The Allahverdi Khan Bridge (), popularly known as Si-o-se-pol (), is the largest of the eleven historical

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s on the Zayanderud, the largest river of the

Iranian Plateau The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature spanning parts of the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. It makes up part of the Eurasian plate, and is wedged between the Arabian plate and the Indian plate. ...

, in

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The bridge was built in the early 17th century to serve as both a bridge and a dam.

History

Si-o-se-pol was built between 1599 and 1602, under the reign of

Abbas the Great Abbas I (; 27 January 1571 – 19 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the fifth Safavid Iran, Safavid shah of Iran from 1588 to 1629. The third son of Mohammad Khodabanda, Shah Mohammad Khodabanda, he is generally considered ...

, the fifth shah of

Safavid Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

. It was constructed under the supervision of Allahverdi Khan Undiladze, the commander-in-chief of the armies, who was of Georgian origin, and was also named after him. The bridge served particularly as a connection between the mansions of the elite, as well as a link to the city's vital Armenian neighborhood of

New Julfa New Julfa (, ''Now Jolfā'', or , ''Jolfâ-ye Now''; , ''Nor Jugha'') is the Armenians, Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the Zayanderud. Established and named after the Gülüstan, Nakhchivan, older city of Julf ...

. In years of drought (2000–02 and 2013), the river was dammed upstream to provide water for Yazd province. Si-o-se Pol, Isfahan, Irán, 2016-09-19, DD 07-15 HDR PAN.jpg,

Panoramic photography Panoramic photography is a technique of photography, using specialized equipment or software, that captures images with horizontally elongated field of view, fields of view. It is sometimes known as ''wide format photography''. The term has also ...

of the bridge

Structure

The bridge has a total length of and a total width of . It is a vaulted arch bridge consisting of two superimposed rows of 33

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es, from whence its popular name of ''Si-o-se-pol'' comes, and is made of stone. The longest span is about . The interior of Si-o-se-pol was originally decorated with paintings, which were often described by travelers as erotic.

Gallery

File:53 Chardin Si-o-se Pol.jpg, A 17th-century drawing of Si-o-se-pol by Jean Chardin. File:33 pol.JPG, Benches and tables next to Si-o-se-pol. File:33pol-innerview.JPG, A view of the arches under Si-o-se-pol. File:سی و سه پل1.jpg, Si-o-se-pol in December 2015. File:33 Bridge Isfahan Aarash (14).jpg, Si-o-se-pol's view of the Zayanderud. File:Statue of Allah-Verdi Khan, Isfahan.jpg, The statue of Allahverdi Khan, next to the bridge. File:Si-o-se Pol, Isfahan, Irán, 2016-09-19, DD 04-06 HDR.jpg, Si-o-se-pol at night. File:نمای سی و سه پل از روبروی میدان انقلاب.jpg, Si-o-se-pol's walkway at night. File:A photo of Si-o-se-pol.jpg, April 2019

Transportation

Chaharbagh Street * Street in Iran

Motahari Street * Street in Iran

Kamaloddin Esmaeil Street * Avenue in Iran

Chahar Bagh Bala Street * Street in Iran

Mellat Street * Street in Iran

Ayenekhaneh Street * Enqelab Metro Station * Si-o-se Pol Metro Station

History

Structure

Gallery

Transportation

See also

References

Further reading