Chehel Sotun garden covers an area of 67,000 sq. m. The palace 1, occupies about 2,125 sq. m and is fronted by a pool 2,measuring 110 by 16 m. By western standards, Chehel Sotun may seem a relatively small building, but its height of about 15 m and the elegance of the slender columns increase the structure’s grandeur.
Chehel Sotun was conceived by Shah Abbas the Great as a small pleasure pavilion. This now constitutes the Throne Hall 3, of the building and several flanking rooms. Some historical books mentioned that Shah Abbas I celebrated Nouruz of the year 1614 in this palace.

The elegant porch, superb mirror hall 4, and renowned mural paintings were added to the pavilion during the reign of Shah Abbas II. At that time, the palace was used exclusively as a place for entertaining foreign dignitaries. Two historical inscriptions in verse from the Safavid period reveal the long and turbulent history of the building. Both were uncovered from under a plaster layer during archaeological research in 1949. The first, a shorter one, is carved on a pink background.

It mentions the name of Shah Abbas II and the date of the building’s completion (1647). The second, a longer  one, this time in stucco letters against a blue background, describes the restoration of the palace during the reign of Shah Sultan Hossein Safavid. It is said that during a feast the building flared up, but it was still possible to extinguish the fire. However, Shah Sultan Hossein, infamous for his excessive piety, saw divine intent in this act and let most of the building burn away. preferring to restore it later. Chehel Sotun shares many traits with Achaemenid architecture. though it seems fairly restrained compared to the excesses of its predecessors. Like the grand structures of Persepolis, it stands on an elevated platform, conforming to the ancient tradition that royal palaces have to soar above the ground. The magnificent porch of the palace also echoes a peristyle that traces its history as far back as the Achaemenid period.

The name of Chehel Sotun (“Palace of Forty Columns”) was given to the building because of the multiple pillars of its elegant porch 4, (“forty” is a common term in Iran to indicate a large but imprecise number). However. by chance the twenty columns of the porch reflected in the pool in front of the building presented a clear sight of forty columns, and many believe that this is the explanation for the name of the palace. Of the twenty pillars of the porch. two are found in the recess that leads to the Throne Halle. Each of the slender pillars is formed of a tree trunk over which a thin layer of colored board has been fitted. In the 17th century. this veneer was covered with colored studs of glass and mirror. What we see today are the decorations that were added during the palace’s rebuilding after the fire of 1706 or during the Qajar period. Today the columns, stripped of their original glass cover, are painted red. They support a light wooden ceiling. With its exposed beams, wide fretwork louvers. and inlaid-work, this ceiling is probably the finest example of this kind in Iran.

Bagh e Chechel Sotun general view

In the centre of the porch is a handsome marble basin 6, highlighted by figures of four lions. These lions are engraved in such a way that every two lions have a common head. They serve as the base for four central columns and, at the same time, spout water into the tank. To preserve the fragile structure, the fountains are in operation only on special Occasions.  Before entering the opulent Throne Hall, the visitor should not miss the window above the entrance door. Until recently, the ancient Koran bearing the stamp of the third Shiite Imam was kept there. According to the Islamic tradition, luck will accompany those travelers who have passed under the Sacred Book. Today this Koran is exhibited in the museum of Chehel Sotun. The Thone Hall has glittering ceiling vaults. The walls are painted with both figurative and abstract designs and are  decorated with stucco and brightly colored inlaid rosettes. The plasterwork in low relief is colored in rich ultramarine and cobalt blue. vivid scarlet, pale emerald, and solid gold – all woven into intricate and exquisite patterns of great splendor. The hall is in a good state of preservation, and where necessary, restoration has been judiciously carried out. Like the Throne Hall of Ali Qapu, the hall of Chehel Sotun is also adorned with frescos. It is perhaps the best place to study Persian secular art, whose best samples are presented here. In contrast to the pastel and calico motifs of Ali Qapu, the murals of Chehel Sotun have been done with much bolder colors. Here portraits of kings, battle scenes, and royal festivals are depicted in bright, vivid hues on the upper parts of the walls. The lower portions exhibit small genre paintings in the traditional miniature style. All the pictures (except for two paintings known as Chaldoran and Kamal wars which belong to the Qajar era) date from the period of Shah Abbas II.

