Kashan

For other places with the same name, see Kashan (disambiguation).
Kashan
کاشان
city

The Borujerdi ha House has become a famous landmark and sample of Persian traditional residential architecture.
Kashan

Location in Iran

Coordinates: 33°59′N 51°26′E / 33.983°N 51.433°E / 33.983; 51.433Coordinates: 33°59′N 51°26′E / 33.983°N 51.433°E / 33.983; 51.433
Country  Iran
Province Isfahan
County Kashan
Bakhsh Central
Population
 • city 450,557
 • Urban 435,527
 • Metro 432,557
Time zone IRST (UTC+3:30)
 • Summer (DST) IRDT (UTC+4:30)
Website Kashan.ir
Timcheh-e Amin o Dowleh, Kashan Bazaar (19th century). Persian architects used these structures to naturally decrease temperatures, regulate sunlight, and ventilate the interior spaces during the daytime.
Amin-o-Dowleh, Persian royal envoy to the court of Napoleon III.

Kashan (Persian: کاشان‎‎, also Romanized as Kāshān; also known as Kachan)[1] is a city in and the capital of Kashan County, in the province of Isfahan, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 248,789, in 67,464 families.[2]

The etymology of the city name comes from the Kasian, the original inhabitants of the city, whose remains are found at Tapeh Sialk dating back 9,000 years; later this was changed to "Kashian", hence the town name. Between the 12th and the 14th centuries Kashan was an important centre for the production of high quality pottery and tiles. In modern Persian, the word for a tile (kashi) comes from the name of the town.

Kashan is divided into two parts, mountainous and desert. In the west side, Kashan is cited in the neighbourhood of two of highest peaks of Karkas chain, Mount Gargash to the southwest of Kashan (the home of Iran national observatory, the largest astronomical telescope of Iran) and Mount Ardehaal in the west of Kashan, also known as "Damavand of Kashan" and the highest peak of Ardehaal mountains (end part of Karkas chain in central Iran).

In the east side of the city Kashan opens up to the central desert of Iran which the city is famous for. Kashan is also known for Maranjab Desert and Caravanserai located near the namak lake (or salt lake). Today Maranjab and the surrounding Shifting Sands is a popular destination at the weekends.

On July 18, 2012 Unesco declared The Historical–Cultural Axis of Fin, Sialk, Kashan located in the west side of the city a World Heritage Site.

History

Archeological discoveries in the Sialk Hillocks which lie 4 km west of Kashan reveal that this region was one of the primary centers of civilization in pre-historic ages. Hence Kashan dates back to the Elamite period of Iran. The Sialk ziggurat still stands today in the suburbs of Kashan after 7,000 years.

The artifacts uncovered at Sialk reside in the Louvre in Paris and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Iran's National Museum.

By some accounts, although not all, Kashan was the origin of the three wise men who followed the star that guided them to Bethlehem to witness the nativity of Jesus, as recounted in the Bible.[3] Whatever the historical validity of this story, the attribution of Kashan as their original home testifies to the city's prestige at the time the story was set down.

Abu-Lu'lu'ah/Pirouz Nahāvandi, the Persian soldier who was enslaved by the Islamic conquerors and eventually assassinated the caliph Umar al-Khattab in AH 23 (643/4 CE), reportedly fled to Kashan after the assassination. His tomb is one of Kashan's conspicuous landmarks (see gallery below).

Sultan Malik Shah I of the Seljuk dynasty ordered the building of a fortress in the middle of Kashan in the 11th century. The fortress walls, called Ghal'eh Jalali still stand today in central Kashan.

Kashan was also a leisure vacation spot for Safavi Kings. Bagh-e Fin (Fin Garden), specifically, is one of the most famous gardens of Iran. This beautiful garden with its pool and orchards was designed for Shah Abbas I as a classical Persian vision of paradise. The original Safavid buildings have been substantially replaced and rebuilt by the Qajar dynasty although the layout of trees and marble basins is close to the original. The garden itself however, was first founded 7000 years ago alongside the Cheshmeh-ye-Soleiman. The garden is also notorious as the site of the murder of Mirza Taghi Khan known as Amir Kabir, chancellor of Nasser-al-Din Shah, Iran's king in 1852.

The earthquake of 1778 leveled the city of Kashan and all the edifices of Shah Abbas Safavi, leaving 8000 casualties. But the city started afresh and has today become a focal tourist attraction via the numerous large houses from the 18th and 19th centuries, illustrating the finest examples of Qajari aesthetics.

Panorama of city
a view of kashan around 17th century from Jean Chardin.

Main sights

Bagh-e Fin.
Tabatabaeis House, early 1800s, Kashan. A fine example of traditional Persian architecture.
Aminoddole carvansarai.

Kashan's architectural sights include:

Today

Kashan Former Entrance

Although there are many sites in Kashan of potential interest to tourists, the city remains largely undeveloped in this sector, with fewer than a thousand foreign tourists per year. Notable towns around Kashan are Qamsar and Abyaneh, which attract tourists all year around. The nearby town of Niasar features a man-made cave and fireplace of historical interest.

Kashan is internationally famous for manufacturing carpets, silk and other textiles. Today, Kashan houses most of Iran's mechanized carpet-weaving factories, and has an active marble and copper mining industry.

Kashan and suburbs have a population of 400,000.

Education

University of Kashan Entrance

There are more than 10,000 students currently studying in various fields (eg.:Engineering, Art, Law, Medical sciences and etc.) at universities of kashan. Colleges and universities in Kashan include:

Accessibility

Kashan is connected via freeways to Isfahan and Natanz to the South, and Qom, which is an hour drive away to the north.

Kashan railway station is along the main north-south railways of Iran.

Kashan Airport reopened on 2 June 2016 after twenty years hiatus with an ATA Airlines flight from Mashhad International Airport. The airport aims to launch flights to Kish Island and Qehshm Island in Iran and Najaf in Iraq

Famous Kashanis

Sohrab Sepehri contemporary painter and poet

Sister cities

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kashan can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3069961" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
  2. ↑ "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006)". Islamic Republic of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 2011-11-11.
  3. ↑ Elgood, Cyril. A Medical History of Persia and the Eastern Caliphate: From the Earliest Times Until the Year A.D. 1932. Cambridge Library Collection - History of Medicine. Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN 1108015883 p. 34
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Kashan.
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