Iran – Visiting Ardabil

We were travelling from Tabriz in North West Iran to Bandar E Astari, on the Caspian Sea, a distance of approximately 398km, visiting Ardabil on the way.

The landscape between Tabriz and Ardabil is varied. Some very arid areas with bare brown hills all around, and occasional greener spots here and there.

Hay was being harvested around the villages we passed through, and every house was crowned with a huge hay stack. The courtyards of many of them were also filled with hay. Dotted along the roadside, crude shelters had been erected, from which people were selling their produce with all manner of produce laid out along the roadside. The further east we travelled the greener the landscape became, and more trees appeared. 

In some places we were driving very close to the border with Azerbaijan. Very tall lookout posts, all manned, each one within sight of the next were interspersed between a stretched a barbed wire fence, with very nasty looking razor wire strung along the top. They were so close that I could see the guards and their guns quite clearly. Photographing the guard posts and fence did not seem like a prudent thing to do.

Ardabil is home to the Shrine complex of Safi al-Din (1253 – 1334). He was a mystic and founder of the Safavid order of mystics, and considered to be the founder of the Safavid dynasty. On his death, he was buried in a tomb tower adjacent to his Khanqah, which became a place of pilgrimage.

The shrine complex was built between early 16th century and the late 18th century, and contains a collection of tombs, including that of Shah Ismail I (1487-1524). He became the first Shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1501 until his death. The graves of many of those killed in the wars of Shirvan – 1500, and Chaldoran -1514 are also contained in the complex.

The complex is said to be of the finest examples of Safavid architecture and art. The exterior is decorated with a combination of blue glazed brick and tiles and Kufic and Riqa calligraphy. On the tomb tower of Safi al-Din, the name of Allah is endlessly repeated. There are very fine mosaics, tiling, Safavid calligraphy, Sufi spiritual messages and beautiful Muqarnas. I was quite overwhelmed by the beauty.

Front: Tomb Tower – Safi al-Din. Rear Tomb Tower – Shah Ismail

Entrance

On entering the complex, visitors are greeted by a lovely garden. A pathway leads to the Shrine of Safi al-Din which is divided into seven steps, reflecting the seven stages of Sufi mysticism. There are eight gates separating the steps. These gates represent the eight attitudes of Sufism.

Courtyard

Courtyard

The tomb of Safi al-din is approached through the Ghandil Khaneh (the prayer hall), a beautiful hall with gold paint decoration, and magnificent Muqanas. The carved wooden coffin sits under a double shelled dome. The walls are wooden, with lacquer paintings and works of calligraphy as decoration.

Photo Credits Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International Licence

The tomb of Shah Ismail I is contained in a beautiful room, tiled in blue, with inscriptions and gilded murals. The coffin is a carved inlaid wooden case with geometrical patterns. There is a giant hand etched on the blue tiles. The hand shows the Twelver Shi’a sign of Panj-tan-e Al-e Aba (five close relatives of the Phrophet).

Right Photo Credit Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International Licence

The Chini Khaneh (China room) in the complex contains a collection of Chinese porcelain, donated by Shah Abbas I in 1608. The porcelain pieces were gifts by the Chinese Emperor to Shah Abbas. The initial collection comprised of around 1162 pieces, but after the 1828 invasion by Russia, the Russians took most of the collecton. By 1956 there remained only 805 pieces. The porcelain taken to Russia can be seen in the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.

Shah Abbas apparently ordered that one of the tomb chambers must be converted into a Chini Khaneh, and what a beautiful room it is. The lower walls are covered by colourful tiles up to two metres. Above the tiles, the upper walls contain niches, in the shape of the pieces of porcelain, although the porcelain is now displayed in glass showcases. The muqarnas are spectacular.

