Sunday, November 15, 2009

Fin Garden


Fin Garden (باغ فین) located in Kashan, Iran, is a historical Persian garden. It contains Kashan's Fin Bath, where Amir Kabir, the Qajarid chancellor, was murdered by an assassin sent by King Nasereddin Shah in 1852. The settlements of the garden in its present form was built under the reign of Abbas I of Persia (1571-1629), as a traditional garden near the village of Fin, located a few miles southwest of Kashan. The garden has been developed further during the Safavid dynasty, until Abbas II of Persia (1633-1666). It was highly recognized during the reign of Fath Ali Shah Qajar and has been considerably expanded.  


The garden covers 2.3 hectares with a main yard with dimensions of 120m×140m Approximately 1.7 hectares in area has been allocated for the main yard. This main yard is the most important part of the garden and has been surrounded by four ramparts and towers which have been constructed in the joining points of the ramparts.  


In keeping with many of the Persian gardens of this era, the Fin Garden employs a great many water features. These were fed from Soleimaniyeh Spring on a hillside behind the garden, and the water pressure was such that a large number of circulating pools and fountains could be constructed without the need for mechanical pumps. The canals are lined with blue-green tiles, a color which contrasts wonderfully with the desert outside the garden walls.  


The garden contains numerous cypress trees and combines architectural features of the Safavid, Zandiyeh and Qajar periods. Unfortunately as of late, due to the harsh climate and lack of proper maintenance, many of the trees in the garden are growing at a slower pace and some even dying. The sad thing is that while the age of some of these trees is as much as 400 years and continued to grow naturally at a healthy pace during this time, it’s the more recent improper care that has caused much of the problems for these trees. Changing the soil and its accompanying pH or burying fertilizers 1 meter deep in spite of cypress trees only using the initial 40 centimeters depth of soil (and as a result damaging their roots) are some of such acts that have contributed to their demise.  


Both a small and a large bath are present while their ceilings are adorned with paintings and fine marble columns. The smaller bath has gained historical fame due to the assassination of Amir Kabir there.  


A museum has been erected in the western part of Fin Garden, which houses archaeological finds from Tappeh Sialk, Choqa Zanbil, Hassanlu, Khorvin, and Lorestan. On 2007, 8 September, Fin Garden was submitted to the Unesco's World Heritage List. 


 

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