The paintings of the western wall (opposite the entrance) depict, from right to left. the following subjects:

-The feast given by Shah Abbas the Great in honor of King Vali Mohammad Khan of Turkestan. This is a clear and picturesque portrayal of the ostentation of the Esfahan court.
– The battle of Chaldoran between the troops of Shah Ismail r Safavid and the Ot-toman Janissaries.
– The reception given by Shah Tahrnasb I in honor of the Hindu prince Homayun who fled to Persia in 1543.
The eastern wall is covered, from right to left. with historical frescos on the following themes:
– The battle scene of Taherabad, in which the armies of Shah Ismail I vanquished the Uzbeks, who, headed by Shibak Khan, threatened the northern borders of Persia (dates to the time when the palace had just been completed).
– Another battle, this time set in Kamal in India and depicting Nader Shah Afshar and Sultan Mahrnud, who is shown on a white elephant.
– The reception given by Shah Abbas II in honor of King Nader Mohammad Khan of Turkestan.
Fortunately, the large frescos have remained almost intact. The small miniatures, however, are in a very dilapidated state. This is mainly because during the Afghan and Qajar periods they were bedaubed with plaster to cover the scenes which were considered to be indecent. During the rule of Zel al-Sultan, the building itself was much threatened, and only due to the interdiction of Malek al-Tojjar, builder of Angurestan-e Malek (p141) and Malek Timcheh (p109), that the governor was talked out of the demolition of the palace.

The Throne Hall is bordered by large rooms on its southeastern and northeastern sides 7, These are also lavishly adorned with beautiful paintings. The hallway leading to the south-eastern room features remarkable gilded ceilings. It is called the Chaharshanbeh-Suri room after a large painting depicting this spring festival.

The exterior galleries 8, of the building exhibit a number of paintings that show the ambassadors and famous Europeans who lived in Esfahan during the Safavid rule. Until recently, little was known about the origin of these paintings. However, it has been determined that these frescoes are the work of two Dutch painters, Angel and Lokar, who were members of the East India Company at the time of Abbas II. One of these pictures may possibly be the portrait of King Charles I of England and his Queen, Henrietta Maria. The other shows an English envoy, holding in his hand a turnip as the Persians always welcomed the gift of unfamiliar plants.

The small but interesting museum of Chehel Sotun, which opened in 1978, contains an outstanding selection of manuscripts, vessels, inlaid and marquetry work, costumes, and fine items of Persian china. The items in the Throne Hall are on permanent display, while those in the smaller rooms, flanking the main hall, are subject to change. Among the most precious objects are the Koran that was once kept above the entrance to the palace; the replica, of the pact signed between Imam ‘id Ali and the Christians; the door from the Mausoleum of Sheikh Safi al-Din in Ardabil and the restored cap of this reverend Sufi; a gilded amulet on deer skin which belonged to Amir Kabir but which seems to have been of little help to the minister who was murdered in Kashan, and the original wooden minbar of the Royal Mosque.

One of the most valuable objects in Chehel Sotun is a stucco window that was brought here from Darb-e Imam (p122). Carved of plaster and studded with stained glass, this unique window is one of the great artistic marvels of Esfahan. Sadly, it is not exhibited to public view and is kept in the museum’s repository.

The garden of Chehel Sotun is also delightful and constitutes part of the museum complex. Remains of some Esfahan’s buildings have been transferred from their original sites to be preserved here. Among them are the portal of the Qotbiyeh Mosque 9, and the portal of Darb-e Kushk 10, Four column bases depicting human and lion figurines, marking the four corners of the large pool, have been relocated from the now demolished Sarpushideh Palace . Another relic includes a dried plane tree, the only remains of Bagh-e Zereshk .