A carpet was commissioned for the Shrine in the late 1530’s, which by that time had become a place of pilgrimage. The carpet measures 10.51m x 5.31m, and is the world’s oldest dated carpet. It is able to be dated because of 4 line inscription on one edge, which reads: ” There is no refuge for me anywhere in the world except on your threshhold” then “The work of a slave of the portal Maqsud Kashani” and the date, 946 – Muslim calendar (equivalent to AD1539-1540.)”

The carpet has 25 million knots (340 per square inch) and apparently up to 18 weavers could work on it at any time. The dyes used to colour the carpet were natural and included pomegranate rind and indigo.

The carpet however is not in the Shrine. It was sold to a Manchester carpet firm, who sold it in March 1893 to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London for GBP2,000 in March 1893. William Morris, a British textile designer inspected the carpet for the museum prior to the purchase. He reported it as a”singular perfection – logically and consistently beautiful”. The carpet is displayed in the centre of the Jameel Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and in order to preserve its colours, it is only lit for ten minutes every half hour. I have viewed this carpet many times, and have darted back and forth every half hour in an attempt to properly examine the detail in the design.

The Ardabil carpet, Photo credit Peter Kelleher, V & A London.

If you would like to read more about the Adabil carpet go to http://vam.ac.uk/articles/the-ardabil-carpet

There is a reproduction of the Ardabil carpet in the Shrine complex.

I could have spent longer at the Shrine complex. There was so much more to explore (eg the Mosque, the school and library), however time did not allow for a longer visit.

After lunch at a Caravanserai (barley soup, a lamb and egg dish and black halva), it was time to drive over the mountains to Bandar-e-Astara. The mountains were misty, but when the mist cleared there were beautiful views of the forest.

We had afternoon tea at the top of the Heyran Pass – eating halva and watching the mist rolling in. The hills were invisible within a few minutes.

That evening, sitting beside the Caspian Sea, I celebrated a perfect day with a glass of non alcoholic Apple Beer.

Images of Safi al-Din. The first image is a miniature of Safi al-Din surrounded by disciples, from a 16th century manuscript of the Safrat as-safa. The second image is a sculpture which is in Safi al-Din Park in Ardabil.

If you have enjoyed this you may also wish to read my previous piece “Off the Beaten Track in Iran https://travelwithgma.wordpress.com/2017/01/22

Curonian Spit – Lithuania and Jurmala, Latvia

The Curonian Spit is a sand dune peninsular which separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. It has been a UNESCO listed site since 2000.

The spit is 98km long and between 0.4 – 4km wide. The northern part is the Lithuanian Curonian Spit National Park, and the southern part is the Russian Kurshskaya National Park, part of the Kaliningrad Oblast.

For me, the Curonian Spit was was a “must visit” destination on our driving trip through the Baltic States. Environmentally, I was impressed with the efforts made to maintain the sand dunes, which tend to move, change and even disappear. Dune stabilisation, protection and management is continual. Forests of pine trees have been planted and maintained. The Curonian Spit is also a place where migratory birds stop off on their travels, so a special place to observe bird life. The tree planting has assisted in conservation efforts, and there was an abundance of wildflowers about.

The car ferry from Klaipedia, on the mainland, took us and our car, on the short trip to Smiltyne on the Curonian Spit – though not without some angst at Klaipedia. We drove round and round and up and down to wharves from which the ferry did not depart. My navigator put in a less than satisfactory performance that day.

We were staying just north of Nida, the main town on the Curonian Spit, a short drive south of Smiltyne. The accommodation was less than memorable, but the sunset that night was splendid.

Just south of Nida, about 1.5km north of the Russian border is the highest drifting sand dune in Europe, the Parnidis Dune, a semi permanent coastal sand dune rising to around 52 metres. Having trudged up and slid down many sand dunes in many places over the years (NZ, Western Australia, Mingsha Dunes in Western China and in the Wadi Rum in Jordan, to name a few) I was very keen to see the Parnidis Dune. There was no question about sliding down this dune. Any such activity would, at the very least be considered as irresponsible human activity. There are designated places where people can walk up the dune, but none for sliding down. Nevertheless, visiting the Parnidis dune was an awesome experience, and really, sliding down 52 metres would have proved pretty challenging.

