my name is zoe
a chinese girl who fell in love with a persian language and iran
I started learning Persian in October 2020 and visited Iran for the first time a year later.
Hello friends
Now I am in Iran, I am so happy
my curiosity and
passion for Persian culture
is the motivation to learn the language
then the language became the key
to understand the culture better and deeper
and of course to meet and communicate with many lovely people
today we're going to discover a magnificent city : Isfahan
in 1598
Shah Abbas transferred the capital of his empire to Isfahan.
The Safavid dynasty
of Shah Abbas is often described as the golden age of
persian history
gleemy religious buildings
persian palaces
fragile pavilions set in parks and gardens
make this city exceptional and glamorous
guys now we are in the center of Isfahan
Naqash e Jahan square, surrounded by fabulous mosques and palaces
today i'm gonna visit this magical city with my friends
let me introduce my team
we have hi
Hongfei (Max)
I am taking photos
Hongfei is it your first time in iran yeah
how do you like iran
i love iran my favorite country i think is iran really
this is Xiaoting hello everybody where are you from xiaoting
i m from china
the north of China, Haerbin, how do you like Isfahan
i love here so much this is my first day here
but everything
is perfect people so nice and everything is beautiful
and guys if you have watched my video in shiraz
you must know my dear friend
Negar my iranian friend Negar
How are you doing? I am great and you?
I am fine thank you
now we're gonna go to
Ali Qapu! let's go guys
Ali Qapu means ali's gate
this is where the shah
used to receive noble visitors and foreign ambassadors
one of the special features of this palace is a high terrace
with wooden columns
here i think we have the best view in Isfahan
from here we can see the whole square of Naqash e Jahan
Shar Abbas wanted to make a center for
religious and political activities and for
trading and also sports you mean
everything together everything together
that's why you can see two mosques
Shah Abbas and Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque
Bazaar
and
people used to play polo games here
okay
Ali's gate formed the entrance to the district of royal palaces
Chehel Sotoon
the palace of 40 columns is one of them
it was completed by shah abbas the second between 1642
to 1667
now we are in the palace of
Chehel Sotoon in Persian it means 40 columns yes
but the interesting thing of this palace is
if you really count the columns here there are only 20 yes
do you know why
because of the water in front of the palace there's a reflection
when there's a reflection
twenty columns
twenty columns so that's why we call it forty columns
and there's another reason actually
number 40 in different cultures
religion and also literature has meanings
for example in some religious texts
you can see for example
the rain fell for forty nights and forty days okay
and some other things so in persian literature also
ford means like a large number
interesting yes
so when you wanna say something is a lot mm hmm you use 40
in the great hall of the palace
Shah Abbas II gave
luxurious receptions, with feasting wine and dancers
in this room there are
six beautiful wall paintings with a huge size
they are showing the important events
like a wars and diplomatic events
now i'm going to ask my friend Negar
to tell me the story behind those paintings
there you can see Shah Abbas I
and also know that you know Ali Mohammed Khan
king of Turkistan
he took refuge
and asked for help from Shah Abbas
and you can see this feast is for welcoming him
and also there's something else some details
you can see the food
and some people are dancing here and also
you can see the sleeve of Ali Mohammed Khan
he hides
his hand in his sleeve, it's a sign of submission
the mosques of Isfahan are often described as the
pinnacle of persian islamic architecture
guys we are gonna see one of the most beautiful
mosquists in the world
this mosque was built in 1,611
under the order of Shah Abbas I
it's famous for its beautiful polychrome ceramic ornaments
the dominance colors range from green to ultramarine
with deep blue dominating and turquoise
one of the most special things about this mosque is these
colorful tiles in Persian
we call it Haft rang it means seven colors
a pattern may be made up of four or eight tiles
and then repeated to
complete friezes
there's a story behind this beautiful Haft Rang tiles
the Shah wanted to see the mosque before his death
so the artists and architects had to come up an idea
to really speed up the process
this technique
largely reduced the time spent on decorating the building
which had large surfaces
making the shah abas mosque
one of the finest examples of Haft Rang tiling
walking inside
this mosque is like wandering in a blues tone dream
let me show you something magical
follow me notice my voice
now can you hear the beautiful echo
Salam (Hello)
he Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, located on the eastern side of Naqsh-i Jahan Square
was completed in 1619
also during the reign of Shah Abbas I.
this mosque which was once reserved for the royal court
has been open to the public in recent centuries
i heard it in this mosque there is a magical peakcok inside
we gonna see if we can find it out
If you stand at the entrance door
of inner hall and look at the center of dome
you can see a peacock
whose tail is made up of the sun's rays in the ceiling
if you are a little
tired of the visionary style of
Shah Abbas and the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque
the jameh mosque built in the Syro-Mesopotamian style of
Abbasid architecture, is another style.
the Jameh Mosque, we call it in english friday mosque
it's the oldest mosque in Isfahan
this mosque was
built and conceived as part of the early Isfahan metropoli
from about 771 to the end of the 20th century
the mosque is the result of continuous construction
and reconstruction
the mosque of
today is an accumulation of different styles and periods
people in Isfahan make a beautiful scenery
in Naqsh-i Jahan Square
riends and family often gather, chat, take a break
i met a group of young people
playing traditional persian music on a square's lawn
Can you introduce us these instruments? Yes
This is the traditional iranian instrument right? Right
What's its name?
Tamanchey
And this one?
Santoor
at night this square has a magical vibe: the fresh air
the laugh of people
the building dotted with light
and their reflections in the water
you begin to realize
why this place was once the center of a civilization
i was so happy to meet a new friend Yeganeh, Yegi
an iranian girl who speaks chinese perfectly
today
we're gonna try some very traditional special Isfahan food
with my dear iranian friend
Yegi say hello to everyone : nice to meet you everyone, hey!
Yegi, she is a magical girl
she speaks fluently, perfectly Chinese
she's chinese actually no
i'm not so now i wanna check
if your chinese is good enough
can you just introduce us all these special food in chinese
sure so
So let's get started
We have ordered three dishes today
The two are the same
another one is different
Let's start with this, this is saffron rice
What is the name of Persian, teach me. Tahchin kosht
Tahchin kosht
this crunchy rice
This looks like a pot roast we call it "Tahchin"
And then because it's filled with lamb
so we call it Tahchin kosht
But
What we usually do at home is Tahchin morgh
And morgh is chicken, right? Yes
This dish is Mash Polo bo moriche
Mash Polo bo moriche
mash polo is a kind of rice
Let's take a look
Polo means rice
Mash means these green beans in it
This is a green bean
There are two types of rice
Mash Polo bo moriche
We can call it bo kosht
Still lamb ok
look! In Iran
They put roses in everything
They drink tea with a little rose in it
Even the juice has to have roses in it.Does it feel like
really have a elegant lifestyle
yes, every elegant lifestyle (I just don't know how to translate "Yishi gan", it's very colloquial in Chinese)
These terms
only native Chinese people know
elegant lifestyle
Let's have a toast
Cheers Cheers Cheers Cheers
another magical place at night is the bridges
Si o Se po and Khajoo Pol, Pol means bridge in persian
people often gather there walking sitting chatting
where i met local people
if you want to show you don't feel very well, in Isfahan dialect we say chamcham molam
Great!
But this is only in Isfahan dialect?
Yes
in my videos
i would like to show you an Iran seen through my eyes
often full of colors and emotions
it may be subjective but i just want to remind
behind many negative representations of this country today
how beautiful it really is