Central Iran - Iran - page 308

(Seyalk/Sialk Mound; off Amir Kabir Rd; admission US$0.50; 7.30am-sunset) One of
the oldest and richest archaeological sites in central Iran, the Tappeh-ye Seyalk has yiel-
ded a plethora of interesting pottery pieces, metal tools and domestic implements made
from stone, clay and bone (they date from as early as the 4th millennium BC). More signi-
ficant, perhaps, is the structure itself - what is emerging from the dust is clearly a ziggurat
(stepped pyramidal temple), and some Iranians are claiming that it predates those of the
Mesopotamians.
This is still a (seasonal) working dig and, while visitors are welcomed, there are few fa-
cilities. Most finds have been moved to museums, including the small museum at Bagh-e
Fin, the National Museum of Iran in Tehran ( Click here ) and the Louvre in Paris.
Seyalk is halfway between Kashan and Fin - that's 4.5km from either - on the north
side of the road.

Bagh-e Finنیف یخيرات غاب
(Fin Garden; Amir Kabir Rd; admission US$0.50; 9am-sunset) Designed for Shah
Abbas I, this lush garden is renowned as being the very epitome of the Persian garden; it
was recently added to the World Heritage Sites list (see the boxed text, Click here ) . In the
surrounding areas, water is scarce; inside the garden it flows with superabundance, chan-
nelled from a natural spring through a series of turquoise-coloured pools and fountains
and continuing on down the main road in jubs (canals, pronounced 'joobs'). The cedar
trees inside the garden are up to 500 years old, and the profusion of orange trees imparts a
wonderful fragrance when the trees are in blossom.
At the centre of the garden is the shah's delightful shotor gelou , a two-storey pool
house. At the rear is a recreational pavilion built in the Qajar period.
On one side of the garden is the hammamcomplex , famous as the place where Iranian
nationalist hero Amir Kabir was murdered. Mirza Taqi Khan, known as Amir Kabir,
served as prime minister under Nasir od-Din Shah from 1848 to 1851. He was a modern-
iser who instituted significant change, especially in the fields of education and administra-
tion. But his popularity was not appreciated in the royal court and the shah's mother even-
tually persuaded her son that he had to go. Amir Kabir was imprisoned in Fin Garden and
eventually murdered in the bathhouse, though some say he slashed his own wrists. Inside,
naff mannequins re-enact the drama.
On the opposite side of the garden is the modest Kashani National Museum (admis-
sion US$0.50) . Its exhibits include textiles, ceramics and calligraphy, but none are particu-
larly impressive.

GARDENS