One of the magnificent Safavid Palaces, Chehel Sotoon (literally 40 columns) is among the 300 monuments built in Isfahan when it was the capital of Iran. It was largely completed under Shah Abbas II (1642-1667), although work may have started on the palace as early as 1598 and is said to derive its name from the pillars which dominate the veranda.
According to persi.org website, there are twenty pillars laid out in three rows of six with two additional ones on either side of the main entrance. When the image of the pillars reflects in the water of the pool the number is made up to forty which is “chehel“ in Persian language.
The magnificent Talar or veranda is the dominant feature of the palace and the slender pillars, over 40 meters tall, which support it is cut from single plane-tree.
The roof is also made from plane-tree beams and inset with complex decoration. The surface of much of the throne room is still covered with mirrored glass and this probably also was used on the pillars, as it was in the palace of Ali Qapu, so as to give the appearance of a roof floating in the air.
Looking out over the pool from the Veranda, one is able to appreciate the importance attached historically by Persians to the concept of “Talar“ (hall) which fulfilled their love of sitting in the garden while they were protected from the light and heat.

Behind the veranda there is a small raised throne room which leads into a spacious audience chamber. This is richly decorated with paintings celebrating the heyday of the Safavid dynasty, including a particularly celebrated one of Shah Tahmasb receiving the Mogul Emperor Homayoun at a banquet. There are also some paintings of a more secular nature hunting scenes, although these have been badly defaced.
On the outside of the building there are some particularly interesting pictures of European figures, presumably based on the ambassadors and their entourage who would have stayed in the palace from time to time.

Watermills that exist in various forms in different parts of the world are used for grinding wheat and other grains for bread and other purposes.
Watermills are among Yazd province’s historical sites that were usually built near villages and aqueducts, Cultural Heritage News Agency reported.
A manually-operated watermill can be seen in Yazd’s ancient houses. This kind of watermill utilizes two stones with one on top of the other.
A handle is linked to the stone above another stone which is twisted by hand.
Each mill has several rooms where mill operators can rest and warehouses for storing wheat flours are also available.
Head of Yazd Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism has said that the oldest watermill in the province is Abi Ashkzar Watermill which dates back to Ilkhanid era.
Azizollah Seifi noted that the watermill is one of 10 registered watermills that have been enlisted as a national heritage.
“Each mill has different sections the most important of which is ’Tanoureh’ that is like an inverted cone so that the stored water in the cone pushes the mill-stone by hydropower,“ Azizollah Seifi added.
He further noted that the main area of the mill is beneath the earth and the section which is visible is the entrance to the mill and the openings in the roofs that were used to let light penetrate into the mill.

The art of calligraphy is one of the most famous arts of Iran. According to persi.org website, the glorious art of calligraphy and its numerous decorations have always been admired.
The importance of calligraphy in Iranian art is such that some arts seem to be imperfect without being decorated by calligraphy. Iranians more than any other nation have used various types of calligraphy to enrich and beautify earthen-ware, metallic vessels and historic buildings.
Most of the handwritten books of Iran, particularly the Holy Quran, and collections of poems such as Shahnameh, Hafez, Golestan, Boostan and Khayam have been recognized as precious artistic works because of their graceful and delicate calligraphy. These books have extraordinary value and importance for artists throughout the world.
The calligraphy works of virtuous calligraphers of Iran are preserved as precious artistic works in museums and private collections all around the world. The art of calligraphy in Iran has a long history. This history includes its evolution from ancient times till the Islamic period and from that period till the present time.
A tablet in Hieroglyph writing discovered in the north-western part of the Iranian plateau, belonging to the pre-historical period is a sign that the early inhabitants of Iran possessed inscriptive signs and methods. In archaeological searches of Silak and Marlik, dishes and cylindrical seals engraved with the very first Iranian writings have been discovered. M. Diacono, the Russian scholar of oriental studies has termed these documents as “holy writings which are believed to belong to the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC.“
In the 7th century BC, Medes for the first time in history invented a kind of alphabet consisting of 36 letters. The numerous tablets available in Bisotoun, Passargad and Persepolis display the symbols used by old Iranians for writing.
Handwritten manuscripts of Avesta the religious book of ancient Iranians, were written with gold on skin. Tablets with cuneiform, Avesta and Pahlavi, writings discovered in Iran, have been deciphered by the world’s linguistic experts and their contents are published.
These tablets are made of half-burnt clay, bricks, stones, skin and golden and silver sheets. Some of these tablets are considered as samples of the art of calligraphy in ancient Iran. After the advent of Islam, the present Iranian alphabet was created.
The Kufic writing was the very first inscription used for decorating earthenware and metallic dishes after Islam came to Iran. The most ancient sample of the flowered cuneiform writing exists in a tablet installed in the mosque of Nain and belongs to the end of the 3rd Islamic century. In this tablet, the beginning and the end of each letter is adorned with paintings resembling leaves from a date-tree.
In the Islamic period, Iranian artists put to work in various ways the Arabic alphabet to adorn mosques and holy constructions, wooden doors, earthenware and metallic vessels.
The art of calligraphy flourished even more when the Holy Quran, Shahnameh or book of kings by Iranian epic poet, Hakim Abolqasem Ferdowsi and other books were written and reached the highest degree of perfection during the next centuries. During the Safavid era, virtuous Iranian calligraphers invented diverse forms of the Persian writing.
Thousands of tablets, books and attractive handwritten pieces are available among the artistic works of calligraphy in Iran. These works show that Iranian artists are indeed superior in creating beauty through their writings.
After the flourishing period of the art of calligraphy, the valuable calligraphic books required special care and preservation. Therefore, the production of beautiful leather bindings for these magnificent books became a new art.
Iranians greatly succeeded in the art of binding books in various ways. The leather coverings of these books were enriched in the most gracious manner by geometrical and floral patterns and various landscapes.
The art of illumination has had a great role in decorating these leather covers. Some of the most valuable handwritten books of Iran, with leather bindings are being kept in the “Metropolitan“ museum, the “National Library of Paris“, the “Library of Munich“ and some private collections. The calligraphy in these books is mostly the work of greate masters.
Writing is considered a tool for comprehending the concept of calligraphy all over the world, but in Iran writing has made its way to be an admirable art.
Although art experts around the world are not much informed about the contents of the Persian handwriting, they tend to use Iranian calligraphy work to adorn their libraries and private collections. The expertise brought forth in Iranian calligraphy expresses the most gracious artistic notions.

A UNESCO official said the northern province of Qazvin enjoys the necessary infrastructure for becoming a global cultural and historical hub.
UNESCO Advisor for science in Asia and Middle East, Seyyed Hojjat Al-Haq Hosseini-Irani said the rich culture of people in Qazvin has prepared the grounds for declaring it a global cultural place, IRNA reported.
He made the comments in a meeting with Qazvin Governor General Ahmad Nasri.
Hosseini-Irani said the people of Qazvin have intertwined culture and civilization “and that’s why the city has been chosen by UNESCO as a top cultural city of the world“.
He added that many Iranian cultural personalities have come from Qazvin.
Also speaking in the meeting, Governor General Nasri said Qazvin would soon become a key cultural destination.
Nasri urged UNESCO’s support for promoting Iran’s culture and civilization across the world.