Esfahan is one of the oldest city in Iran. This 2,500 years old city served as Persia’s capital from 1598 to 1722. Imam Khomeini Square is a public square, one of the largest in the Middle East, located at the center of Esfahan city. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The square is surrounded by buildings from the Safavid era.
The map of Imam Khomeini Square and its surrounding buildings.
This square is home to a trio of Esfahan’s most popular sites, including the lavishly decorated Ali Qapu Palace, Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque and Shah Mosque.
Sheik Lotfollah Mosque is situated on the eastern side of this square.
Shah Mosque is situated on the south side of this square.
Ali Qapu Palace is on the west side of the square.
While the northern side opens into Esfahan Grand Bazaar.
The square is rectangular in shape and has changed little since it was built.
The only modern addition are the fountains, which were added by the Pahlavis, and the souvenir shops.
Strolling around the square after visiting the three famous buildings at the square.
The souvenir shops which occupies the space on either side of the arched arcades is a great place to shop for souvenirs.
I bought an unique Persian chess set at one of the souvenir shops.
They even sell souvenirs made from camel bone.
There are many shops too, a little further away from the square.
My tour guide led us to one of the carpet shops to shop for some Persian carpets.
Buying a Persian carpet to bring home is a good idea since the Persian carpet is famous worldwide.
This unique carpet actually looks different when you turn it.
This is how the same carpet looks like when my hubby holds it on the other end.
After some aggressive bargaining, I settled for a medium size Persian carpet here which costs USD600. Two thumbs up.
You can also buy small rugs if you don’t want to carry home big and heavy carpets.
If you want to purchase carpets in Iran, Esfahan is the right place to go. Esfahan carpets are known for their high quality carpets.
My son enjoying his time at the carpet shop.
There are plenty carpets and rugs in every design and sizes to choose from, except for flying carpet, haha.
Back to Imam Khomeini Square in late afternoon. There are many horse carriages waiting for customers at the square if you are interested for a ride around the square.
The architecture of the square are all illuminated in the evening.
Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque.
Shah Mosque looks equally grand at night. In the next posting, I’ll write about these two beautiful mosques in detail. Stay tune.
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