Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Imam Khomeini (Sultani) Mosque
( dawn-dusk)
Most impressive is this mosque founded under Fath Ali Shah in the
1820s. Two of its four
iwans
(barrel-vaulted halls opening onto courtyards) offer perfectly
measured use of restrained coloured brickwork. There's no such restraint in the dazzling
blue tiling of the contemporary
Imamzadeh Yahya
. The extraordinarily high, if austere,
west
iwan
of the
Masjed-e Jameh
(Jameh Mosque) dates from a 1424 rebuild, but the
mosque's most lovable feature is the gorgeous 21m brick minaret (11th century?). Leaning
and kinked, it still dominates the town and is floodlit at night in incongruous electric
green.
MOSQUE
Hazrat Museum
(admission US$1; 8am-noon & 3.30-6pm Sat-Thu)
Inside the bathhouse is this mu-
seum displaying 3000-year-old pottery from the nearby archaeological site of Hissar, plus
some pretty photos of Semnan Province.
Around the bazaar area, the construction of makeshift car parks and somewhat brutal
redevelopment has bulldozed heartbreaking holes into the fabric of the old city. Only a
small percentage of mud-built
traditional homes
remain, mostly in back alleyways.
Several of these have crumbling Yazd-style windtowers (Taleqani 1st and 13th Alleys,
Hafez 31st Alley, Ghafari 30th Alley, Abuzar Sq).
Near Abuzar Sq, Ghafari 9th Alley leads down to the lumpy ruins of the city's ancient
mud
fortress
.
MUSEUM
OTHER SIGHTS
Spiked with blue-tiled baby minarets,
Darvaza-e Arg
(Arg Sq, Taleqani St)
is Semnan's
dinky but iconic Qajar-era city gate. Around 500m northeast there's an old
cistern
(Qods
Blvd)
beside what appears to be a fortress
tower
, but was actually a decorative element
from a demolished cotton factory.
Activities
Some 5km east of Semnan, the
Shabdiz Tourist Complex
( 335 3123; Damghan Hwy)
is a 20-horse equestrian centre where tourists can rent horses and guides for trips into the
nearby desert and mountains (around US$100 per day; call ahead). A futuristic, eco-
friendly five-star hotel plus restaurant, skating rink and sports complex are planned. The
knowledgeable, intelligent owner,
Madjid Dadvar
( 0912 231 1077; dadvar
madjid@yahoo.it)
, speaks decent English and better Italian.
