kashan Archives - Iran News Daily

Bulgaria Keen to Cooperate With Kashan

mahla — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 04:35:03 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Bulgarian Ambassador to Tehran Nikolina Kuneva visited the historical city of Kashan and met with Dr. Hassan Bakhshandeh Amnieh, Mayor of Kashan Municipality.

During his two-day visit to Kashan and meeting with Mayor of Kashan, opportunities for cooperation in various fields, including culture, tourism, trade and exchange of experience, between the municipalities of the Bulgarian city of Kazanlak and Kashan were discussed. The two sides highlighted the similarities in some traditions of Bulgaria and Iran, as well as the existing potential for closer interaction between the two cities, being well-known symbols of rose cultivation.

Ambassador Kuneva also met with Mr. Ahmad Danai Nia, Representative of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Iran, and with Mr. Seyyed Ali Dianat, Vice-president of the Kashan Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.

During her visit, Ms. Kuneva had the opportunity to visit prominent historical sights of Kashan, namely “Tepe Sialk,” “Fin Garden” and “Borujerdi House”, which represent the rich cultural heritage of this city and the surrounding areas.

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Iranian National Observatory inaugurated

mahla — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 10:58:24 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The Iranian National Observatory (INO), which is said to kick off a big movement in the area of astronomy in the country, was inaugurated near the city of Kashan, central Isfahan province, on Monday.

The project places Iran among the ten countries in the world capable of manufacturing observatories, ISNA reported.

INO has been built on Gargash peak at an altitude of 3600m above sea level.

The main activities of the national observatory include designing, construction, monitoring, and operating the 3.4-meter INO340 telescope, its instruments, and infrastructures. The range of instruments initially planned for the telescope includes a wave-front sensor, auto-guider, imaging CCDs, and a high-resolution spectrograph.

The INO340 telescope is a Ritchey-Chrétien f/11 which provides unvignetted 20 arcmin field of view at the main Cassegrain focus. In addition, 3 bent focuses are also provided each with a field of view of 8 arcmins. The primary mirror is meniscus shaped and the secondary mirror is convex and together they form a well-corrected focus.

The main mirror (M1) is a single-segment fast f/1.5 mirror with a diameter of 3.4m, which makes IN340 one of the most compact telescopes of this size. M1 is a meniscus shape 18 cm thick made of a Zerudor ceramic with a 700mm central hole. The M1 is supported by 60 actuators that are actively or passively controlled to keep the mirror shape undistorted under its own gravity at different points.

INO is a national project and has been envisioned to become an international scientific platform for astronomy in the future. Therefore, educating the general public and especially the younger generation about the basics of astronomy is another important step ahead of the INO project.

An important focus of these activities is the residents close to the area around the INO site whose lifestyles can directly affect the workflow of the INO observatory. So far, about 1,400 students from 22 schools in towns and villages close to the Gargash site have been educated about the basics of astronomy and the effects of light pollution on the INO observatory. Furthermore, the project is using social media to engage the general public with the project.

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Kashan combined cycle power plant’s steam unit goes on stream

reporter 1222 — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 13:00:34 +0000

Steam unit of Kashan Combined Cycle Power Plant became operational this morning Jan. 13 in the presence of First Vice President Es’hagh Jahangiri.

In his visit to Kashan Combined Cycle Power Plant, Jahangiri visited various units of this giant project and was briefed on the construction operation trend and specifications of this project.

Construction operation of steam unit of the Kashan Combined Cycle Power Plant started in 2015, costing over 16,500 billion rials.

Kashan Combined Cycle Power Plant was equipped with two gas units with the total capacity of 324 megawatts. By commissioning steam unit of the power plant, its production capacity will hit 484 megawatts, showing a considerable growth.

With launching steam unit of the power plant, moreover increasing nominal production capacity of electricity, it will boost performance of electricity grid in the region and also increase power generation in the network significantly.

Considering the high capacities available in the city, it is expected that launch of this unit will generate more employment opportunities in the region.

Generally speaking, launch of steam unit to the power generation network will help reduce environmental pollution and also increase output and efficiency of the power plant.

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Qamsar: An Iranian Town Famous for Its Roses, Rosewater, Rose Perfume

reporter 1222 — Mon, 14 May 2018 11:00:24 +0000

TEHRAN – Qamsar is a town in central Iran located about 31 kilometers south of Kashan. Qamsar, together with three other smaller towns of Niasar and Barzook in the Esfahan province, are the main producers of rosewater in Iran for well over 800 years.

