Tabriz, Iran Tabriz is an attractive city with a lovely climate in summer. After the searing heat and humidity of the coast, it was delightful to be in a temperate, warm climate.
“We arrived in the city of Tabriz....and encamped outside it in a place called al-Sham. At that place is the grave of Qazan, king of al-Iraq, and alongside it a fine madrasa and a hospice in which food is supplied to all wayfarers, consisting of bread, meat, rice cooked in ghee, and sweetmeats. On the following morning I entered the city by a gate called the Baghdad Gate, and we came to an immense bazaar, one of the finest bazaars I have seen the world over. Each trade has its own location in it, separate from every other.”
The tea bazaar, Tabriz We went to the bazaar on arrival, which is indeed spectacular and rivals the bazaar of Isfahan. Walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, dates, hibiscus tea, rose tea, honey, sunflower seeds, saffron, spices, sugar candy – burlap sacks were everywhere stuffed and overflowing, the smells over the years seeming to have permeated the very stone of the vaulted covered corridors. Tabriz is famous for its mixtures of roasted, salted nuts as well as shirinee, a kind of cookie made of egg white, almond and pistachio. 
The spice bazaar, Tabriz Fortunately, being Thursday, the carpet bazaar was closed - I did not want to be tempted. But there were plenty of other things to buy. In the evening we walked through the fresh fruit bazaar where cherries were on sale for 6000 Iranian riyals a kilo which is about 65 cents, (the current rate of exchange is approx. 9000 riyals to $1), fava beans were 5000IR a kilo and strawberries were 12,000 IR per kilo. As I have mentioned before the fruits and vegetables in Iran are delicious, because they are grown and sold locally and eaten seasonally as they should be.
During the Qajar period its geographical location brought the city renewed prominence with the opening up of Iran to the West. Between 1905 and 1911 Tabriz was at the center of a revolt called the Persian Constitutional Revolt. It was a cataclysmic event in the country’s history and resulted in Mozaffar ad-Din Shah being forced to grant the country a constitution and become a constitutional monarch. However his son, Mohammed ad-Din Shah, who came to power in 1907 was bitterly opposed to the constitution and although the majlis (parliament) tried hard, external events and the determination of Russia and Britain especially, to keep a measure of control over the country, led ultimately to the end of Qajar rule in 1925 and the accession of Reza Shah as the first of the Pahlavi dynasty. He in turn did not escape imperial meddling and was himself deposed and exiled by the Russians and British in 1941 for allying himself too closely to the Germans. His son, Mohammed Reza Shah, Iran’s last Shah, was forced to flee the country in 1979, and the Pahlavi family remains in exile to this day.
As for al-Sham mentioned by Ibn B, this is now called Sham-i-Gazan because it was ordered built by Qazan Khan. However although the suburb is still there, the grave is not. We drove to an old cemetery where the caretaker told us the gravestones had been moved to the museum. We had intended to visit the museum anyway, and outside in a garden were several gravestones dated to a time period, but not designated to any particular person. The guide helpfully called a docent from the museum but as she did not know if one of them belonged to Qazan she in turn called the head curator who did not know either - another long-forgotten King. We are all turned to dust in the end whatever our earthly status. 
Some of the remaining lustrous tiles of the mid 15th century.
Next to the museum is the Blue Mosque built in 1465 by Qara Quyunlu. It was virtually destroyed by a devastating earthquake in 1799. Finally restored in 1973, the building is impressive but the tile could not be replicated. Happily, some pieces of the original exceptionally fine tiling still exists, brilliant faience with an opalescent luster and depth of color that can no longer be replicated on cost alone if not technique. The cobalt color was obtained from finely ground lapis lazuli and was fired in a wood-burning oven – nowadays the faience is heated in an electric or gas-fired oven and the color is derived from chemicals, the results although fine are as nothing compared to the original, and do not last. The original tiles which are still dazzling, were made almost 550 years ago, whereas tiling nowadays on the monuments has to be replaced every 7 years. 
The renovated interior of the mosque.
“Afterwards we came to the cathedral mosque, which was founded by the vizier Ali Shah, known by the name of Jilan. Outside it, to the right as one faces the qibla is a college, and to the left is a hospice........We spent one night in Tabriz.” 
All that remains......
This building is known as the Arg or citadel. Tabriz, like the rest of Iran, has been much altered over the centuries by earthquake. Currently under scaffolding, there is little left of the brick building save an immense, defensive portal built in the early 14th century. The mosque, college and hospice have long gone and a shopping mall is being built nearby. Near here was a tiny restaurant full of men only, but being a foreigner I was allowed to become an honorary man. The guide assured me that it had the best abghost in the city. Abghost is a national dish of mutton, tomatoes, chickpeas and spices served in a kind of soup in a small crock. It comes with bread, which is used to hold the red-hot crock to tip the broth into a small bowl which is then filled with torn pieces of the bread. The solids left in the pot are then mashed up and eaten after the broth. It is quite delicious. Tea is served and re-filled from a samovar throughout the meal.
Iran uses three calendars; the western Gregorian, the Hejira Islamic lunar calendar, and a local calendar that dates from the Hejira (16th July, 622 when the Prophet Mohammed fled to Medina) but is solar not lunar. The first six months of the year; Farvardin, Ordibehesht, Khordad, Tir, Mordad and Shahrivar all have 31 days, the next five; Mehr, Aban, Azar, Dey and Bahman have 30 days, while the twelfth month, Esfand, has either 29, or 30 in a leap year. The first day of the Iranian New Year (Noruz), is the 1st of Farvardin which falls on March 20 – Iranian months start on the 20th or 21st day of the Gregorian calendar.
The Islamic calendar which consists of 12 lunar months moves forward by 11 days every year from the Gregorian calendar; Moharram, Safar, Rabi al-Awwal, Rabi al-Thani, Jumada al-Awwal, Jumada al-Thani, Rajab, Shaban, Ramadan, Shawal, Dhul al Qadah, Dhul al Haj. Iranians have many public holidays. In much of the Sunni world, there are really only two major holidays; Eid al-Fitr which celebrates the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha which celebrates the end of haj. The Shia however have rather more days; the first 10 days of Moharram culminating in Ashura commemorates the death of Ali’s son Hussein who the Shia consider the 3rd Imam. It is a huge event throughout the country with passion plays (Husseiniyah) being performed, and throngs of men who parade through streets flagellating themselves with whips and chains to the continual lament of “Hussein, Hussein”, and two weeks prior to Ramadan the birth of Imam Mahdi (the twelfth Imam who is in occlusion) and the wedding of Ali and Fatima are widely celebrated. In addition the anniversaries of the martyrdom of various Imams, the birthdays and deaths of others are all observed with a public holiday. Secular holidays include the afore-mentioned Noruz – a week-long extravaganza, followed a week later by the day of the Islamic Republic and the following day, the day of Nature, in early June there is another 2 day holiday; one commemorating the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, the next the anniversary of the uprising following Khomeini’s arrest, and towards the end of the year is the day of victory of the Islamic Revolution and another day to commemorate the nationalization of oil. Fortunately for the economy of the country some ancient Iranian holidays have been abandoned….. x
