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GORGAN
 This
new province was created as a result of the division of Mazandaran
province into two smaller administrative units. It borders on Tukmanistan
Republic to the north, Khorasan province to the east, Semnan province to
the south, the Caspian Sea and the Guilan province to the west. Its
climate varies greatly under the influence of a number of geographical
factors such as the altitude, 1atitude, trend of Alborz mountains,
distance from the sea, Turkman Sahra (Turkman Desert), Siberian plain to
the north of Russia, local and regional. winds, displacement of northern
and western air masses, as well as the dense forests. It receives maximum
amount of precipitation during autumn and the least in summer months. Part
of the province is occupied by inhospitable steppe and marshland. The
Turkman Desert occupies the strip south of the Atrak River, which forms a
part of the border with Turkmanistan Republic. In the northeast, the
forest is less dense and the peaks are lower than further west. The more
fertile Dasht-e Gorgan (Gorgan plain), between the Desert and the
mountains, formed, until recently, the boundary between the settled and
nomadic populations. The population is largely T, and the threat posed to
the settled communities by this previously wild and nomadic tribe only
receded at the end of the last century. Like Mazandaran, Golestan province
and its surrounding areas were settled much earlier than Guilan, and the
Gorgan plain in particular is believed to contain some of the most
important archeological sites (older than 6000 years) in west Asia.
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Gorgan Museum
The handsome building of
Gorgan Museum in Shohada Avenue, located to the west of the
cemetery, was completed in 1976. It c611?ists of two floors, a
basement and a courtyard, being distinguished by the semi- circular
vaults on its facade. The first floor of the museum is allocated to
the exhibition of archaeological items excavated in Turang Tappeh,
Nur (Behshahr), and Gorgan itself. The basement floor houses
ethnological articles. Ancient tombstones and stone inscriptions are
also exhibited here. A major part of the museum's collections range
from the prehistory to the present.
Visiting hours: 08:00 am to 19:00 PM, except Fridays. Tel: (0371)
2453.
Gorgan Museum of
Natural History
Situated in
Golestan National Park, it is a single-story building opened to
visitors in 1984 by the Environment Protection Department of Gonbad
and Gorgan. Taxidermic samples of various sof rare animals and
insects from the region are exhibited here.
Visit Hours: everyday 08:00 am to 18:00 PM. Tel: (0271) 8010.2609.
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Friday Mosque and
Its Minaret
In the center
of Gorgan, in the bazaar, is the Friday Mosque (masjed-e jom
'e), which was originally built during the Seljuk period,
rebuilt several times since then, and recently restored. Its
short and stocky brick minaret, decorated with brick designs, a
Kuffic .inscription, and topped by a wooden roof, IS the only
part of the structure remaining from that period. Inside, are an
interesting tiled mihrab ( altar) dated 1108 AD and a
15th-century (i454 AD) wooden minbar (pulpit). Within the
lecture-hall of the mosque, a number of historic firmans
(decrees) have been carved on stone (the latest from 1804 and
the earliest from 1502 AD). In a frame fixed" above the pulpit,
there 1s an inscription iriThulth caHigraphy which bears the
name of Abul Qassim Babar Bahadur..theTimurid General.
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Radekan Tower
Bearing close
resemblance to the huge structure of Gonbad-e Qabus tomb
tower in terms of construction and architectural technique,
this 35-m high brick tomb tower in the vicinity of a village
also called Radekan is located within a distance of 35 km to
the south of Kurd Kuy and 54 km to the south of Gorgan. It
consists of a simple circular brick shaft and a conical
double- shell dome. On the shaft, a number of holes can be
seen which were used for the erection of mason's scaffolding
at the time of construction. According to two Kuffic
inscriptions, its construction works commenced in 1016 AD by
Abu Ja'far Mohammad ibn-e Wandarian Bavandi an army General
from Tabarestan to be used as his tomb (and completed in
1020 AD by Ahmad ibn-e Omar) The portal overlooks a cliff.
On top of the portal, there has been another Kuffic
inscription that has been removed and taken abroad.
Internally, it is looks very simple. It has some brick and
plaster decorations as well. The tower is known as the
Radekan West so that it is not confused with Radekan East
tomb tower near Mashhad. |
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GORGAN
Set at the northern
edge of the Alborz, and at the southern frontier of the
north-eastern steppe, Gorgan (formerly known as Astar Abad)
has, for much of its long history, been the last secure
outpost of Persian civilization. Settled since ancient
times, it became an important caravan post and the main
market town for the nomadic Turkmans, a meeting point of two
diametrically opposed ways of life during the recent
decades. But because of its proximity to the steppes, it was
also raided on numerous occasions by the nomads,
particularly in the 19th century. Today, Gorgan is a busy
provincial capital with a lively and colorful bazaar. |
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