Most Amazing Iranian Feats of Architecture

The third day of the Iranian calendar month of Ordibehesht (April 23), has been designated as the national Architect’s Day. Throughout their history, Iranians have combined their art and creativity with architecture and through long years, they have built edifices which are currently considered as feats of architecture in the world. Iranian architects have designed such magnificent buildings that even now, after the lapse of hundreds of years, they are still amazing and beautiful and have not lost the luster that they had at the beginning of their construction. Experts believe that Iranian architecture dates back to seventh millennium before the birth of Christ. Painstaking calculations, choice of correct covering, meticulous observance of technical and scientific issues in construction, high arcades, tall columns, and finally different kinds of eye-catching decorations are all elements that have made the Iranian architecture more beautiful and magnificent. The Iranian architecture has seen various styles. Persian, pre-Persian, and Median as well as specific architectural styles aging back to Achaemenid, Seleucid, and Sassanid eras have been among prominent and diverse architectural methods and styles practiced in Iran before the advent of Islam. After conversion of Iranians to Islam, such new styles as Khorasani, Razi, Isfahani, and Azeri accounted for the lion’s share of Iranian architecture. This article reviews architectural characteristics of some of the most amazing Iranian buildings.

Persepolis

The architecture style in Persepolis is one of the most amazing feats in the field of design and construction of a building all across the world. At that time, building this monumental edifice was aimed to mean nothing but to reflect the glory and grandeur of the Persian Empire, especially the king himself. The abundance of suitable rocks at the location of Persepolis had provided good grounds for construction of palaces with columns, use of stone-cutting and painting for decorations, and also use of glazed bricks in some parts of the building. Despite lapse of long years and going through various historical events, the columns of this building are still upright. Also, in spite of what may seem at the first glance, these columns are not built in one piece and have been made of several pieces stacked one on top of the other. Molten lead has been poured on the junction of these pieces, which has made them resistant to all kinds of shock and jolt. Another prominent feature in the architecture of Persepolis includes the use of precious metals to adorn its designs in addition to spectacular painting and the number of stairs. Construction of this building started about 25 centuries ago under the rule of Darius the Great and was later completed by his successors. They say it took about 120 years before the Persepolis was finished through the art of Iranian architects and artisans and was introduced to the world as the symbol of the glory and magnificence of Achaemenid kings. One of the main points about architectural style used in Persepolis is that the ratio of the height of entrances to their width as well as the ratio of the height of columns to the distance between two columns is equal to the “golden ratio. ” The golden ratio is a very important ratio in geometry, which can be also found in nature. Using this ratio in building Persepolis has been among unique features of Iranian architecture many centuries ago. This magnificent building was set on fire during an assault by the Greek warrior, Alexander III of Macedon (aka, Alexander the Great) in 330 B.C., which also led to destruction of a huge portion of Achaemenid books, culture and arts. At any rate, the ruins of Persepolis are still among the most popular places which draw Iranians as well as foreign tourists to the southern city of Shiraz.

Taq-e Kasra (The Great Arch of Mada’in)

Taq-e Kasra or the Great Arch of Mada’in is the biggest adobe arch in the world and a feat of architecture dating back to the era of Sassanid rulers. This structure is said to be the most brilliant work of architecture belonging to that era. They also say that to build Taq-e Kasra, Sassanid kings summoned the most famous architects from various parts of the empire, who built it with three thousand workers. As put by historians, it took 20 years before the structure was finished. The most important part of the palace is its main entrance which is shaped as a high and wide arcade facing outward, with a rectangular hall right behind it. The great arch of this structure has been built over the walls without any columns. There are corridors, chambers and halls on both sides covered by a dome and cradle-like ceiling. The frontal part of the big crescent and a part of the main façade of the palace are still in place. The external view of the palace is made of bricks and its columns and battlements have been covered with copper plates decorated with gold and silver. During past centuries, the Great Arch of Mada’in has fallen out of Iran's geographical realm and its ruins are now located 37 km south of the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad close to the eastern shores of the Tigris.

Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque of Isfahan

Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque of Isfahan, which is located on the eastern side of Naqsh-e Jahan Square, is among the most famous mosques in the world in terms of architecture. This mosque was built between 1602 and 1619 on the order of Shah Abbas I of Safavid dynasty. Master Mohammad Reza Esfahani has been the chief architect of this monumental building. The mosque has been named after Sheikh Lotfollah Jabal Ameli, the renowned Muslim scholar of Safavid era, who traveled to Iran from Lebanon on the invitation of Shah Abbas I, and taught Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) and principles (Usul). The altar of the mosque is considered a unique masterpiece of architecture because of its delicate tile work and exquisite corbelling. Professor Arthur Upham Pope has written in his valuable book, A Survey of Persian Art, that this building can be hardly considered a work done by human hands. He added that there are no weaknesses in the construction, all sizes are totally proportionate, the plan is powerful and beautiful and the whole building is an amalgam of excitement and vivacity combined with a glorious silence and tranquility which represent extreme aesthetic flair and have come forth from no other source but religious faith and divine revelation.

Soltaniyeh Dome

By building Soltaniyeh Dome in the city of Zanjan, Iranian architects have recorded the construction of the tallest brick dome and the first double-wall dome of the world in their own name. The dome is 48.5 m high and 24.4 m wide at its mouth. At the time of construction, this building was considered a major hallmark of the Iranian and Islamic architecture. This dome is considered as a masterpiece of the Islamic architecture. Soltaniyeh Dome was constructed between 704 and 712 AH. In terms of volume, architecture style, relations among various spaces, ratios among various components, statics, resistance of the building, and decorations, Soltaniyeh Dome is considered one of a kind. The double-wall structure has made it very resistant to earthquakes. The amazing skylights of Soltaniyeh Dome bemuse every viewer. The skylights act as a sundial. If the light comes through the hole in the main dome, it is noon. The light coming through big windows shows the time of the day in hours while the light coming through small windows shows the time in minutes.

Chehelsotoun

The era of Safavid rulers was a prime time for prosperity of the Iranian art of architecture. Chehelsotoun building, Khajou Bridge, Tavous Khaneh (House of Peacocks) Garden, Shabakeh (Network) Garden, Ghoushkhaneh (House of Hawks) Garden, and Sa’adatabad Garden are among the most important buildings constructed at that time. Among all those monuments, Chehelsotoun building is of special importance due to its outstanding architecture and its enigmatic name. The early building was built under the rule of Shah Abbas I in the form of a kiosk. Under Shah Abbas II, the building was further developed and called Chehelsotoun. Mirror Hall, 18 Columns Hall, two big northern and southern rooms adjacent to Mirror Hall, two arcades on both sides of the king’s hall and a big pond in front of the hall are major components of this building. The architecture style used in this palace is considered a combination of the Chinese, Iranian and European arts of architecture. The columns of the edifice, which give the palace its name, are made of plane tree and pine wood. The building has, in fact, 20 columns which along with their reflection in the pond have caused the building to be known as Chehelsotoun (meaning Forty Columns in Persian).

Goharshad Mosque in Mashhad

Goharshad Mosque in Mashhad is one of the most beautiful mosques of Iran and the product of unique art of the country’s architects. The mosque consists of four arcades with seven arched spaces called Shabestan situated among them. The mosque is one of those buildings which demonstrate the main characteristics of Iran's pristine and traditional architecture. One of the unique features of this mosque is the combination of vivid colors used in its painting. Cobalt blue, turquoise, white, bright green, yellow, saffron yellow, azure, and glossy black along with their reflection across the building and in combination with various shades have given a special appearance to the mosque which adds to its beauty.

