Amir Chakhmaq Complex: Well-Known Structure in Yazd Mir Chakhmaq Complex Claustrophobia, While It Provides a Is a Well-Known Structure Panoramic View of Yazd
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Tomorrow is ours Today’s Weather Call to prayer time in Isfahan Isfahan Tehran Morning call to prayer : ° ° 04:35:40 20 c 32 c Noon call to prayer : 12:59:42 Yazd Evening call to prayer: 21 ° c 34 ° c 20:11:01 Qibla Direction Arak 15 ° c 31 ° c 15 ° c 31 ° c NasPro-environment e NewspaperFarda Thursday|11 may 2017 |No.5395 naslfarda naslefardanews 30007232 WWW.NASLEFARDA.NET Page:23 Wonders of Iran Iranian ice houses Amir Chakhmaq Complex: Well-Known Structure In Yazd mir Chakhmaq Complex claustrophobia, while it provides a is a well-known structure panoramic view of Yazd. Ain Yazd, central Iran. The The public bath, in the front of the complex is noted for its symmetrical building, is around 600 years old. efore the invention of sunken alcoves. It is a mosque Arcades have been added recently the refrigerator, which located on a square by the same on its flanks to provide safety from is a relatively modern name. The complex also houses traffic. Only the first floor above the B a caravanserai, a tekieh (a place ground level is accessible. There is invention, ice was a precious commodity that couldn’t where religious mourning rituals a shopping mall in the basement of be easily obtained or made, are held), a public bath, a cold water the structure. especially in summer. well, and a confectionery. The complex includes the three- To preserve meat and other At night, the building is lit up storey tekieh which used to food items, huge blocks of ice after twilight hours after sunset commemorate the martyrdom of had to be imported all the way with orange lighting in the arched Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third from Scandinavian countries alcoves making it a spectacular Shia Imam. in the Arctic Circle or from sight. There is a nakhl [which symbolizes mountaintops carefully During the 1980-88 Iraqi-imposed the coffin (casket) of Imam Hussein insulated with straw. In the US, war against Iran, and Iraq’s (PBUH). It is a scaffold shaped the UK and other countries in confrontation with the United like a tree leaf] in the corner Europe, ice was brought in from States, as well as Afghanistan civil of tekieh, described as a strong, Norway. war, many Iraqis, and Afghanis, wooden object with very large metal The Russians collected ice along established temporary lodgings in of Ashura — the day in which Imam Amir Chakhmaq between 1418 Chakhmaq Square were Neva River while the Indians got Yazd’s Amir Chakhmaq Square. Hussein (PBUH), his family and and 1438 CE. The same year the implemented during the rule of their share from the Himalayas. The mosque was named after Amir supporters were martyred some 14 mosque was inaugurated, Haj the first Pahlavi king, Reza Shah. The ice was stored in specially- Jalaleddin Chakhmaq, a governor centuries ago. Qanbar Jahanshahi, who was the The northern part of the square, made buildings called ice houses of Yazd during the Timurid rule Amir Chakhmaq History subsequent governor, constructed which linked the street to the bazaar, and they lasted throughout the (15th-16th century CE). Separate According to Vahid Vahdatzad, a bazaar and caravanserai at the was demolished. It seems the year, AmusingPlanet reported. lodging areas for Iraqis and Complex is a well- an architectural historian who has fringes of the square. caravanserai was torn down at the The most common designs Afghanis are near the mosque. The known structure worked extensively on the spatial Many parts of the complex fell into same time in order to develop the involved underground complex is situated opposite what in Yazd, central aspects of Amir Chakhmaq Square, disrepair until the 18th century square in a more orderly rectangular chambers, usually manmade, once was the Yazd Water Museum. the edifice was built in the 15th during the Safavid era, when shape. which were built close to natural Architecture Iran. The complex century CE by Jalaleddin Amir Bahador Khan Shams Yousef Nothing remained of the old sources of winter ice such as The prominent structure has a is noted for its Chakhmaq, the governor of Yazd Meibodi renovated some sections square then, except the tekieh. The freshwater lakes. three-storey elaborate façade during the Timurid era. and reconstructed the caravanserai municipality even tried to demolish During the winter, ice and snow of symmetrical sunken arched symmetrical This square was established on the in the same location. The complex the tekieh when one of the porticos would be taken into the ice house alcoves. It is the largest structure sunken alcoves. north side of an important mosque again encountered erosion until the collapsed, but the archeology and packed with insulation, such in Iran. There are two very tall called the Old Mosque and is late 19th century when the tekieh office resisted strongly. Instead, as straw or sawdust. It would minarets in the center. The spiral known today as Amir Chakhmaq was built by Abolqasem Rashti at they filled the two arcades on both remain frozen for many months, staircase in one of the two minarets fixtures and studs. It was venerated Mosque. According to Vahdatzad, the entrance of the bazaar. sides in 1963 to prevent further often until the following winter is said to give one a feeling of to commemorate the anniversary the mosque was also founded by Most of the changes in Amir disintegration. and could be used as a source of ice during the summer months. Must-see sites in Iran This could be used simply to cool drinks or allow ice-cream and Lafour Dam sorbet desserts to be prepared. Lafour (Alborz) dam is built on Lafour Lake in Savadkouh, Mazandaran province. The dam is located near a beautiful forest and a village, with the same name, which is home Ice houses were known in Iran as to kind and hospitable residents. Lafour village has wooden houses with ancient texture early as the 17th century BCE, and mostly elderly. and these were used as recently as 50 years ago. Many disused egg-shaped ice houses made from mud- bricks still exist in Iran. Iranian ice houses are gigantic in size compared to those found in the West, and they were unique because of the way the ice was obtained. Iran is largely a desert where freshwater is scarce and even in winter, when the temperature falls to freezing at night, the midday sun is hot. Huge quantities of ice would be needed to fill these vast, domed wells and these cannot be transported from far off places. The ingenious Iranians, instead, made their own ice. Behind each ice house are long shallow channels where water is poured during the winter nights. The channels were protected from heat during the day by shade walls. .