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The palace’s name was also widely interpreted as [Imam] Ali’s Gate. Indeed, Shah Abbas I greatly venerated Imam Ali. To express his humility, he always signed his letters as “the dog at the threshold of Ali’s door”. During Shah Abbas’s rule, 110 cannons were installed on both sides of the entrance to Ali Qapu. This was another tribute to the Shiite Imam, whose name, Ali, corresponded to the number 110, according to the abjad alphabet. The final act was Shah Abbas’s relocation of the door of Imam Ali’s mausoleum in Najaf in Iraq to Esfahan. Instead, the richly adorned, gold – and silver – plated door, which was made by Esfahans craftsmen, was installed on the original site. Such an act further enhanced the sanctity of the Ali Qapu Palace. From then on, any person passing through the gate had to dismount from the horse, and even the Shah was not exempt from this duty. Moreover, those who sought the royal favor had to kiss the gate as a plea, while those who were granted the royal approval had to kiss the gate in gratitude. Sometimes criminals and fugitives sought refuge behind the palace’s gate, and no force, even the Shah himself, could drag them out from it except by starvation.
Ali Qapu served multiple purposes. Part of the building was occupied by administrative quarters and sentinel’s headquarters; this section could be visited by the common people, who often brought their petitions here. Ali Qapu was also a sort of stronghold that divided the public area of Naqsh-e Jahan from the harem and the enclosure of royal palaces, which were scattered in a vast park that stretched from behind Ali Qapu as far as Chahar Bagh Avenue. The palace also housed shah’s private bedrooms, elaborately hidden from the view of strangers (the arrangement of the bedrooms was greatly praised by Shah Abbas who always suspected plots against him – and often not without a reason). Ali Qapu also functioned as a place for royal audiences to greet ambassadors and heads of states. The lavishly decorated reception areas were intended to demonstrate for foreign guests the strength and authority of the Safavid monarchs and to dazzle them with the opulence of decoration of their dwellings.

Today the entrance, to Ali Qapu emphasizes the overall magnificence of the structure. While the entries to the three other major buildings of the square are recessed into the surrounding walls, Ali Qapu steps actively into space. The door is more than 5 m high, and opens onto a hallway 64 sq. m and topped by a cupola 11 m high. The hallway features the loveliest plaster decorations and paintings of Reza Abbasi. Here visitors can entertain themselves with the curious acoustic effect of the hallway in front of the ticket of fice. Two people with their faces pressed against two opposite corners can  clearly hear each other, even if they talk in the lowest voices possible.
The upper stories of the building can be climbed by two sets of stairways: the upper to the top, the narrower the steps. This was perhaps a security measure: not more than one person could climb the stairs at the same time. The recesses at the turns of the stairs seem to have been occupied by guardsmen. On the west side of the building, the stairs led to the  balconies, where a person could rest and enjoy the view of the royal compound. The balcony 2, on the fifth floor provides a fine view of the Towhid-Khaneh, where dervishes performed their rituals (it is currently occupied by the  Faculty of Fine Arts of Esfahan University).

The royal staircase, added during the rule of Shah Abbas II, is 1.4 m wide and has 118 steps; this staircase was used during the monarch’s public receptions. The first two floors of the present structure totally lack the ornamentation because little has survived the vandalism of visitors to the palace immediately after the Islamic Revolution. Only a pattern of the fine curtains – the conspicuous feature of all Safavid palaces – is discernible on the dados. However, visitors might try to imagine how beautiful the palace was when the niches of its walls were filled with china and porcelain wares (indispensable features of the interior decor during the Safavid period). when each room had a fireplace, and when the windows were curtained with heavy cloths to prevent cold air from penetrating the palace.
Another flight of stairs brings the visitor to the veranda, definitely one of the main highlights of Ali Qapu. Apart from its beauty. it offers a superb view of the city, including the best vista of the Royal Mosque. The veranda is 28 m long. 16 m wide. and about 12 m high. Its wooden ceiling. which is gilded and painted, is divided into rectangles as if to mirror the pool underneath. It is supported by eighteen slender columns with elaborately carved capitals. The columns are organized in three rows, each with six columns. Each pillar is cut from a single trunk of a plane tree. During the Safavid period, the pillars were sheathed in mirrors to give the impression that the roof was floating in the air. During the last restorations, the columns were reinforced with metal rods and clamps. A remarkable pool in the middle of the veranda is faced with copper plates and has a fountain. During the Safavid festivities, the pool was filled with water. which was raised here by means of hydraulic machines if for some reason, the pumping system failed, the water was brought here by a bucket-wheel).

