Chehel Sotoun

Listen first. Water moves slowly through the long rectangular pool in front of you. Somewhere in the plane trees, sparrows are arguing. Gravel crunches under the shoes of other visitors. Then look up and across the water, at the open pavilion with its tall wooden columns. On a still day, the columns appear twice, once standing and once upside down in the pool. That doubled image is the whole idea behind this place.

Welcome to Chehel Sotoun, in the heart of Isfahan. The name means Forty Columns in Persian. Count the columns on the front porch, though, and you will find twenty. The other twenty are the reflections in the water. There is a second layer to the name. In Persian, the number forty is often used to mean simply a great many. So the name works as a riddle, a boast, and a piece of poetry all at once.

This pavilion belongs to the Safavid era. The Safavids were the dynasty that ruled Iran from the early sixteenth century and made Isfahan their capital. The great builder of the city was Shah Abbas the First. But this palace reached its finished form under his great-grandson, Shah Abbas the Second, in the middle of the seventeenth century. An inscription links its completion to the year 1647.

Chehel Sotoun was never a home. It was a reception palace. Here the shah entertained foreign ambassadors, held feasts, and received important guests. Picture envoys arriving from the Ottoman Empire, from Mughal India, from Europe. They would walk along this pool, toward this open hall, and see the ruler framed by wood, mirrors, and water. Every part of the approach was designed to impress them before a single word was spoken.

Now look closely at the columns themselves. They are made of wood, most likely from plane trees, the same broad-leafed trees that shade the garden today. Each column is a single tall trunk, slender and fluted, rising to a painted wooden ceiling. Many visitors miss this. The porch, or talar, as Persians call it, has no walls on three sides. It was built so the breeze from the garden could move straight through it during the hot Isfahan summer.

Walk closer to the porch and look down near its centre. Here is a small stone basin with carved lions at its corners. Water once flowed from their mouths into the pool. Lions appear across Persian art as symbols of royal power. Here they are placed right where a guest would stand, at the threshold between the garden and the throne hall. Power, water, and welcome all meet in one spot.

Behind the columns is the entrance hall, and here comes a second surprise. The walls and niches are covered with mirror work, called aineh kari in Persian. Thousands of small pieces of mirrored glass are set into geometric patterns. When the sun reaches them, they scatter light in every direction. In the seventeenth century, with candles and lamps burning, the effect must have been like standing inside a jewel box.

History was not always gentle with this pavilion. In the early eighteenth century, during the reign of Shah Sultan Husayn, a fire caused serious damage. The palace was repaired, and much of what you see reflects that restoration and later conservation work. This is worth remembering as you look around. A building like this is never frozen in one moment. It carries the hands of many generations of craftsmen who kept it standing.

Now step inside the main hall, because this is the treasure of Chehel Sotoun. The upper walls hold large painted murals, and they show history as the Safavid court wanted it remembered. One shows the Battle of Chaldiran, fought in 1514 between Shah Ismail, the founder of the dynasty, and the Ottoman army. The Safavids lost that battle. Yet here it is painted with great pride, showing Shah Ismail fighting bravely.

Other scenes are quieter, and full of small details. One mural shows Shah Tahmasp welcoming Humayun, the Mughal emperor of India, who had fled to Iran after losing his throne. Another shows Shah Abbas the First hosting a ruler from Central Asia at a lavish feast. Look for the musicians, the dancers, the plates of fruit, the wine vessels. These paintings are diplomatic messages. They tell every visitor that Iran was a generous host and a powerful friend.

One mural in the hall comes from a later age. It shows the Battle of Karnal in 1739, when Nader Shah defeated the Mughal army in India. Nader Shah came after the Safavids had fallen, so this painting was added well after the palace was finished. Placed beside the older scenes, it shows how later rulers also used these walls. Each one wanted to join the story of Iranian kingship told in this room.

Around the larger murals, look for smaller panels of painting. Some show elegant young men and women in gardens, holding cups or flowers. A few figures wear European clothing. These are traces of the many foreign merchants and visitors who came to Safavid Isfahan. Today the building works as a museum, and display cases hold ceramics, manuscripts, and other objects from the period. Take your time with them, because the details are small.

When you step back outside, think of the garden as part of the building. Chehel Sotoun is one of the Persian gardens listed together by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. A classic Persian garden uses straight water channels, shaded paths, and careful order to suggest a vision of paradise. In fact, the English word paradise comes, through Greek, from an old Persian word for an enclosed garden.

Before you leave, find a bench or a quiet spot along the pool. Watch the columns in the water as a light wind moves the surface. The reflection breaks apart, then slowly comes back together. Listen again to the birds and the soft sound of the water. More than three centuries ago, ambassadors stood near here and looked at this same doubled image. As you walk out toward the streets of Isfahan, look back once more and count the columns.