Everything about Dowlat Abad Garden
In the list of Iranian gardens that have reached the world record, we touch the garden of Dowlat Abad in Yazd, where the greenery of the trees is soaring, the sound of water and its beautiful passage take away tiredness and daily life. A spectacular garden that also contains an amazing example of a windbreak and has experienced hot and cold weather since the time of Afshari. We want to tell you about the history of Dowlat Abad Garden in Yazd and and experience a historical journey. Join this article of Chiyakotravel and get to know a masterpiece of Iranian architecture.
Why Dowlat Abad Garden?
- Dowlat Abad Garden is one of the 9 Iranian gardens whose name is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and has an international reputation.
- This garden has the tallest windmill in the world and is very valuable in terms of architecture.
- In the eye-catching atmosphere of this garden and its old building, there is a traditional cafe that can create happy moments for you.
- Beautiful and stunning nights await you in this garden.
- One of the most beautiful government and historical buildings of Yazd is located in this garden
Introduction to Dowlat Abad Garden in Yazd | Cool breeze in the middle of a desert city
In the middle of Yazd which is imbued with the warm embrace of the sun, there is a pleasant atmosphere that takes you away from the city and its worries for a moment. In Dowlat Abad Boulevard of this city, a simple entrance with a sign of Dowlat Abad Garden invites tourists. Upon arrival, you should pass a beautiful porch that caresses your soul with a display of Iranian architecture and welcomes you with pottery handicraft booths. When you step inside, you will see a tall windbreak at the end of the garden passage which has reached the middle of the blue sky and is tall.
Dowlat Abad Garden is one of the oldest gardens in Iran and has a global reputation and is more than 260 years old. In every corner of the 6.4-hectare garden, there is a sign of paradise that takes visitors to another world. Fruit trees such as grapes, cypresses and pines can be seen everywhere, and in spring the scent of Mohammadi and red flowers can be smelled.
Through the trees and along the water, we reach the famous building of Bagh, which has the tallest brick windmill in the world and revives a sense of pride in the unique art of Iranian architecture.
It does not all end with this superficial look, a little more to know about the features of the garden, you just realize how the builders have applied the rules of architecture to create such a lush garden in the middle of this desert city and create a unique masterpiece.
Good atmosphere of Dowlat Abad garden
Outside the garden, there is a large door through which you pass handicraft shops. It is hard to miss the beautiful world of Termeh and pottery, but seeing the small fountains of water in front of you, you are subconsciously drawn to the garden. Tall trees are charming everywhere and lanterns are hanging next to them; Lanterns that light up at night and give another look to the garden.
Create delicious moments
The sound of birds polishes the soul and plays a special music for the visitors with the sound of water. There are beds here that belong to the café complex. You can sit on these beds and enjoy traditional Yazdi foods such as Sholi Ash or taste the taste of Yazd candy, drinks and tea.
Watch the garden landscape
Seeing the garden building, you will be amazed by watching the masterpiece of Iranian architecture and the tall windbreak will make you admire. After walking around the building, you can go up the stairs to the terrace and there you will see a beautiful view of the garden. The large garden pool and its fountains are in front of you and you can see and enjoy to the end of the garden. After visiting the inside of the building, you can walk and go to the other side of the garden next to the fountains and see another building there; A building that you are not allowed to enter!
Night walk
As soon as the sun shines, the lanterns light up and completely change the mood of the garden. It is as if you went on a journey into the past and you can touch the garden space in those days. If you turn your head towards the windshield, you will see its attractive lighting that gives a new color to this masterpiece at any moment. Do not miss the nights of Dowlat Abad Garden.
Dowlatabad Garden Architecture
Dowlat Abad Garden design shows one of the most original garden designs in Iran. In terms of structure, Dowlat Abad Garden can be considered as a garden-yard type and it can be considered as Ghavam-e Narenjestan and Haft Tanan Garden in Shiraz, because the garden space is in the middle and the buildings and structures around it are shaped. In fact, this garden contained four main buildings, three of which can also be seen; But the rest of the buildings and even their grounds have been destroyed and only 40,000 square meters of the whole garden remains.
The surface of the garden consists of two rectangular sections, one of which has dimensions of 116 by 274 meters and the other 104 by 278 meters and are perpendicular to each other. These two rectangles form two different parts of the garden, in other words, its inner and outer parts, which we will introduce in the different parts of the garden.
Dowlat Abad Garden was considered as a residential-government garden in terms of function, and based on this, each of its sections had a specific use:
- Outdoor garden as a place for government ceremonies, sports ceremonies and city administration
- Indoor garden as a private and residential area
In this type of gardens, the inner part was made completely different from other parts and even a doorman guarded it.
Materials used in garden construction | mysterious choice of architects
Marble is the most significant material used in the construction of the garden. These stones have been brought here from the city of Maragheh, which is very controversial because Yazd marble has always had a special reputation in quality and has a special and general reputation, but no trace of it can be seen in Dowlat Abad Garden.