From the veranda – often shut off at the sides by sumptuous curtains – the Safavid kings and their foreign guests used to watch the polo games. fireworks, and the military shows going on in the square below. Just above the entrance to the veranda. the only original window that has survived in the palace exhibits very attractive fretwork.
Leading away from the veranda is the Throne Hall 4, the most sumptuously decorated room of the building. The paintings, executed by Reza Abbasi and his skilled students, are magnificent, particu-lady on the ceiling. where brilliantly plumed birds are depicted. Some of the European-style miniatures here (unfortunately, they have been badly damaged) are attributed to Sir Robert Shirley. an English freelance diplomat in the service of Shah Abbas J.
The upper story of the palace is occupied by the Music Chamber 5, What makes this hall particularly remarkable is the amazing stuccowork aimed to enliven the area and perhaps even to enhance the acoustics of the room. The walls of this hall are lined with a partition-wall of plaster curiously pierced (as if fret-sawed) in the shapes of common utensils – dishes. Plates, bottles and flasks. The small ceiling cupolas, the keystones of the vault that separate them, and the pendentives that connect them to the walls have been pierced in the same manner. The Music Chamber reminds one of the Mausoleum of Sheikh Safi al-Din in Ardabil. However, if in Ardabil the plaster niches served as shelves for chinaware, the hollow plasterwork in the Music Chamber was made to created echoes for the musical instruments, thus improving the acoustics.

The balconies in the corners of the Music Chamber were occupied by the musicians who performed music for royal guests. Whereas most of Ali Qapu’s decorations have been badly mutilated, the balconies, which were inaccessible to barbarous hands, have preserved their remarkable paintings completely intact.
The building was slightly remodeled during the reign of Shah Sultan Hossein Safavid. In the late 19th century, most of the building’s remarkable decorations were puttied with a layer of plaster. Fortunately, the restorers uncovered the original, painted layer of the surfaces and were able to repair the decorations, at least on the building’s upper floors. However, though largely stripped of its embellishments, Ali Qapu is still one of the most charming of all the city’s architectural treasures.

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A native of Lebanon, Sheikh Lotfollah came to Iran to seek the patronage of Shah Abbas the Great who, as a part of the Safavid policy of fostering the Shiite faith, not only encouraged the Sheikh to take up residence in Iran, but also put him in charge of the Royal Mosque and a theological school. In Shah Abbas, the venerated Sheikh, in addition to a patron, found also a son-in-law.

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The Royal Mosque (today called the Imam Mosque) dominates the Southern side of Naqsh-e Jahan

Square and is indeed, the most focal point of it. It is the largest and the most magnificent monument of the Safavid reign and is a splendid example of the extravagant architecture that Constituted the glory of Esfahan at that time. We do not Know whether the mosque was called “Royal after its patron, Shah Abbas the Great, or it was just the word to emphasize the mosque’s size and splendor. Both versions are reasonable, all the more so because the Royal Mosque of Esfahan can be claimed the final perfection of the art of mosque building in Iran. The work on this majestic structure was begun in 1611 and lasted for eighteen years. The Sumptuous portal was finished prior to the rest of the building in 1615, completing the imposing Square and offering a counterpart to the Qeysariyeh Portal On the opposite side. Shah Abbas I saw his mosque finished in 1629, the last year of his reign, but the decoration of  the building continued even after his death. In 1630 and 1666, some ornamental touches were added to the mosque, but as a whole, the Royal Mosque was an example of a grandiose building created at the behest of One man in One continuous operation. This accounts for the remarkable unity of the decorations, colors, and motifs. Shah Abbas, as if feeling the approach of his death, persistently gave orders for the Work on the building to be sped up. some stories, concerning the construction of the mosque, reflect the haste that accompanied it. One of them tells that Shah Abbas ordered the work on the walls to be started when the foundations had not yet Set. The architect, Ali Akbar Esfahani, refused, and, to avoid the Shah’s anger, went into hiding. When he judged that the time reached to prove his point, he reappeared, demonstrated the accuracy Of his forecast, and was granted the royal pardon. Another story claims that Shah Abbas wanted to save time and money by removing integral blocks from the Congregational i Mosque in Yazd and installing Them in the new building. Fortunately, the clergy, who had a strong impact on the Shah, Were able to persuade him that creating Such a precedent might one day result in his own mosque being similarly desecrated. An important laborsaving innovation employed in the Royal Mosque was the vast usage of polychrome tiles in place of mosaic tilework. In the portal, tesselated faience is applied, but the rest of the surfaces are clothed with polychrome tiles. Except for some sparse use of marble from Ardestan, all the surfaces of the mosque are covered With tiles. The concentration on tile decorations is peculiar to Safavid art, in Contrast to the Seljuk tradition that emphasized the form rather than the decoration. The color of tiles is blue and yellow, contrasting agreeably with the warm tones of marble panels and the stones of the courtyard. It is quite unlike the bright ultramarine of preceding Timurid structures. All in all, there is no other mosque in the city decorated with Such a magnificent blanket of tiles as the Royal Mosque The mosque occupies a total area of 12,264 sq. m. It has been estimated that as many as 18 million bricks and 472,500 tiles were used in the construction of this Safavid marvel. The mosque is based on a four-eivan plan, and consists of multiple sections.