Parnidis Dune – Photo credit Wikimedia Creative Commons (creative commons.org/licences/by-sa/4.0/)7

We accessed various beaches along the Baltic sea coast on pathways through the pine forests. The contrast of the green in the forest to the white sand on the beaches and the dark stormy looking Baltic sea (each time we visited a beach) was quite marked. Apparently, particularly after storms, amber can be found on the beaches. Unfortunately, despite my best endeavours, I did not discover any amber. The wildflowers attracted numerous butterflies, and the walks through the pine forests were quite enchanting.

For centuries, fishing was the main occupation of those who lived on the Curonian Spit. Until the 19th century, most people made their living from fishing. A large number of traditional fishing villages have been buried by sand dunes but Nida, a resort town these days, was a traditional fishing village. The old wooden fishermen’s cottages, painted in red or blue, some decorated with wooden carvings now house museums or provide tourist accommodation. The Fishermen’s Museum occupy one of these buildings. I did not get to visit the museum, as it was not open at any time I was there. Viewing the traditional Curonian fishing boat outside the museum, I hoped it had been confined to fishing in the Curonian lagoon, and did not venture into the Baltic Sea.

I have always been fascinated by weather vanes, from the humble rooster to the very ornate, to the extent that I spend a lot of time photographing wind vanes. I have written about my fascination with weather vanes in the Baltic States and you can see many of the weather vanes I have photographed at Baltic States -Wind Vanes and other photographic themes from other places.

Apparently, unique to Lithuania, carved wooden weather vanes were attached to the main mast of fishing boats – on one version apparently not for the purpose of ascertaining wind direction, but to identify the fishing boat, and the area from which it came. Irrespective of their purpose, I loved the replica weather vanes on poles – replicating the main masts.

The German Jewish Nobel prize winning writer, Thomas Mann, and his family spent holidays in Nida, and he built a summer house there (1930-32). I had read a lot of his books, and had been intrigued by his relationship with Germany during and after World War II. I was very pleased to visit that summer house, which is now a museum and cultural centre. The house is on a hill above Nida, and has wonderful views. Mann built the house with the money from his Nobel Prize award in 1929.

The museum contains a permanent exhibition about his life, including photographs, books and documents. There was nothing in the museum that appeared to be authentic possessions of Thomas Mann. During the three summers the family spent in Nida, Thomas Mann wrote, among other things, some of his four part novel “Joseph and his Brothers.”

I am very interested in witches, folk stories and myths and legends, but for some reason (ineffective research) I did not discover the Hill of Witches near Juodkrante. It was once the site of a midsummer festival – Jonines – which combined a christian feast with pagan tradition. The site contains a large number of wooden carvings, most depicting characters from Lithuanian folk tales, including devils and witches. I would have loved it.

I try to console myself with the fact that “you can’t see everything”, but I could have seen the Hill of Witches. I did see some wood carvings in Nida, but no witches. Our last afternoon on the Curonian Spit was spent strolling around Nida.

Jurmala

We were heading for Riga in Latvia when we arrived back in Klaipeda. I wanted to visit Jurmala, a resort town on the Baltic Sea, which is about 20km from Riga, primarily to see the beautiful 19th and 20th century wooden houses. These include 23 architectural monuments – of both local and state importance.

I was not disappointed. These houses were a visual delight, and included many styles – art noveau, art deco, neo gothic, neo classic and neo baroque.

Jurmala was a fishing village until the 1830’s, when swimming became popular and the town became a resort town over the years.

We had lunch on Jonas Street, a 1km pedestrianised strip, with numerous cafes to choose from. I enjoyed a baltic herring salad.

The Curonian Spit was a very special place to visit, and the short diversion into Jurmala to view the beautiful wooden architecture was the highlight of the drive to Riga.