| Abyane, a combination of art and traditions | | | | |
| The province of Isfahan, in central Iran has a | | | | Religious and public buildings |
| history stretching back thousands of years. There | | | | |
| are lots of world-famous historical sites in every | | | | The Friday Mosque, in the middle of the village, is |
| corner, attracting numerous Iranian and foreign | | | | impressive. The sanctuary has a wooden prayer |
| tourists year-round. | | | | niche around which there are eye-catching |
| Perhaps one of most famous is Abyane, a very | | | | patterns and carved decorations dating back to |
| beautiful ancient village near the town of Kashan. | | | | the Seljuq Period (1038-1194). Interestingly, the |
| It's registered with UNESCO as one of the four | | | | building has some features similar to architectural |
| most historic villages of Iran. (The others are | | | | elements seen at the palace of Persepolis |
| Masule, Kandovan and Meimand.) This article is a | | | | Another mosque, called Porzaleh, was built during |
| brief survey of Abyane's geographical location and | | | | the Illkhanid period, and is situated in the oldest |
| the culture and traditions of its people. | | | | part of the village. Its sanctuary is vast. The |
| Getting to the village involves a 50 kilometer drive | | | | decorations are very similar to those of the tomb |
| off the Kashan-Natanz road, through a few | | | | of Bayazid of Bastam, the great Persian mystic. |
| villages, then into the actual valley of Abyane. The | | | | The Hajatgah mosque, built next to a rock |
| setting is breathtaking, with the village on the | | | | outcrop, dates back to the early Safavid period, |
| north-western slope of Mt Karkas. | | | | according to an inscription on top of its door. |
| | | | | Inside there is a beautiful sanctuary hall with large |
| The first thing which strikes a visitor is the unique | | | | wooden pillars. In addition to the mosques, there |
| architecture. The houses are arranged like steps | | | | are some other places which are worth a visit |
| up the hillside, so the roofs of some houses are | | | | including the Zoroastrian fire-temple (from the |
| the front yards of the next one up. The roofs | | | | Sassanid period), three castles, a few pilgrimage |
| yards are built using traditional materials, timber, | | | | sites and a mill. |
| straw and clay. The walls, also red mud bricks, | | | | Farming |
| are impressive. Uniquely, these bricks get stronger | | | | As it is located in a valley with a narrow river, |
| when exposed to the rain. To make as much use | | | | Abyane does not have a lot of agricultural land. So |
| of the sun as possible, the houses face the east. | | | | the people tend to rear animals for a living. The |
| Most of the houses are uniform in appearance. | | | | hills and valleys surrounding the area are used as |
| The doors also feature beautiful patterns, poems | | | | pasture lands in all seasons. Due to the scarcity of |
| and, sometimes, the names of the owner and | | | | agricultural products the people are rather frugal. |
| mason are carved on the front. | | | | Traditional food and clothing |
| The weather is cold and the winters are long. The | | | | Gipa is a stew cooked with mutton. It's a local |
| trees surrounding the village frame the landscape, | | | | dish, served on special occasions and feasts. |
| especially during spring. On entering the village, in | | | | Other specialties of the region include Jovin, made |
| addition to the architecture, the colorful traditional | | | | with barley, Karvani, made with curd and fried |
| style of clothing, and the cheerful faces of the | | | | onions, and Ardine, made with local vegetables |
| people attracts everybody's attention. | | | | and yogurt. |