Entrance Portal
The mosque is fronted by a forecourt 1, bordered on three sides by a majestic portal 2, embellished with handsome moqarnas, and the flanking arcades. The area is clearly charged with symbolic meaning: it is a transition from the outer world to a temporal paradise (the forecourt creates the horizontal transition of space, while a portal accomplishes the vertical transition).

The forecourt originally had a pool, but this was closed over at a later date. With two soaring minarets 42 m high and the arch itself being almost 27 m high, the overwhelmingly sumptuous entrance was destined first and foremost to fit in with the square it fronted rather than the mosque itself. A cable ornament, rising from large marble vases, decorates the arch. Flanking the portal are two niches containing reduced versions of the honeycomb decoration

of the vault of the main portal. Above the entrance gateway is a The panel, showing two heraldic peacocks framing a flower vase filled with luxuriant branches. This motif also occurs in the shrines at Ardabil and Mashhad and must have had some special significance, although it is no longer ascertainable. The great calligraphic frieze in Tholth on the portal (dated 1616) specifies that the mosque was built with the personal revenue of Shah Abbas the Great and dedicated to his ancestor, Shah Tahmasb; this is the work of Alireza Abbasi. Below this inscription is another lettering in Tholth, executed by Mohammad Reza Imami, another famous calligrapher of the Safavid period. It testifies to Shah Abbas’s acknowledgement of the architect, Ali Akbar Esfahani, and the construction’s supervisor, Mohib Ali Beikollah. The majestic gold – and silver – plated doors, ornamented with poems written in Nastaliq script, were commissioned by Shah Safi and installed in 1636.

Anteroom
The anteroom 3, as a spatial pivot, interlocks the forecourt and interior courtyard, while making a 45-degree turn. This arrangement allows the aligning of the mosque with Mecca while maintaining the integrity of the square. The plan is similar to the earlier Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, and like there, the visitor hardly notices the change in direction. The effect is contrived by the following architectural trick. The northern eivan 4, instead of having a rectangular ground plan like the other three, ends in a pentagon. It is linked to the anteroom by an arch, a passage through which, however, is blocked by a stone bench that obliges the visitor to make a detour around the north eivan through two vaulted corridors, one on each side, that lead to the court. The right corridor 5, is short; the left 6 is long due to the alteration of the direction. In the anteroom stands a handsome engraved stone vase of great size.

