TIS, Thanks a lot. About Iran's art, I'm sure you've heard about Persian rugs. Those are the kind that if you bring with you to the US, custom officials are very interested to find out about and tax a huge percent on it! I don't blame them, no one has ever died of not having a fancy rug!

DeNiro, Thank you. US Southern and South-West cooking rocks too! I really loved it while I was there.

Zia, I'm not sure exactly how long it has taken to build Chehelsotoon but it has all been ordered by Shah Abbas the great in early 17th century maybe even earlier than 1600 (Shah means King in Persian). He wanted to have a pleasure pavilion and audience hall for the Safavid kings, to receive and entertain foreign dignitaries there. Shah Abbas ordered for many more construction here in Esfahan and hired the best artists and architects in the country to do their best job for a sturdy yet dazzling architecture. Speaking of breath-taking, you should see the huge square (almost more than 20 acres) that his Palace has a balcony overlooking it also the architecture around it, or walking on the old bridges and looking down on the river, now that really takes my breath away. I'll post pictures of that square and bridges, I just thought their beauty would fade one of my favorite landmarks so I started with this building. Finally here are three more pictures I thought it would be interesting.

This one is Chehelsotoon and its reflection in the pond at nights:



These two are some more miniature paintings inside on walls. The second one really looks 400 years old!