant modern street in the southwest corner, the square is closed by four high walls painted in creamy white with blue outlining the repeated arches. One architectural feature interrupts the uniformity of each side.

Apart from being one of the finest art cities of the world, Esfahan is also one of Iran's largest industrial centers: Esfahan Steelworks started production in 1971 and is planned to double its present output of 1,900,000 tons in the coming years and make Iran self-sufficient as regards steel production. Esfahan has pleasant weather for most of the year, but it can get rather cold in winter.

The main street, Chahar Baq (Four Gardens), runs north-south right through the main part of the city. If you use this to orient yourself, you can't go far wrong, although Chahar Baq does change its name slightly from north to south. Most of the main sights and the hotels are within easy walking distance, and it's a pleasure to wander along the tree-lined avenues. There are a few outlying sights that are most easily visited by hired taxi. Much of the city has been modernized over recent years and will continue to be so.

The Zayandeh Rud river watering gardens and fields with its numerous tributaries along its 360-km course, flows from west to east through the city, and divides off Jolfa and some other suburbs from the main part of the city, but most of the main attractions are to the north of the river. The new international and domestic airport is some 20 km to the east-northeast of Esfahan, and connected to it by buses and taxis, while the train station is a long trek out of town
and little used by tourists.