Fin Garden

Bagh-e Fin is the oldest surviving garden in Iran in something like its original form, laid out under Shah Abbas I and completed in 1590, on a site used for gardens long before, and its water is what makes it work: the Soleymaniyeh spring rises above the garden and is piped down under natural pressure, so the channels, pools and dozens of small fountains run continuously without any pump, which is why the water moves in a way that most restored Persian gardens cannot manage. Cypress and plane trees shade turquoise-tiled channels running the length of the enclosure, with pavilions of the Safavid and Qajar periods. The bathhouse in the grounds is where the reforming chancellor Amir Kabir was killed in 1852.

History

The garden may go back before the Safavid era, and some sources say it was moved from another site, but no clear picture of an earlier garden has been found. Its present form dates from the reign of Shah Abbas I, who ruled from 1587 to 1629, when it was laid out as a traditional bagh near the village of Fin, a few kilometres southwest of Kashan, and it was completed in 1590, which makes it the oldest extant garden in Iran. In 1852 the Qajar chancellor Amir Kabir was killed in its bathhouse on the order of Naser al-Din Shah. Neglected and damaged several times, the garden was listed as a national property of Iran in 1935, and on 18 July 2012 it became a World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Fin Garden).

What's there

• Fountains running on spring pressure - water moving without pumps.
• Turquoise-tiled channels - the axes running the length of the garden.
• Safavid and Qajar pavilions - buildings from two periods in one enclosure.
• The historic bathhouse - the room where Amir Kabir died in 1852.

When to go

March to May and October to November; spring is best when the trees are in leaf and the water is high. Two hours. Mornings are quieter; Iranian holidays fill it. Summer is hot but the garden is shaded.

What to expect

It is smaller than photographs suggest and can be crowded with domestic visitors. Some pavilions are closed. The bathhouse is a small dark space and the historical episode is signposted with more drama than substance. Kashan's traffic makes the short trip slow.

Nearby

Kashan's historic houses are in the town; Abyaneh lies south.

Key facts