Every year during the second half of May, festival of rose and rosewater is being held in Kashan. Many people from different parts of the country and abroad visit Kashan, the hub of Mohammadi Rose in Iran.

The season for picking rose and preparing rosewater is from early May to mid-June.

In early May, the scent of rose spreads over different areas of Kashan, such as Qamsar Joshqan Qali, Barzak and Niasar.

The ceremony for making rosewater in Kashan attracts many tourists. Every day, some thousands of visitors tour various cities of Kashan for this traditional ceremony.

The arrival of tourists in the districts of Kashan has a positive impact on the region’s economy.

Rosewater is made from a very sweet smelling kind of rose and is used in various traditional dishes and sweets. It is also used as a perfume among Muslims. Although some modern mechanized factories are constructed, but still a large part of this, let say industry, is done traditionally. And this traditional rosewater production which is established at homes or gardens attracts tourists to Kashan. Historical monuments and architecture of Kashan adds to the popularity of this festival too.

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Kashan named Iran’s 2018 Book Capital

reporter 1222 — Thu, 01 Mar 2018 08:50:22 +0000

TEHRAN – The central city of Kashan, famous for its rosewater, historical buildings, and carpets, was selected on Tuesday as Iran’s Book Capital for the Iranian calendar year of 1397 (March 20, 2018-2019).

Ten other cities including Mahabad, Sadra, Dezful, and Yazd were also nominated for the title, the organizers announced during a special ceremony at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall.

In addition, ten villages were crowned Book Loving Villages of the Year during the Festival of Book Loving Villages and Nomads held on the sidelines of the ceremony.

The festival is organized every year to promote reading among villagers and nomads.

Iran’s Book Capital is annually selected by a team of literati and scholars assigned by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

The southwestern city of Ahvaz for 2015, the northeastern city of Neyshabur for 2016 and the southern city of Bushehr for 2017 were Iran’s first, second and third book capitals.

“Kashan, with its rich cultural background, enjoys a special status in the Islamic civilization. The city was also competing with other cities in previous editions and was finally selected this year,” Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyyed Abbas Salehi said at the ceremony.

“The book is the heart of culture. Culture has no meaning in a place where no books are found. Book reading is the life of the culture. If no book is read, culture would not be formed and culture would not stay alive,” he added.

The traditional skills of carpet weaving in Kashan were registered on UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010, and the Fin Garden was also registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2011.

During the Seljuk period (1051–1220) Kashan became famous for its textiles, pottery, and tiles, reaching high levels of accomplishment in each of these cottage industries. Today it is more widely known as a major center for the production of rosewater.

Photo: Officials pose during the Festival of Book Loving Villages and Nomads at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on February 27, 2018. (IRNA/Musa Kurei)

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Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse: A Traditional 16th-Century Public Bathhouse in Iran

reporter 1222 — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 08:31:10 +0000

Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse, also known as the Qasemi Bathhouse, is a traditional Iranian public bathhouse in the central city of Kashan.

It was constructed in the 16th century, during the Safavid era; however, the bathhouse was damaged in 1778 as a result of an earthquake and was renovated during the Qajar era.

The bathhouse is named after Imamzadeh Sultan Amir Ahmad, whose mausoleum is nearby. Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse, with an area of around 1000 square meters, consists of two main parts, Sabrina (the dressing hall) and Garmkhaneh (the hot bathing hall).

Sarbineh is a large octagonal hall, which has an octagonal pool in the middle separated by 8 pillars from the outer section. There are four pillars in Garmkhaneh, which make smaller bathing rooms all around as well as the entrance section to Khazineh (final bathing room) in the middle.

The interior of the Bathhouse is decorated with turquoise and gold tilework, plasterwork, brickwork as well as artistic paintings. Most of the decorations of the Bathhouse’s interior are in the Sarbineh area. The area connecting Sarbineh and Garmkhaneh was intentionally designed with multiple turns to minimize the heat and humidity exchange between the two areas.

The roof of the bathhouse is made of multiple domes that contain convex glasses to provide sufficient lighting to the Bathhouse while concealing it from the outside.

In the past the Bathhouse has been used as a traditional teahouse; nevertheless, today it serves as an Anthropological Museum.

