Qualla: Isfahan https://qualla.com/isfahan en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:31 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/tju9/isfahan-wk/related-sibling-1972-to-2009-abundance-percent.png Qualla: Isfahan https://qualla.com/isfahan Isfahan: Introduction https://qualla.com/isfahan/ Photo credit Franco Pecchio from Milano, Italy, CC BY 2.0. There is a Persian proverb: Isfahan nesf-e jahan ast -- Isfahan is half the world. It sounds like exaggeration until you stand in Naqsh-e Jahan Square at dusk, when the tilework of the Shah Mosque catches the last light and the surrounding arcades dissolve into shadow. Shah Abbas I chose this city as his capital in 1598 and then set about making it worthy of the title, commissioning the square, the mosques, the palaces, and the gardens that still define Isfahan's identity four centuries later.

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Image: Franco Pecchio from Milano, Italy | CC BY 2.0

]]> Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/j/u/9/isfahan-wk/tju9-isfahan-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Isfahan: The Square That Maps the World https://qualla.com/isfahan/ Photo credit CC BY-SA 3.0. Naqsh-e Jahan translates to 'Image of the World,' and the name is not casual. At 160 meters wide and 560 meters long, the square is one of the largest public plazas ever built. Shah Abbas I designed it between 1598 and 1629 as a stage for imperial life -- polo matches were played...

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Image: CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/j/u/9/isfahan-wk/tju9-isfahan-the-square-that-maps-the-world.mp3 0:06 2 full Isfahan: Bridges Over Dry Stone https://qualla.com/isfahan/ Photo credit wilford peloquin, CC BY 2.0. Isfahan sits at the edge of Iran's arid interior, 430 kilometers south of Tehran at the foothills of the Zagros Mountains. The Zayandeh River -- 'life-giving river' in Persian -- once flowed through the city's center, and the Safavids built magnificent bridges to span it. The Si-...

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Image: wilford peloquin | CC BY 2.0

]]> Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/j/u/9/isfahan-wk/tju9-isfahan-bridges-over-dry-stone.mp3 0:06 3 full Isfahan: Jolfa and the Armenian Thread https://qualla.com/isfahan/ Photo credit CC BY-SA 2.5. South of the Zayandeh River lies New Jolfa, an Armenian quarter with a story of its own. In 1606, Shah Abbas I relocated Armenian communities from the town of Julfa along the Aras River, settling them in Isfahan to benefit from their expertise in silk trading and international co...

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Image: CC BY-SA 2.5

]]> Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/j/u/9/isfahan-wk/tju9-isfahan-jolfa-and-the-armenian-thread.mp3 0:06 4 full Isfahan: A City of Craft and Detail https://qualla.com/isfahan/ Photo credit Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0. Isfahan's reputation rests on precision. Its carpets rank among the finest in the Persian tradition, with top-grade examples containing over 600 knots per square inch. Miniature painters work on camel bone, producing scenes so fine they require magnification to fully appreciate. ...

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Image: Own work | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/j/u/9/isfahan-wk/tju9-isfahan-a-city-of-craft-and-detail.mp3 0:06 5 full Isfahan: Half the World, Still https://qualla.com/isfahan/ Photo credit Eugène Damblans, Public domain. Isfahan was the imperial capital from 1598 until the Afghan siege of 1722 brought the Safavid dynasty to its end. The city never regained that political status, but the architecture survived. The mosques, the square, the bazaar, the bridges, the Armenian quarter -- they constitut...

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Image: Eugène Damblans | Public domain

]]> Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/j/u/9/isfahan-wk/tju9-isfahan-half-the-world-still.mp3 0:06 6 full