Kenneth Browne

LEONE IBazaar route:Friday Mosque to the Maidan

The Bazaar route from the Friday Mosque to theMaidan. Plan showing the interlocking courtyardpattern of the city through which the route runs.(This is omitted for clarity in the plan whichfollows on p261).

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The image of a city, the picture carried in the mind's eye, hasimportance both for resident and visitor alike. For instance Paris mayconjure up Notre Dame rising majestically above the Seine, Venice amarvellous conjunction of sea and architecture, Bologna the dramaticlandmark of leaning towers reached through a majestic rhythm ofarcaded streets-and so on. Nearly always it is a memorablerelationship, the way things come together. For while a city maypossess many fine individual buildings, if there is no easily perceivedconnection between them or the links have been broken, the imagebecomes a jumble-a series of mental picture postcards.Isfahan itself is rich in such historic monuments which can be visitedby taxi and admired in isolation, many buried like jewels in a maze ofmud brick streets. But what makes a city really memorable is whenbuildings and spaces link together in a meaningful way-then you areno longer on the outside, a mere admirer, but become 'part of'-thespirits are lifted and your surroundings make sense-this is livingtissue rather than mummified remains.Instead of exclamation marks you have sentences, sentences containingexclamation, emphasis, punctuation, but all in the context of a wholerather than in isolation. To achieve such harmony should surely be theaim of town planning in the true sense, yet the bureaucratic substitutewe know as planning today is mainly concerned with a so-called'efficiency' which generally boils down to getting the traffic through atall costs while zoning human activities, with all their potential forvitality and variety, into stultifying but easily calculated chunks. Thishas little to do with the quality of experience, indeed usually actingagainst it.Following European example despite the great differences in context,much of Isfahan's beauty has already been tarnished by such methodsand it is imperative, if the unique qualities of the city are to survive,that more sensitive planning measures be adopted before it is too late.To understand what is at stake-the special quality of Isfahan-it isworthwhile first to examine its one supreme example of urbancontinuity-a demonstration of town design poetic in its humanity andlogical simplicity. This is the bazaar route from the great FridayMosque south to Shah Abbas I's great square, the Maidan, a distanceof over a mile. One of the great spatial sequences of the world, ithas to be experienced in movement and on foot. Beyond the charm ofits romantic Arabian Nights' overtones, it is a revelation to anydesigner, especially a European, and its exploration an adventure inspace at once striking in the simplicity of its concept and wonderfullyelaborate in its execution. To adequately describe it requires a book ora film and here we can only sample it in the sequential series ofimages on the following pages.The primary movement system of the bazaar* forms a central linearcirculation space, splendidly domed throughout its length, parallel towhich on both sides run the small and regular dependent spaces of theshops. Between them, at frequent intervals, arched entrances lead tothe larger spaces-caravanserais, colleges, bath houses, shrines,mosques and stores, all tightly connected to the central spine yet eacha separate, self-contained world. Each has its individual character-the 'hammams', or baths, enclosed, steamy, restful; the caravanseraiseach a busy square varying greatly in size and open to the sky andgenerally containing a central pool and trees with the merchants'accommodation ranged round the perimeter. The mosques, also withcourts open to the air, provide havens of tranquillity and contemplation,a step away from the noisy barter of the tunnel-like bazaar.Connected to the main bazaar route on both sides is the secondarymovement system of residential paths leading to tightly clusteredhouses between narrow streets flanked by high mud brick walls. Withno street architecture as such, the houses are all inward looking, privateworlds set around their own peaceful courtyards, interlocked andprotected from the heat and noise of the city outside.*The most extensive in the Middle East eg 'The Sense of Unity' by Nader Ardalan and LalehBakhtiar (University of Chicago Press, 1973) to which the author is indebted for informationon the bazaar.

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Plan reproduced from'The Sense of Unity' by Nader Ardalan and Laleh Bakhtiar. University of Chicago Press, 1973.

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* Originally there were nine entrances to themosque giving easy access from everydirection in keeping with its role as theheart of the city. The present restriction toone entrance is linked with a visitor'sadmission charge-a sad negation of thetraditional role.

