Sheikh Baha'i House in Isphahan Continued.............

Originally the house belonged to the aunt, Sejnab Soltan Beygom, of Shah Abbas (the first king of the Safawiden dynasty 1502-1722). After her death in 1017 (ghamari) the Shah Abbas gave Sheik Baha’i the house as a present, under the condition that the religious Sheik prayed five times a day for the soul of his aunt.

The Sheikh lived here to his death in 1620 and the ownership went to the heirs.

In 1994 the Djalali family bought the house which was mostly ruinous. With the help of old craftsman masters like Usta Reza-Aazami (Mogharnass-works), Usta Rasam
(painting-works), Usta Ilia (tile-works) and others the house was completely restored with great effort in three years. Since then Mr. Djalali and his wife have lived in the house.

1999 UNESCO nominated the house for the category „most beautiful house in Asia“.

2005 the Djalali family was honored by the “Sasman-é Miras-é Farhangi” (cultural heritage administration) for their efforts.

The professional restoration of the Sheik Baha’i House became a showcase for other restorations of historical buildings in Isfahan and the whole Iran. With love, patience and idealism the Djalali family managed to maintain this historical heritage.

Archaeological results proof that the house’s basis originates from the era of the Seljukian. Parts of the house, the “Talar” (Schahneschin), were built in the first part
of the Quadjaren dynasty (1779-1925), the mirror room at the end of this period. Most of the accommodations were built in the Safawiden dynasty.

During the restoration furthermore a subsurface corridor was detected, which directly leads to the Sheik’s bath house(Hamam-é Scheich Baha’i). The heirs still can remember how they went to the bath through these corridors. In one cellar part one also found laboratory documents of the Sheik and one assumes that he held his scientifical experiments with methane gas, which he also used to heat the bath, there.

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The town, in existence since Achaemenian (559-330 BC) times, long suffered from inroads of the Turkmen tribes who occupied the plain north of the Siâh âb River and was subjected to incessant Qâjâr-Turkmen tribal conflicts in northen Iran.
This city was famous as Astarâbâd till late Qâjâr dynasty (1794-1925), and then it was called Gorgân.In the reign of Nâder Šâh (1688-1747), a wall was constructed around the city to protect it against the attacks of Turkman tribes. After Qâjâr dynasty and in the last decades it urbanized and developed rapidly. (Hassanzadeh, 2000)

The surrounding area, the ancient Hyrcania, was captured by the Arabs(716 A.D.) and conquered by the Mongols(13th cent.). Aqâ Mohamad Xân(1742-97), the founder of the Qâjâr dynasty, was born there, and the town flourished (c.1800) with the rise of the dynasty.

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History of Gorgan an ancient city continued.........
Gorgân Defense Wall

Gorgân's Defense Wall(155 km long and 6 to10 m wide) is one of the most outstanding and gigantic architectural monuments in "Dašte Gorgân & Gonbad" Steppes (Gorgân Plain) history.
This wall which is the largest defensive wall in the world after the Great Wall of China, starts from the Caspian coast, circles north of Gonbade Kâvous, continues towards northwest and vanishes behind Piškamar Mountains. See map .
A logistical archeological survey was conducted regarding the wall in 1999 due to problems in development projects specially during construction of the Golestân Dam, which irrigates all the areas covered by the wall.
At the point of the connection of the wall and the drainage canal from the dam, architects discovered the remains of the above wall.
At parts, this wall is 6 m wide and in other parts the width is 10 m, which proves that the thickness of the wall differs in various regions, according to the natural features and soil configuration.
Castles have been built at different distances. The longest distance between castles is 50 km and the shortest is 10 km.The 40 identified castles vary in dimension and shape but the majority are square fortresses.
Due to many difficulties in development and agricultural projects, archaeologists have been assigned to mark the boundary of the historical find by laying cement blocks.
The Gorgân Wall has been named Alexander Dam, Anuširvân Dam, Firuz Dam and Qazal Al'an in various historical texts.
Dr. Kiani who led the archeological team in 1971 believes that the wall was built during the Parthian Dynasty simultaneously with the construction of the Great Wall of China and it was restored during the Sassanid era (3-7th c. A.D.).

Kordkooy, near Gorgan

Horse Racing,Gonbade Kâvus, near Gorgan