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Published: August 19th 2007
Abbasi House, Kashan
Top of the dome, with subtle light flowing into the hall. Directly under the wind tower (traditional air-conditioner)I swear I'm currently not on any bloody hallucinagens as I write this, and nor did i take any while i was travelling in Iran. But really, visiting historic and religious sites definitely gave me a glimpse into the beautiful world of heavenly light. Here exists rooms that offer a reminder of the immaterial world for any visitor.
The Iranian perception of light is a completely unique one. I noticed that in all buildings, there was a very delicate understanding and capture of daylight that flowed into halls and porticoes. Divine light has the power to provide a sense of immortality, another new experience... an insight to the heavenly realm, following the underlying aspects of 12th-century Sufi mysticism and pre-Islamic Zoroastrian beliefs that helped shape Shiism as the national religion of Persia by the Safavid dynasty in the 16th century. Shiism in its Safavid beginnings seemed attractive to many local mysticism-attracted muslims, for it provided a philosophy of a personal journey to seek God and communicate with Him.
As you know, Islam separates into several branches, but the Sunni and Shia split is the most famous to the western world. As Iran is majority Shia, women never need to
Ali Qapu Palace, Esfahan
The Music room, where cutout patterns of vessels prepare to provide a new layer of sound to music performances. hide their faces with veils despite the headscarf rule, and are entitled to receiving proper schooling (60% of university students today are women here.)
Thus, architecture differs as much as cultural traditions, especially when the religious divide has existed for many centuries. Today, we can see vast rooms decorated with mirror mosaics, where no inch is spared of its mythical beauty (take that back, the lowest meter of the wall is usually marble for the reflections of women's asses when they sat on the floor to pray!). Mosques, palaces and private mansions frequently house such magnificent rooms that glitter and sparkle to the visitor's amusement via mosaics, chandeliers, heaven-depicting carpets.
Few centuries ago, a valuable Venetian mirror was accidentally dropped as soon as it was brought to the Iranian ruler. Although the crystal masterpiece was broken into pieces, the Safavid shah demanded it to be pasted together upon a wall in his palace so that its beauty would not be wasted. Here began the practice of mosaic tilework in numerous architectural structures in Iran.
Light takes a different approach through Iranian art, whether it be architecture, decorative stained glass windows or mosaics. For example, the Persians knew
Sheikh Lutfollah Mosque, Esfahan
Waiting for the perfect light to expose the secret 'Peacock' in the middle of the dome with its magnificent tail of light. of the relaxing effects of colours such as blue and orange - hence, they made an effort to decorate the stained glass windows of their winter palaces (where sunlight was abundant for warmth) in those specific colours. Furthermore, it was a known fact that insects were blinded by colored windows and stayed away from them...cheers to effective anti-bug ideas for the sake of sexy women in Harems throughout Persian history.
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