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BAZAAR VAULTINGDaylighting of bazaar is provided by shafts of 7, looking north towards the Friday Mosque withsuilight through holes in the apex of the domes. the bazaar route (foreground) traced by the5 and 6 show the rich texture achieved in their continuous line of brick domes.brickwork construction.

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bazaar, 8, and on entering this cavernoiworld, a majestic rhythm of brickvaulting takes over and never lets gothroughout the whole route.*For the modern designer, the interest othe bazaar must lie particularly in itsuse of space and materials-nothing iswasted, everything has a purpose, yetthe structural system never dictates.Instead it produces an essentially humenvironment with a sculptural plasticiland unity far removed from thefractured environments which resultfrom modern town planning. To make aliterary comparison, the bazaar present

.^ fron -?,.y .^7 P a , _is the story line-the continuity-which is the merchandise displayed. Festoons of

enriched throughout its length by the scarves are strung across and skeins ofevents which occur along the way-some gorgeously coloured wools hang frombig and important, some small and great hooks, alongside piles of carpets

f delicate: all close knit to the main and bales of brilliantly dyed cloth-thread. regiments of brightly coloured shoesThis is a dark, cool world lit only by march up the shop walls, towers of bowls,shafts of sunlight from clerestory and cascades of oil lamps. It is a kaleidoscoperooflight, 5, 6. When seen from the roof, 7, of sights, sounds, smells with everywhere

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its structural system and variety isconcealed by an overall layer ofsun-dried mud and straw plaster. Onlya line of humps traces the twisting routeof the vaulted bazaar beneath.Inside, the tunnel effect is softened by

* The continuity of this route has beenruthlessly severed recently by the cutting ofAbdorrazzaq Avenue. Fast-movingtraffic now makes this a dangerous crossingpoint and there is a strong case for continuingthe bazaar under the road in a shop-linedunderpass.

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the aroma of spices, leather, bakingbread, grilling meat. There are piles ofscarlet pomegranates and shiny pinkcandy, magenta hookah pipes coiled likesnakes and down a side alley dyevats andlengths of fabric hung out to dry.The bazaar is an organism with alife of its own fed by supply routesextending far into the surroundingcountryside. The handcrafts of distantdesert villages, raw materials formanufacture in the bazaar-leather,cotton, wool, metal, skins-have forcenturies arrived here in endlessprocession from as far away as theCaspian and Persian Gulf-they came bycamel, donkey and mule train, followingservice roads built for their sole usebetween high blank walls of sun-driedbrick leading direct to the serais orwarehouses.Branching from the central spine of thebazaar is an astounding variety ofenclosed spaces, each a separate worldperfectly adapted to its purpose yet allclose bound to Moslem commercial

Plan of part of the Bazaar adjacentto the Maidan (see p261 for fullplan).

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·244j.. . .. . <~ .a 'and religious life. Mosques, madrassehs(religious schools), serais (warehouses),hammams (baths)-the bustle andbargain of the market offset by the peaceand unity of Islam.These spaces vary greatly in size but arenearly always planned around a centralcourtyard. A good example of a small

serai is the Qavah Kashi, 12, a ch armingsplit-level building used for trading incoffee beans. Wooden columns support anupper-storey arcade and balcony, with atiny courtyard below. At the otherextreme, large serais such as Mokhles andGolsham, 9, 10, are commercialcomplexes round a big central courtyardwith trees and a central pool. There areseveral entrances. Through one caravansreach the warehouse where goods areexamined, weighed, listed and stored.Through another the pack animals arefed and stabled, their food stored inhaylofts, their drivers lodged inadjacent rooms. By yet another,merchants reach the shopping andadministrative centre where goods canbe examined by the wholesalers,distributors and shopkeepers. Display

