The beautiful city of Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province, is one of the ancient and historical cities in the west of the country. Today this city hosts a large collection of valuable Iranian heritage. Also, due to the pleasant weather in the summer season, this Iranian Kurdish region is a tourist destination with its very beautiful nature and ancient buildings and monuments.
Experts believe that the city of Sanandaj belongs to the first half of the 11th century AH, during the reign of Shah Safi, at the initiative of Suleiman Khan, just when he came to rule Kurdistan. With this introduction let’s review some of the top attractions in Sanandaj:
Palangan village is one of the most spectacular villages and tourist attractions in Kurdistan province. Palangan, with its amazing stepped architecture and beautiful and pristine nature, has been registered in the country’s national heritage list. It has the nicknames of “Lost Paradise” and “Masuleh of Kurdistan “. Palangan village is a valuable example of stepped villages in Kamiyaran.
Lake Zarivar or Zaribar is the largest freshwater lake in the west of the country. And it is one of the most spectacular sights in Sanandaj. This lake is 4.5 kilometers long and about two kilometers wide. It covers an area of about 850 to 900 hectares. The average depth of this lake is three meters (two to five meters), which in terms of depth, width, and volume of water has very suitable conditions for recreation and water sports such as boating and water skiing.
In the center of Sanandaj city, there is a famous place known as the Asef Khan Vaziri Mansion. They built this old building during the Safavid period. However, some parts were added to it during periods such as the Qajar period and the first Pahlavi period.
This house has an area of more than 4500 square meters and consists of a semi-octagonal entrance hall, a ceremonial hall, a pillared porch, sash windows, a series of qanats, a private bathroom, and a central courtyard, a servant’s courtyard, a portico, etc. And you can notice beautiful and artistic Iranian architecture with eye-catching decorations on every corner. This building was recently changed into a museum and it is called Kurdish House.
Khosrow Abad Mansion is one of the famous places in Sanandaj. Yet the date of its construction is not clearly estimated. But some historical sources attribute the date of its construction to the reign of Khosrow Khan I Ardalan, which is parallel to the reign of Karim Khan Zand.
It seems that this building was the place for the seat of the governors of Ardalan. This beautiful and magnificent historical complex consists of two main parts such as the royal palace and the eastern building, bathroom, Qapchian room, and servant rooms. Among the features of architecture and decorations, we can mention the plastering, the sash windows, and the very beautiful cross-shaped pond in the yard.
Moshir Divan mansion is another old house in Sanandaj, which you can find on Shohada Street (former Farah). They built this mansion during the Qajar era for Mirza Yusuf Moshir Divan, the adviser, and successor of the ruler of the region. Iranian architecture is what you can obviously observe in the construction of this building.
Moreover, the governorate of Kurdistan was located there for several years. Moshir Divan Mansion has 7 courtyards, each of them has separate water pools with a different design and at the same time connected with each other. These yards include private, public, ceremonial, service, and health sectors.
They built the historic Qashlaq bridge on the Qashlaq river which is one of the sights of Sanandaj. This bridge dates back to the Safavid and Zandiya periods. They repaired the bridge and renovated it in the following years, especially during the Qajar period.
The bridge is a straight line and is about 78 meters long, 3 meters wide, and has six spans. In terms of strength and according to the constituent elements, Qeshlaq Bridge is considered one of the good examples of Safavid era bridge constructions. The height of the bridge at its highest point reaches about 6.4 meters from the bottom of the river.
One of the remaining buildings from the era of Zandiyeh rule in Sanandaj city is a mansion inherited from the Vakil family, known as the Vakil mansion. It seems that Haj Mohammad Rashid Bey Vakil, one of the Amirs of Zand built the main building of this mansion.
Despite the fact that it was repaired and renovated during different periods. And they added some parts such as several yards, bazaar, bath and other buildings to it. Among the features of this historical complex, we can mention the stone columns with rope decorations, elaborate carvings, and very beautiful and eye-catching brickwork.
One of the old buildings of Sanandaj city is the Grand Mosque of this city. According to the available documents, it seems they built it during the Qajar era, by the order of the governor of Kurdistan, Amanullah Khan. The mosque consists of two porches, a courtyard in the center, 12 rooms around the courtyard for students, a large nave with 24 columns, and the capitals decorated with many parts of the Holy Quran. Other notable decorations in this old mosque include the seven-color tiles on the walls and the marble stones.
Certainly, one of the most beautiful historical buildings remaining in Sanandaj city is the mansion known as Khan Hammam. This building is located in the old context and center of Sanandaj. According to Hamam’s inscription, it dates back to the reign of Amanullah Khan Ardalan, one of the governors of Kurdistan. This bathhouse, like other Iranian ones, consists of different parts and had both cold bath and hot bath.
Among other tourist attractions in Sanandaj, there is a cultural and historical place known as Sanandaj Museum. You can find this cultural complex in the outer part of one of Sanandaj’s historical buildings, Salar Saeed Mansion. In fact, this house is a valuable relic of the Qajar era, during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar.
Once, this mansion was a science center, a library, and a house of scouts, and then changed into a museum. There are sections such as pre-historic, Islamic era, and temporary exhibitions in this museum.
The old Bazaar of Sanandaj is one of the historical bazaars of this city. You can find it in the center of Sanandaj. This market dates back to 1667, during the Safavid era. Shah Safi ordered the construction of this bazaar and sent skilled craftsmen to the region to build this bazaar, as well as, a government castle, a bathhouse, a mosque, and a caravanserai. Unfortunately, due to the construction of Enghelab Street, this market has been divided into two parts. Today one part is the “Asef” part and the other part is the “Sanandji” part.
Habibi mansion is another historical monument in Sanandaj city, which is lying in the outer part of the mansion of Mullah Lotfollah Sheikh ol-Islam. This valuable heritage of ancient Iran, which includes examples of historical monuments of Kurdistan province and other regions of the country, is on display for people to visit. The history of the construction of this building dates back to the reign of Naser Al-ddin Shah, with the efforts of Sheikh al-Islam.
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