Courtyard

The courtyard 7, measures 3,910 sq. m and is perfectly symmetrical with respect to the axis that points towards Mecca. It is enclosed with twos tory arcades 8, broken in the centers by towering eivrll1s. The ablutions pool 9, in the center measures 240 sq. m. A sense of soaring space strikes the visitor on entering the great court. Once inside, it becomes apparent that the grandeur and scale of the mosque’s layout in no way interferes with the essential doctrinal simplicity of Islam: all the faithful are assured clear and unmediated access to Divine Mercy, and nowhere do they encounter restricted areas, steps or railings.
The Southern Eivan and the Sanctuary
The southern eivan, is usually the most articulated section of Iranian mosques, as it often leads to the main sanctuary. The Royal Mosque also demonstrates a very marked emphasis on the south side. The southern eivan surpasses the other eivans in size and decorative splendors. It is marked by two flanking minarets 11, 48 m high and repeats the decorative motifs of the portal: ogives and stars in lavish gold tones. Behind the eivan is the mosque’s principal sanctuary 12, a square 22.5 m on the side. At its back wall, there are a marble mihrab decorated with mosaics and a fine minbar 4 m high. The minbar is made of a single marble piece and has fourteen steps symbolizing fourteen Shiite saints. The original wooden minbar that was installed here in Safavid times is now kept in the museum of Chehel Sotun. The wall above the mihrab has a niche with the sandalwood doors. Locals believe that the Holy Koran written by Imam Reza and a blood-stained shirt of Imam Hossein are kept there.

The Dome
The dome is the most remarkable part of the southern sanctuary. It is 52 m high (the inner shell is 38 m) and about 21 m in diameter.

in diameter. Such dimensions make it the largest twin-shelled dome of Esfahan. The space between the dome’s two coverings is approximately 13 m. This empty space serves as an extraordinary “echo chamber” – since a speaker in the minbar can be distinctly heard in all other parts of the mosque. Check the effect yourself: by stamping on the floor exactly under the dome’s center (marked by dark-colored paving stone) one can hear up to seven clear echoes. The superb dome is an outstanding architectural achievement of Ali Akbar Esfahani. Indeed, if the interior of the sanctuary had been extended to the level of the upper dome, it would have been totally out of proportion. That is why the lower shell was indispensable. On the other hand, had not been this latter crowned by the upper shell, the mosque would have lacked the splendid elevation to which it owes its monumental perfection. The dome has a characteristic bulbous shape and rests on a high drum pierced with eight magnificently partitioned windows. Remarkably, when observed from the interior, the windows seem to open in the curve of the dome; viewed from the outside, they look as if cut in the drum – the ex-planation is that you see two superposed domes. The dome’s interior is dominated by a medallion of a large golden star delicately decorated with roses. The dome features a number of inscriptions; the one around its perimeter, ending with the date 1627, is made by the famous calligrapher Abd al-Baqi Tabrizi. He is also responsible for the inscriptions in the south, north, and west eivans.

Hypostyle Halls
Two prayer halls, topped with small cupolas flank the sanctuary. The cupolas mainly repeat the ornament of the main dome: large golden star and large stylized motifs on a sumptuous carpeting of golden flowers. In the western hypostyle hall stands a huge stone vase with some nicely engraved patterns and a verse in Nastaliq. It was put here in 1683 during the reign of Shah Solei man Safavid.

Eastern

Western Eivans Compared to the south eivan, the facades of the east 14, and west 15, eivans reveal more subtle decoration. The west eivan has a lofty arch surmounted by a maazeneh, from which the faithful are summoned for prayer.
This eivan leads to a large prayer hall that features the mihrab commissioned by Shah Abbas II. This mihrab, perhaps the most beautiful in the mosque, bears an inscription by Mohammad Reza Imami. The walls and ceiling of the western hall are covered with polychrome tiles. Floral motifs n the shades of yellow, blue, mauve, and gold predominate. Almost similar decoration and a similar layout are employed in the eivan and the small hall on the east side.
Madresehs
The Royal Mosque has two madresehs at its southwest and southeast ends. The southwest madreseh 16, known as the Soleimaniyeh Madreseh, was laid out in the end of Shah Abbas’s reign or perhaps during the reign of his successor, Shah Safi. It is, however, named after Shah Soleiman Safavid, who is responsible for repairs, which took place here during his reign. In the courtyard of the Soleimaniyeh Madreseh a triangle stone 17, is placed along the northern wall.
It acts as a sundial for the noon prayer during all days of the year. It is said that, if slightly removed, it would not show the right time. This stone is attributed to Sheikh Bahai, the Safavid scholar.
The southeastern Naseriyeh Madreseh 18, dating from the time of Shah Abbas II, is named after Naser al- Din Shah Qajar, who conducted the repairs of this seminary. The students’ chambers distinguish this madreseh from its counterpart in the western corner. They stretch along one side of the courtyard and overlook the platforms on the opposite side where the students studied.