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and sales take place in timchahs or the students are trained to become space, the hasht. This in turn opens outshopping arcades, sometimes on two mullas or holy men. Despite some into a courtyard some 25 m by 30 m andfloors, with goods displayed below and variation these schools are similar in seeming larger after the restrictedstores and offices above. The members of plan to serais and mosques with four entrance. Around it are two-storeyone trade, say cobblers and iwans off a central courtyard. buildings with low arcading whichleatherworkers, tend to group together, A typical madrasseh is entered through provides shade from the noonday sun.served by the same serais. an arched portal which, after descending A central 'mirror' pool keeps the airThe bazaar route is also punctuated by a few steps past a massive studded wood pleasant and cool and trees are plantedfrequent mosques and madrassehs where door, leads to a dimly lit octagonal in the four quadrants

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CARAVANSERAIS13, entrance to Malik.14, Monajem.15, entrance to Sadiq Khan.i3, Lench (carpet 'serai' west of main bazaar).

I AZAARit, typical interior.18, view from Qaysariya gate showingmonumental scale near the Maidan.

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HAMMAM20, in lerior o Hunammnl Shah ( see plan on p272).

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Here flowers and plants, the free shapesof nature, contrast with the formalarchitecture of man, unlike the mosquecourts which are devoid of planting. Thesoftening effect is well shown in theJaddah Kuchik, 19, 22, in which floweringplants climb trailing cords to formcool leafy canopies beneath whichmullas and students can sit to teach andstudy. The students' rooms repeataround the courtyard, interrupted onlyby the deep recessed double-height iwansin the centre of each wall. Recessedentrances to each room are raised aconvenient sitting height above thecourtyard and provide a place for rest,contemplation and conversation.The private room behind has a vaultedceiling, white-painted walls with nichesand a tile floor of simple geometricdesign. Furniture is limited to cushions,a Koran stand, a narghlZe (water pipe) anda samovar. Usually connected withspecific mosques these buildings provideconvenien t sanctuary for daily prayer,

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members of guilds frequently prayingtogether and so reinforcing the sense ofcommunal identity.Mosques also are usually related to theguilds and shops are quite oftenincorporated in them showing the closelink existing between the religious andcommercial life of the city.The hammams or public baths consist ofa complex of hot rooms, steam rooms,and rooms with pools of hot and coldwater, the walls often hung with brightlycoloured towels from the bazaar. There isa private section for wealthy patronswhere in earlier years feasts were heldon a floor scattered with rose petals.Eventually near its southern end, the

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(plan p266), the Qaysariya. This sectionwas built by Shah Abbas the Great andits scale and spatial organisation reflectshis desire for grand architecture inkeeping with his new capital city. Overeach street crossing, or chahar su, rises adome of exceptional height often above acentral fountain pool. These occar atabout 40 m intervals and the differentcrafts, goldsmiths, coppersmiths,tanners and so on are grouped togethereach giving its name to a special sectionof bazaar defined by its own gateway.Finally the route passes under the lastlofty dome, 26, marking the entry to oneof the largest caravanserais* before theroute explodes into the vast space of thesquare, Maidan-e-Shah. A view of thesquare and the Shah Mosque at its farend is framed by the arched doorway, 27.This is the symbolic threshold betweendarkness and light, captivity andrelease, and the drama is emphasised bythe 'eye-of-a-needle' exit through whichyou pass.

The Royal Caravanserai, built to houseimportant guests of the Shah and linked to asuite of rooms above the bazaar gateway andoverlooking the great square.?.'I

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spreads gently into the main space of thesquare. In the catacomb world of thebazaar there was no hint of thistremendous civic space-the focal pointof the city-510 m long and 165 m wide,seven times the size of the Piazza SanMarco at Venice. Built 500 years ago byShah Abbas the Great as the meetingplace of ruler and subjects it wasdesigned as a place for ceremony andtournament, as a market and a polo field.The first sight of it is breathtaking, andit is so powerful a statement that itstays in the memory long after you leavethe city. After the sinuous world of thebazaar with all its variety of experiences,the severe order of this great civicgesture, which elsewhere could be toodictatorial, comes as a great relief. Themagic lies in the immediateconfrontation of the two worlds. Like avast barrack square, the Maidan isrectangular, its perimeter defined by acontinuous fiat-topped wall of buff brickin double arcades, with shops below andwhite plaster niches above. It is asplendidly restrained architecturalstatement, 29, impressive in its serialrhythms and simplicity, against which isplayed off an urban drama of minaretsand domes. A distant backcloth of jaggedred-brown hills rises above the level wall