Eram Garden in Shiraz

Eram Garden in Shiraz is among the most beautiful works of Iranian architecture. It has been built according to architecture style of Qajar era and imitates architecture style that was vogue under Zand dynasty. The three-story building has been designed and built in such a way that the lowermost level is usually cool and suitable for a rest in summer days. Seven-color tiles have been used in front of the columns on the second and third floors. Painting, stone-cutting, tile work and plaster work used in this building are all among masterpieces of architecture and art of Qajar era. There is a big pool in front of the building which reflects its general view.

Source: Iranian Student's News Agency, ISNA

Joint editorial of Iranian newspapers in defense of freedom

Tehran (ISNA) – Iranian newspapers on Monday morning published a joint editorial titled “In Defense of Freedom”, calling upon all journalists all around the globe not to keep silent against blemishing principles of human freedom.

Here is the full text of Iranian newspapers’ joint editorial:

In Defense of Freedom 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…".

United States of America Declaration of Independence

4th of July, 1776

Just twelve scores and two years after Thomas Jefferson wrote this statement down at  the very beginning of the United States Declaration of Independence and then in the US Constitution as well, on 8th of May, 2018 and in front of the eyes of billions of peoples all around the world, President Donald Trump trampled over the US constitution and international law as well as the natural and inherent rights of human beings, namely "Equality, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness", in a devastating way.

Trump, arbitrarily and against the principle of international relations, withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, declaring that he would unilaterally impose comprehensive sanctions against Iran. It does not require an extensive knowledge of politics and law to understand that an international agreement signed by a government would still stay strong in case that government is replaced by a new one through elections. Simply put, changing governments is neither a necessary condition nor a sufficient one to violate an international agreement.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is an international agreement reached among Iran, the P5+1 and European Union upon which as long as Iran is complying with its obligations and not violating the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the other parties, P5+1 plus the EU are pledged to uphold their commitments under the agreement and not re-impose sanctions against this country. However, despite frequent verifications by IAEA and its formal reports indicating that Iran has never been non-compliant with the JCPOA, US unilaterally left the agreement without any grounds or explanation.

Informed and independent journalists around the world!

We, Iranian journalists, independent of the government and as an enlightening class that shares the same identity and concerns with other journalists all around the world ,in the 21st century when the civilization has come to a common understanding of human dignity in the concept of freedom, are witnessing that the US government, against the approach of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America and the other thinkers of the concepts of democracy and freedom, from Thomas Jefferson to Francis Fukuyama, has been making a threat against other people on the other side of the globe, restricting their freedom.

Whereas leaving JCPOA is a non-diplomatic immoral behavior, imposing tyrannical sanctions against a great nation will certainly be an antagonistic, discreditable measure. The US government claims that its sanctions are targeted on Iranian governance, not on Iranian people, while Iranian government believes that the sanction would come to no harm. However, we as the freethinker freestanding journalists with an attitude independent of any government believe that contrary to what governments claim, the US tyrannical sanctions have brought about destructive repercussions for the lives of millions of Iranian citizens who legitimately enjoy the right of life under optimal conditions. The US government obviously tells a lie when claiming that the sanctions are not imposed on the Iranian people). Indeed, the pressure and economic blockade against Iran have left harmful and in some cases, terrible impact on the life of Iranian people, not least the poor, entirely inconsistent with any reading of human rights. Difficulty in having access to medicine, drugs and medical equipments is an obvious proof for this claim that it is the people, children, women and men, who are actually targeted by blind sanctions, and so is when the price for goods are skyrocketed far beyond the purchasing power of ordinary people, and when the cost for health, education and even nutrition for the people are disproportionately increased, when many job opportunities are lost as the immediate effects of the sanctions on the industry and agriculture, all these subsequently provoke escalation of poverty among the households, and these households are just those who constitute Iranian people…

We believe that the human knowledge belongs to the whole human beings, not merely to a particular nation. Just as many nations all around the world that have enormously benefitted from thoughts of Iranian scientists and thinkers such as Avicenna, Khwarizmi, Omar Khayyam, Razi, Saadi and Rumi, the right of benefitting from human sciences and their fruits and output, including technology and industry, are preserved for Iranian people, like any other nation. No state should be allowed to deprive a great civilization-making nation, on delusive grounds, from this right.

