1. Pick three structures in Isfahan from different time periods and describe them in a
complete paragraph. In addition to general details, be sure in this paragraph to explain
their architectural and societal functions (what purpose did they serve), how they fit
into their historical period, and what drew you to these particular buildings.
The Sheikh Lotfallah Mosque in Iran has a great deal of detail to it. It is a very fascinating
looking mosque. The roof has a very vivid color scheme to it and they have used what looks
to be many different colors to construct this. The roof is made out of a tile panels. It looks
like the roof is made out of a form of copper and then they have applied many different
colors to help with constructing the roof of this building. On the windows they are your
average window but the tops of them have a slight arch detail that sets them off from most
windows that we see today. This mosque was built in 1602 to replace an older one that had
been used. This one was used as a royal mosque until it was replaced with a new one.
The style that was used to create this mosque was very widespread used during the time
period. The thing that stands out most to me is how they constructed the roof out of the
many different tiles. It must have taken a great amount of time and labor to be able to create
something of this magnitude.
The place of Hasht Behesht was completed in 1669. They used a variety of methods to
create this building. They used murals and spectacular roof lines. It is a very domestic
looking building. They say that the name and architecture come from a much older palace.
This building has an octagon shape that has four eivans that are raised and it also has four
smaller sets of chambers. The center of the building has a very spectacular ceiling to it.
They have used tile on the exterior of the building and it has added a very natural look to the
building.
I really like how tall the front entry is to the building. To me this says a lot to a building. It
creates a more lively feeling and it adds a lot of detail to any home or commercial building.
I also like how all of the arch ways are the same. They used a more modern style in creating
these to go around the windows and the doors.
The Shahrestan Bridge was built in the 14th century. It stands to the East of Isfahan and it is
said to be one of the oldest structures in Iran. It connects the village of Shahrestan on the
North to the agriculture community on the southern side. The construction of the building
looks like it might have come from a Roman time period. They have used huge piers to
support the bulk of the weight of the bridge. It also has secondary water channels that are
built into the bridge and these will expand with the curvature of the main arches of the
bridge. This bridge was the scenes of the assassination of Al-Rashid Bellah in 1138.
The bridge is very massive. They have done an amazing job at created this to be able to
have the water pass through it like it is supposed to. You can see how the pillars have been
created and how the water is designed to move through the individual pillars.
The thing that attracts me to this is just the pure architecture design of the bridge. I think of
some of the more fascinating bridges that we have today that are in place to serve a purpose
from connecting two sides together. The things that must have gone into creating this
bridge. In their time they didn’t have all of the resources that we have today. They were
able to create such a bridge than can connect the areas together yet still be able to have the
water to pass through it and not crumble from the weight of the water hitting it.
2. Again in a complete paragraph write about how the architecture of Salt Lake City
compares to Isfahan. Include what is similar and what is different about the buildings of
the two cities. Are there structures in Salt Lake City that would provide insight into
American culture and tradition (not just Utah culture)? {That is: what would a foreigner
looking at our buildings on a website be able to understand about Americans from their
buildings. Think a bit more than usual about these questions. I want you to act like
archaeologists or anthropologists and try to think about what our buildings tell about
ourselves}[If you are outside of Utah, you may use another large U.S. city near your
location].
I think that a lot of the architecture is different. As I looked at the buildings and the structures in
Isfahan I noticed that many of the styles are much different than what they are here. The main
thing that I noticed is the style of the buildings. The buildings reminded me of the way I would
see things in a book. I really liked how they were done. I could imagine them being more of
castles than anything that you could ever live in. I liked how the windows were arched at the top
of many of the buildings. You do not see much of that with the buildings that we have here in
Utah.
Most of the buildings here in Utah would give the “outsiders” an idea of how we are as a culture.
I think that many of the buildings that we have here seem to me to be more of a “modern” style
and seem to be very plain from what they have in Isfahan. Our buildings seem to be much taller
than what they have their. We use more of a “box” style of building. They have more “castle”
shaped buildings.
I think if someone from another country who had never been or seen anything from the U.S.
would be able to really tell what kind of people we are from looking at our buildings. The
buildings that we have really represent us well.