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enclosure. Besides the Qaysariyagateway* to the bazaar through which wehave just come, there are three specialbuildings which claim attention, risingfrom the even, repetitive wall of the* Above it is a musicians' gallery where musicwas played at sunrise and sunset every day theShah was in residence-a Zoroastriantradition surviving the Arab Conquest.

square: one to each of its remainingsides. At the south end gleam the fourminarets and blue tiled dome of the greatShah Mosque, 44; to the west the royalpalace of Ali Qapu, 37, 39, and on the eastside facing it the smaller mosque ofSheikh Lotfullah, 38. Each confronts thesquare in a different manner with the

Shah Mosque as the dominant element inthe scene, its giant minaret-flankedportal inviting entry and answering thelesser bazaar gateway at the other end,like opposing goals (see p274).By contrast, the Lotfullah Mosque isreticent in its stance-no courtyard, nominarets-only a superbly shaped and

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decorated dome rising above the square'sarcading, with its richly tiledentrance and arabesques set back fromthe line of shops, 32. Walking past theshops you come upon this entrancequite unexpectedly-a sudden eyeful ofcolour. The domed central chamber isonly reached after a twice-crankedpassageway which, deliberately dark anddisorientating from the outside world,releases you suddenly and symbolicallybeneath the exquisite dome and itsvision of paradise. A fine instance ofsuspense in visual planning, this deviousapproach has the function, since thesquare is not so orientated, of bringingthe mosque into alignment with Mecca.Around the square runs a raisedpromenade lined with oriental planetrees, echoed originally by water

278

channels, with subsidiary bazaarscontinuing behind the sides of thesquare. Standing in it, you can feel theauthority with which this great squarefulfils the need for urban identity, forsomething to which you can belong.Opposite, on the south side, stands astrikingly different kind of structure,Ali Qapu, 37, 39, both ceremonial gatewayto the royal palace of the Safavid shahsand grandstand from which to viewactivities in the square below. It jutsforward with regal authority, unlike theentries to the other major buildingswhich are recessed, standing proudly asan active shape in space. Its solidcube-like base does not invite entry butregally restricts it and contrastsstrikingly with the hollow form of theroyal viewing platform-the talar-

above it. This great grandstand raised40ft above the general level of the squaregave an unobstructed view of the polo,archery and other events taking placebelow. A magic effect is produced bymaking the visitor climb through thesolid form of the great base, blindfoldedfrom any but minor views, twisting andturning, to arrive suddenly on theelevated viewing platform raised highabove the square, 33, his eyes no longercontained by its walls but free to rangeover the whole prospect of the city andthe mountains beyond. The experience isenhanced yet further by seeing thesethrough a forest of primitive woodencolumns which support the flat redceiling high above, slender tree trunkssoaring upwards and trapping spacebetween them.

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Finally at the far south end the ShahMosque welcomes with open arms, 41.The entry to this great building is aspatial tour-de-force. Flank walls ofglistening polychrome tiles provide thehorizontal transition, while the highportal arch with its flanking minaretsdefines the vertical. Always seen againstthe sun, only the doorway in the centreof the portal is illuminated. As you enterit you expect to confront the centralcourtyard-instead you are surprised tofind yourself behind and to one side of theworshippers, 42. This happens becausebringing the whole composition intoalignment with Mecca, as with theLotfullah Mosque, requires a 45-degree

swing in axis; and to accomplish this thedomed vestibule acts as a spatial pivot,interlocking the forecourt with thegreat interior courtyard beyond, 46. Thisdifficult manoeuvre is handled sobrilliantly (see plan below) that it in noway appears as a planning defect, butinstead adds spice to what mightotherwise be a rather obvious axialending to the square. It is an outstandingexample of a designer turning anawkward situation to advantage*.

* To be fair, this opinion was not shared by theFrench archaeologist, Marcel Dieulafoy whenhe and his wife Jane visited Isfahan in 1887. Tohim the change of alignment was an aesthetichowler.

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