Land of hidden treasures: Iran

Ai Watanabe  takes a historical and spiritual journey through one of our most ancient lands. 

For the modern reader, thoughts of Iran may conjure shadowy images of nuclear facilities, political figures, or even the stereotypical deserts often imagined to be the sole landscape of the Middle East. However, Iran is perhaps one of the world’s best-kept secrets, beholding a myriad of sacred sites, masterpieces of architecture, and unexpectedly diverse natural landscapes. Iran’s vast historical, artistic and spiritual legacy is arguably unparalleled in the world.

At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Iran lies at the heart of the ancient Silk Roads, traversed by merchants, explorers and teachers for hundreds of years. These travelers brought with them not only goods and stories of far away lands, but ideas, philosophies, and spiritual knowledge. In Iran Zoroastrian roots, Islamic philosophy, Sufi mysticism and Christian influences come together in a cultural landscape of refinement and sophistication. This high culture brings us some of the world’s most stunning monuments, literature and visual arts - from blue-domed mosques and the calligraphed poetry of great poets, to the sacred sites that attract pilgrims from all corners of the earth, even today travelers can have a taste of this ancient culture nestled into the backdrop of a developing, modern society.

Touching Down - Tehran and Shahr-e-Ray

Any modern travelers’ first experience in Iran will likely be Tehran, the capital and primary connection point for international air travel. The teeming, polluted and trafficky metropolis is not only the center of political affairs, but the hub of modern art, culture and music. Stepping out of the airport, one is met by the heavy cloud of smog that is omnipresent in the city, and automobile traffic unimaginably chaotic. Traveling in this traffic will likely become a religious experience, even for the non-religious; faith in a higher power is almost necessary to navigate the bedlam of Tehran traffic!

Though crowding, pollution and new development dominate modern Tehran, south of the city is the former Persian capital, Shahr-e-Ray, leveled in the 1300’s by the Mongol invasion. The central monument of the rebuilt Shahr-e-Ray is the tomb of Hazrat e Abdul Azeem, a descendant of Shi’a Islam’s second religious leader, Imam Hassan. The tomb is visited by pilgrims who come to pray and seek the blessings of the saint. The courtyard is often the site of religious gatherings of men, singing poetry in praise of the slain grandsons of Muhammad in a ritual remembrance of his martyrdom. Leaving Tehran, major travel routes are peppered by shrines and holy sites devoted to major spiritual leaders and religious figures.

Bastam

In the heart of the dry, dusty land of pistachio orchards along the road between Tehran and Mashshad is the village of Bastam. Bastam is famous as the site of the mausoleum of one of the great figures of mystical Islam, or Sufism, Bayazid e Bastami, who was a seminal teacher of Sufism in the 9th century. Bayazid was known for his spiritual teachings which emphasized the importance of divine love, or drunkenness on God. Through states of ecstasy, he taught, one can achieve union with God. Pilgrims come from across the country, and even internationally, to circumambulate the tomb, make prayers in the mosque and kiss the pillars surrounding it.

Nishapur

Further along the northern road are the expansive desert plains of the region of Khorassan and the city of Nishapur. This serene, quiet city was the home of some of the most well-known Persian poets and mystics, including Omar Khayyam and Fariddudin Attar. Their mausoleums, beautifully landscaped and exploding with color, are perfect spots for enjoying a quiet moment or taking refuge from the afternoon heat.

Fariddudin Attar was a Sufi teacher and poet who lived and taught in the 13th century. His deeply allegorical works relate the stories and wisdom of great saints, describing the perils and challenges of the spiritual journey to divine presence and the travels from stage to stage. Attar encountered the founder of the Mevlevi Sufi brotherhood, Jalaluddin Rumi as he fled from Mongol attacks, and was a major inspiration to the young mystic.

Omar Khayyam was a 11-12th century poet and philosopher who authored of hundreds of quatrains that were also popular in translation in Europe and America in the early 1900’s. Khayyam’s verses address issues of mankind’s relationship with God, and contemplate both worldly and divine pleasures. Additionally, he was a respected astronomer, scholar and scientist. At the museum beside his mausoleum, are the star gazing maps he developed from his observatory – indeed Nishapur, with its clear, desert night skies is an ideal location for star gazing.