Source: Oruj Travel

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Meydan Mosque: One of the Most Important Historical Buildings in Kashan

reporter 1222 — Sat, 25 Nov 2017 17:45:29 +0000

TEHRAN – The Meydan Mosque, counting among the most famous of Kashan’s monuments, was built in 1461 during the reign of Jahan Shah Qara-Quyunlu. It was created to commemorate his return from hajj.

In its heyday, the mosque was an imposing structure with lofty eivans, an impressive domed sanctuary, a vast courtyard, prayer halls, and a howz-khaneh (a basement chamber) with a pool more than 3 m deep. Most of this splendid building was, however, destroyed and is still in decay despite repeated repairs. Currently, only the mosque’s impressive portal hints at its former grandeur.

In ancient times, the mosque Occupied a strategic position in the vicinity of one of the city gates, in front of the bazaar and historical Stone Square (Meydan-e Sang), from which the mosque gained Its name. This position was the main reason for the remarkable importance of the building as a place of religious and social gatherings. It is no surprise that it features a significant number of Farmans (royal orders), carved both in plaster and stone.

A remarkable chronology emerges from study of these inscriptions, which concern details of public instructions and social affairs from the 15th to the 18th centuries. These orders belong to the Qara-Quyunlu, Safavid, and Qajar rulers, and deal with a wide range of subjects including the sale of goods and foodstuff at reasonable prices, the welfare of farmers and the importance of their work, the eradication of heresy and cruelty, as well as the prohibition of illegal acts, gambling, and the sale of hemp-juice. Carved on the portal and corridor walls, these sixteen orders yield historical material outstanding importance.

Apart from its great historical value, the Meydan Mosque is also remarkable from the architectural point of view. It is here that the architectural trick aimed at realigning the mosque from its main orientation towards Mecca, perfected in the Royal Mosque of Esfahan, was first attempted. The mosque’s original structure is at least Seljuk in date. However, it was partially demolished by Mongols and rebuilt 250 years later by Khajeh Emad al-Din, who gave the building its second name of Emad Mosque.

The dome of the sanctuary is built of bricks and has the particular squat shape so typical of most pre-Safavid buildings. The dome’s drum rests on the side walls of the two prayer halls flanking the main sanctuary Dados of most wall surfaces are covered with violet and blue octagonal tiles. The sanctuary features a precious minbar. More than 4 m high with six lofty steps, the mil/bar is decorated with green tile mosaics. For a long time, the mosques main claim to fame was its luster mihrab. Dated 1226 and signed by Al-Hasan ibn Arab Shah, it was in place until well into the 20th century, at which time it was stolen and brought to Europe.

It is now kept in the Museum of Islamic Arts in Berlin. This mihrab is the most remarkable manifestation of the outstanding achievements of Kashan tile makers. Its design resolves into several levels, beginning with a teeming background of luster-Painted spiraling foliage, followed by interlacing arabesques in white relief, and finally blue arabesques and calligraphy. All parts of the mihrab were shaped and fired separately, and then neatly fitted together. The Meydan Mosque also had a minaret, but it was ruined in the earthquake of 1778 and never restored. The tomb of the mosque’s founder, Khajeh Emad al-Din, is located near the mosque in a modest mausoleum.

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Ameri House: A Historical House in Iran’s Kashan

reporter 1222 — Sat, 18 Nov 2017 05:40:46 +0000

TEHRAN – After 15 years of revival and restoration Ameri Mansion in Kashan, Iran, has been converted into a hotel, restaurant and cafeteria for tourists from Iran and all over the world.

The Ameri House also known as “Khan-e Ameriha” or house of the Ameri family is a historic house in Kashan, in Isfahan Province, in Iran.

It was built during the Zand era for Agha ‘Ameri, the governor of Kashan, who was responsible for maintaining the security of the route between Tehran and Kerman.

Covering an area of 9000 square meters, and housing seven courtyards, the Ameri house is one of several large spectacular old houses in the central district of Kashan. Like the other houses around it, it was rebuilt in the 19th century, after the city was ravaged by a series of massive earthquakes in the 18th century.

The mansion has got seven courtyards built for seven independent families covering an area of 9000 square meters. There are more than 80 rooms in it.

The unique and magnificent architecture of the Ameries structures such as fascinating decorations, porches, ponds, courts and gardens make them spectacular edifice.

The materials used in the buildings include bricks for construction of the main structure, mud and straw for insulation and facade, gypsum for decoration facade and interior, mirrors for making inner spaces (particularly ceilings) more beautiful, thick wooden doors for protection.

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