Our informed free-thinker colleagues!

Mr. Trump has exceeded far beyond boycotting the Iranians, issuing a threat of punishment against any nation that would make any trade or deal with Iran. This is actually a practical sanction against the other countries, foreclosing the right of benefitting from trade and exchange for all nations that is in direct contradiction to the principles of International Human Rights Charter and the nature of freedom of human beings. More disastrously, when the Iranian people refer to International Court of Justice to reclaim for their right, the White House, instead of adopting the verdict, threatens the judges and court officials to sanctions…

American unilateral sanctions against Iran clearly conflict with enactments and resolutions of the UN Security Council. According to the UN charter verified and adopted by the members at the San Francisco Conference, the authorization of any coercive measure, including sanctions, is accredited to the Security Council in order to avoid unilateralism. On this basis, the article 39 of the UN charter determines that “The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security.” Thus, unilateral measures taken by any country are in contrary to the explicit provisions of this international charter.

Plus, based the “Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States”, the UN Resolution 2625 was adopted by the General Assembly in 1970 that puts emphasis on the principle of non-intervention, declaring that “No State may use or encourage the use of economic political or any other type of measures to coerce another State”.

Besides, the Resolution A/RES/46/210 adopted by the General Assembly in 1991 calls upon all the states to eliminate unilateral economic coercive measures with the purpose of exerting, directly or indirectly, coercion on the sovereign decisions. The second article of the resolution consider these economic coercive measures, as evidenced by trade restrictions, blockades, embargoes, freezing of assets and other economic sanctions incompatible with the Charter of the United Nations.

Again, the resolution A/RES/51/22 that was adopted under the title of “Eliminations of coercive economic measures as a means of political and economic compulsion” by the General Assembly in 1996, considers the unilateral sanctions as in contravention of the norms of international law, stating that the enactment of extraterritorial coercive economic laws is inconsistent with the inalienable right of every state to economic and social development and to choose the political, economic and social system which it deems most appropriate for the welfare of its people, in accordance with its national plans and policies.

The article 2 calls for the immediate repeal of unilateral extraterritorial laws, while the article 3 calls upon all states not to recognize unilateral extraterritorial coercive economic measures or legislative acts imposed by any state.

For the time being, defying and even disparaging resolutions of the General assembly and the Security Council, adopted by members of the United Nations, by a wayward person as the head of a member state is indeed a black mark in the history of civilized world and the United Nations as well. For the first time, the head of a member state of the UN asks other members to trample a Security Council resolution! (United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231concerning removing sanctions against Iran, adopted on July 20, 2015). Can this eccentric development be considered as a terrible sign heralding an endeavor to overthrow the highest institution in the world that works based on collective rationality and democratic values? Is the economic power and authority, by its very nature, sufficiently eligible to foreclose the authenticity of collective rationality, removing it from the processes of decision and policy-making in the international arena?

We, as independent journalists, call upon all our free-thinking peers all around the globe – not least the free-thinking journalists in the West – not to keep silent against blemishing principles of human freedom (that are the result of human beings sufferings throughout the history) with the utmost encourage and without being influenced by any government and speak out in defense of the truth, as John Locke who once stressed that “Life, liberty and property are fundamental values and not subject to the will or legislative authority”, and eventually not let the fruits of libertarian thoughts go with the wind so terrifyingly, works of thinkers from Thomas Jefferson, John Dewey and Walter Lippmann to Abraham Lincoln ,Mahatma Gandhi , Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, John Stuart Mill, Friedrich Hayek and Karl Popper and to Isaiah Berlin, Hannah Arendt, Francis Fukuyama and other activists and thinkers of freedom.

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