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Photo by : Bahare Beheshti

Housing Some of the most majestic structures of the Islamic world, Naqsh-e Jahan is designated by UNESCO as a universal heritage site. (For a short While, the square was removed from the UNESCO list because the World Heritage Committee maintained that the neighboring Jahan Nama tower intruded the aerial buffer zone of the square. The 500 thousand dollar project provided by the Iranian president and actions of the Modification Committee helped to resolve the problem.) The square dates from 1602.

Naqsh-e Jahan Square by Pascal Coste

Prior to the Safavid period, the ground on which it was laid out was occupied by the spacious Nagsh-e Jahan garden. At that time, Meydan-e Kohneh (“Old Square”), opposite the Congregational Mosque (pp. 12-120), formed the city’s centre. However, when Esfahan was chosen a capital, Shah Abbas’s ambitions prompted him to Create a new axis for the city’s development. The new square was laid out on the site of the former garden to the southwest of Old Square. It was designed by Ali Akbar Esfahani, the celebrated architect at Shah Abbas’s court. The new architectural masterpiece was arranged in a north-south direction. Due to this orientation, both mosques — the Royal (Imam) Mosque along the square’s south side and the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque on its east side – had to be angled so that their qibla walls would be aligned toward Mecca.

The orientation of the square was determined by pre-existing patterns; the rest derived from the genius of its architect. Two other majestic buildings complete the magnificence of the square: the palace of Ali Qapu and the Qeysariyeh Portal of the Great Bazaar. The square is surrounded by arcaded structures two stories high. In the past, they housed trade sites, public places, and Service quarters for the palace. At present, ground floor of the buildings around the square is allocated to the handicrafts market, while the upper floor is planned to accommodate the museum of Esfahan’s history. In the past, the Square could be entered through twelve gates, the most important of which was the Qeysariyeh – that of the bazaar. The present entrances to the square are located at the corners. Since the time of its founding, the Square has fortunately experienced only minor alterations. Among the structures that have disappeared are the clock tower to the north of the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque and the Drum House on top of the Qeysariyeh Portal. On the other hand, there have been several later additions: formal lawns and a pool in the middle of the square. These come from the Pahlavi period.

Although now Naqsh-e Jahan still has particular importance in the city’s life, during the Safavid period the square was even more significant. In the days of its glory it was always crowded with people. During the daytime it was occupied by peddlers who spread out their wares on the ground. The space near Ali Qapu, however, was always kept clear to preserve access to the palace. Once a week peasants from the surrounding villages gathered to sell their goods. Beside the buyers and the sellers, there were also story-tellers, jugglers, and acrobats, without whom no picture of an oriental market could be complete.

In the lower galleries near the entrance to the bazaar were the coffee-houses always full of coffee-drinkers and tobacco-smokers. To these men a clergyman usually delivered lectures on history, poetry, and law. The upper galleries were mostly occupied by shops. Round the square, water flowed in a canal lined with a row of plane trees. In the evenings, the square was cleared so that it could be used for polo or for some form of pageantry. It was then lit with as many as 50,000 lamps.

A pair of marble polo goalposts at either end of the square and a all mast were the only permanent structures in its central part. The goalposts (though somewhat educed) have survived. Their capping resembles the headgear fashionable during the Safavid rule. The courtiers were always willing to practice active sports. Shah Abbas I himself was an excellent polo player. Whenever he hit the ball, the trumpets in the Drum House sounded a fanfare. When the shah was not playing himself, he usually watched the game from the balcony of Ali Qapu. Sadly, in Iran that was once a motherland of the sport, polo is now totally neglected. The mast in the middle of the square served for archery practice. At a later date it was replaced by an execution pole. Another event which began and ended in the square was the cross country race held periodically for those who wanted to qualify as shatirs, or – Royal runners.

Although magnificent at any time, Naqsh-e Jahan Square is particularly awesome in the evening when the buildings and fountains are illuminated.

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