Different parts of Dowlat Abad Garden
Now it’s time to step into different parts of this garden and get acquainted with them:
Internal part
The larger rectangle is the part that is known to the public as the Dowlat Abad Garden, and in the whole complex, it plays the role of the inner garden, which in the past was used as a private garden and family residence. In this part, we are facing a passage or axis, which is actually the line of symmetry of the inner part, and various elements, including trees, are beautifully repeated on both sides. One end of this passage leads to the entrance mansion and the other end to the porch mansion. The garden fountain (pool) is built in the middle of this passage (corresponding to the main axis) and is 194 by 12 meters. With this clever placement and calculated dimensions, the fountain is located exactly in the middle of the interior space and divides the garden into two symmetrical rectangular plots (gardens) in this part. This plot is very regular and precise and the observance of architectural proportions can be seen well in it. If we look at this passage with a more specialized look, this axis is drawn in the northwest-southwest direction and relative to the western axis. – East has an angle of 30 degrees.
In fact, the garden buildings are located at the beginning and end of this main axis and trees have been planted on both sides of it. The reasons for this structure are:
- Focus on the main building and the windbreak
- Access to the garden landscape for the buildings at the beginning and end of the axis and their visual connection
- Make the garden look longer
National and World Register of Dowlat Abad Garden
The historical and architectural value of this garden caused its name to be included in the list of national monuments of Iran on March 14, 1967, with the number 774. The name of Dowlat Abad Garden was also mentioned worldwide. In 2011, it was included in the list of Iranian gardens inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the following criteria were considered for its registration:
- It is a masterpiece of human genius and creativity.
- Shows the exchange of human values over a period of time and in a cultural area that have been in the field of progress in architecture or technology, urban planning or landscape design.
- It is a unique or at least exceptional document that confirms the existence of a living or extinct cultural tradition or civilization.
- It is a prominent example in architecture or technology that represents an important stage in human history.
- It is directly related to one or more issues of great global importance in these areas: events, life traditions, thoughts and ideas, works of art, literary works.
How to visit Dowlat Abad Garden
To see Dowlat Abad Garden of Yazd you should go to Chahar Menar district and Shahid Rajaii Street, where you will find Ferdowsi Alley. In order to enter the garden you must pass a relatively large vault to reach the garden area like other old buildings. In the same vestibule, some of the attractions of this garden are visible for you and you can see some of the handicrafts and beautiful pottery that are being sold. Arriving in Dowlat Abad garden area, you will find a beautiful green space that may remind you a little bit of Fin garden in Kashan. If you come here to see this garden at night, you will find many lanterns used to illuminate the garden area which give the garden an attractive appearance. Here you will find a large garden that is 70,000 square meters in size, with many buildings, fountains and ponds, among which there are gardens of trees of grapes, apples, etc. Another attraction of this garden is the presence of colorful flowers in the garden area that creates a beautiful and charming atmosphere.
Dowlat Abad Garden history
Dowlat Abad garden is one of the oldest gardens in Yazd city. The unique and interesting point about it is the presence of a 33.8 meter long windmill on the mansion of the garden which is known as the tallest adobe in the world. This garden is in both National Heritage List and the UNESCO World Heritage List and is one of Iran’s most valuable attractions. The garden dates back to the late Afsharid period, when Mohammad Taghi Khan Bafqi, who was from the Khanin dynasty of Yazd, built this beautiful garden. He first thought of watering the trees and flowers in the garden before constructing the various parts of the garden, so he moved the water from Mehriz to Yazd’s location by drilling a 65-kilometer canal. This aqueduct is more than 200 years old and is made up of a combination of five aqueducts. The source of the aqueduct was Mehriz highlands water which irrigated parts of Mehriz land along its 65-km route and set up a few mills. It is no longer used for irrigating the garden nowadays, and they use a semi-deep adjacent well instead.
Dowlat Abad construction
To enter the main building, there is a wooden door in front of you where you will find attractive carvings as you enter the building with many rooms most of which have a dock in the middle. The door of one of these rooms is decorated with colored glass that opens to the courtyard and displays pictures of colors in the sunshine. In one of the rooms there is a high windscreen that you can visit. In general, the garden has two general sections, the inner and the outer, and it is considered to be a residential-governmental garden, meaning that the exterior garden was a state-run ceremony and the inner garden was actually a private residence. The inner part composed of sections of vestibule, the harem, the paradise, the patio, the watchtower, the private storeroom and stables, and is where the ruler and his family lived. One of the most important parts of the building is the octagonal building, where water and wind are combined in the most attractive way possible. Inside the building are a series of ponds filled with water that transfer cool air from beneath the windmill to the king and halls, which is why this building is called the Summer Mansion. The octagonal structure consists of three kings with lattice doors, a windshield, an octagon and two sliding chambers. At the vestibule you will see beautiful ceilings where tourists will see and admire the fine art and skill of the minute.
The exterior of Dowlat Abad garden consists of sections such as a frontier and porch, a mirror, a Tehran mansion, two markets and a public water storage. A brick wall encloses the garden around it. There is a watchtower with mission in the past to guard the garden and the surrounding area. One of the beauties of this garden is the symmetry used in its architecture. Due to these creative mirrors in which all designs are matched with a particular skill. Be sure to spend an hour traveling to Yazd to visit this Iranian garden and watch one of Iran’s architecture masterpieces.