Mashshad

As the resting place of the Shi’a religious leader, Imam Ali Reza, Mashshad is one of the holiest cities in Iran. The site draws visitors from around the world, and twenty-four hours a day the complex is crowded with pilgrims who come to pray, touch the tomb and practice remembrance of God. Pilgrims believe that prayer made at this site has a special connection with the Imam, and thus a special connection with God, and stories of miraculous healings and granting of wishes are common.

A skyline defined by the impressive gold domes of the mausoleum and mosque complex rises above the main street in town. Shops selling prayer beads, recordings of religious music and lectures, prayer rugs, traditional perfumes, and posters line the street. The area is known for its saffron and rock sugar, and you can find high quality products in the local shops and bazaars.

Esfahan

The slogan of Esfahan is ‘Esfahan is Half of the World’, referring to the city’s numerous monuments, gardens and artisanal workshops that are said to be comparable to a full half of the world’s cultural marvels. And truly Esfahan is home to some of the most impressive monuments of the Islamic world, stunning gardens, and unique handicrafts.

The center of the historical city is the Emam Square, where one can find the major historical monuments of the 15th century Safavid period - the Emam’s mosque, the mosque of Shaykh Lotfullah, the shah’s palace Ali Qapu, and one of the city’s major bazaars. These mosques are seminal examples of Persian and Islamic architecture; turquoise mosaic-ed minarets and domes punctuate the skyline, and labyrinthian floral, geometric and knot patterns decorate the buildings with dizzying intricacy. Inside the complexes are courtyards, open domes and prayer rooms. The mosques were designed by a religious scholar and masterful architect who placed pillars specifically to show prayer times by the fall of the sun’s shadow, and designed domes which will echo seven times perfectly from particular tiles for the call to prayer.

Esfahan is also home to a small community of Armenian Christians, and just across the Zayende River from the main square is Jolfa, the neighborhood that is the historical center of the local Christian community. Here the Vank Cathedral boasts recently renovated frescoes of Christian mythology, and a small but informative museum of Christian history in Iran. The tombs of several Armenian saints are located in the courtyard of the church grounds.

Yazd

In the middle of the Dasht-e-Lut desert, Yazd is an unexpected oasis amidst expanses of dust and brush. A city constructed of mudbrick, Yazd was an ancient center of the Zoroastrian religious community, and remains one of the few active communities in Iran. Zoroastrians are free to practice their religion under Islamic law, and Yazd is home to several major Zoroastrian temples, where fires, as sacred symbols, have been tended for centuries; one temple houses a flame said to be lit for the past seven hundred years.

Just outside the city are the ‘Towers of Silence’, two massive towers built into a hillside where Zoroastrian communities held funerary rites during which bodies of the deceased were placed on top of the towers to be consumed by vultures. According to Zoroastrian philosophy, because fire and earth are sacred it is the most appropriate for the bones of the deceased to be cleaned by birds and the elements. Though a decrease in local vulture population has now forced the Zoroastrian community to bury their dead, the towers create a striking silhouette against the starkness of the desert landscape.

Much More than Politics and Deserts

From the tombs of Islamic mystics, to Shi’a mosques and Zoroastrian temples, Iran holds a rich history of religious and spiritual diversity that is a treasure not only of Persian history, but of international cultural heritage. Exploring Iran’s ancient cities and monuments, from afar through photographs or afoot in travel, one can traverse centuries of history and discover a multiplicity of spiritual traditions. Much more than media and politics portray, Iran is a land full of hidden surprises, of unknown treasures and unparalleled cultural richness.

DETAILS

www.irpedia.com
www.tourismiran.ir/en/
www.salamiran.org

About the author: Ai Watanabe has studied Islamic and Near Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Tehran, Iran, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and at the Institute of Language and Literature in Doshanbe, Tajikistan. She has conducted research on Islam and Middle Eastern Languages for the past eight years.