subject: Visit Madrassa Chahar Bagh in Isfahan on Your Trip to Iran [print this page] Visit Madrassa Chahar Bagh in Isfahan on Your Trip to Iran
Madrassa Chahar Bagh is one of the largest complexes you will see on your trip to Iran. Besides the madrassa, this complex also has a mosque, a bazaar and a caravansary. The architecture of the place reminds you of similar compounds like the Anatolian complexes, an example of which can be seen in that of Ibrahim Bey located at Qaraman.
This complex at Isfahan was built towards the end of the Safavid rule in ancient Iran. It was constructed on the Chahar Bagh Avenue which led to the Allahverdi bridge built across river Zayandeh. The buildings were made on the once-flowing Farshadi canal which irrigated the mulberry gardens of the Naqsh-i-Jahan palace.
The Madrassa
Shah Hussein I, the last emperor of the Safavid dynasty ordered the construction of Madrassa Chahar Bagh in 1704. The buildings were completed towards the end of the eighteenth century. You can see the influence of the Mudarris or the head religious scholar on the buildings. Mir Muhammad Baqir Kahtunabadi who was the Mudarris shared a special relationship with the king Shah Hussein I. This also reminds you of the bond between Shah Abbas of the Safavid dynasty and Sheikh Lotfallah, the great scholar.
The Bazaar
Madrassa Chahar Bagh is the main building in the complex which is located to the south with a central courtyard in it. It is said that the Farshadi canal flowed through it alongside which fir and cypress trees could be seen. To the north of the complex is the bazaar with about a 1000 shops in it. This market was built across a street which was covered by brick domes. This place was famous for coffee shops and oil pressers. The domes above filtered in the sunlight through the skylights which lit up the entire bazaar.
The Caravansary
On the east of Madrassa Chahar Bagh, you will find the caravansary which occupies a large space in the complex. It has rooms on two floors and is decorated with porticos at the corners. This place was very busy during the Safavid era with international trade in full swing here. The revenue generated by the inn and the stables along with the bazaar was used to maintain the students, scholars, buildings, madrassa and the ceremonies carried out in the mosque which you will find out in your trip to Iran.
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