Reading Room
New book explores untold stories of Takht-e Foulad
The book “Forty Unfinished Narratives of an Unfinished Place”, compiled by Mostafa Heydari, offers a fresh perspective on Takht-e Foulad in Isfahan, exploring the historic site through human experience, art, architecture and spirituality. More than a historic cemetery, Takht-e Foulad preserves a significant part of Isfahan’s cultural memory and urban identity.
Some places cannot be understood solely through the age of their buildings, the number of prominent figures buried there or a catalogue of their historical monuments. Their identity is shaped by layers of life, memory, art, belief and human experience. Takht-e Foulad is one such place. Behind its appearance as a historic cemetery lies a rich world of personal stories, spiritual experiences, architectural beauty and collective memory — a world whose full potential remains largely unknown to younger generations, according to Mehr News Agency.
Among the many historical and research publications devoted to Takht-e Foulad, “Forty Unfinished Narratives of an Unfinished Place”, compiled by Mostafa Heydari, takes a distinctive approach. Rather than repeating encyclopaedic information or simply introducing notable figures and monuments, the book invites readers to explore people’s lived experiences of the site. Forty writers, researchers and Isfahan scholars have contributed to the collection, accompanied by 21 architectural sketches created by 21 artists, in an effort to rediscover the site’s cultural and artistic dimensions.
Heydari acknowledges the important contribution of historical and encyclopaedic publications, including the four-volume Encyclopaedia of Isfahan, to understanding Takht-e Foulad. However, he believes that another approach is needed alongside conventional research: one that conveys how people experience the site’s spaces, architecture and atmosphere. Personal narratives, he argues, can complement documented history and offer new ways for audiences to connect with cultural heritage. The book is therefore intended not to compete with academic research, but to provide an alternative perspective on this historic landmark.
The title emphasizes the unfinished nature of Takht-e Foulad’s many stories. This does not imply incompleteness in the sense of deficiency, but rather the inexhaustible potential of the site’s meanings and narratives. According to Heydari, everyone who has encountered the place and developed a personal connection with it may have a different story to tell. Its physical, historical, spiritual and human dimensions offer continual opportunities for discovery, making the book a starting point for further publications and explorations.
Takht-e Foulad contains around 50 Takyehs — distinctive Iranian religious and funerary complexes — some of which are particularly well known for their distinguished occupants, architectural features or historical significance. These include the Mir Fendereski, Seyyed al-Iraq, Madar Shahzadeh, Khansari and Khatounabadi complexes.
In selecting subjects for the book, the contributors also sought to explore less familiar locations. Even demolished sites, such as the Halabian Takyeh, are included in an effort to preserve the historical memory of places that no longer exist. The diversity of subjects and perspectives helps prevent repetition and reveals the many different dimensions of Takht-e Foulad.
One of the book’s defining features is its combination of personal experience and literary storytelling with historical and scholarly information. The contributions approach the site from a variety of perspectives. One examines Takht-e Foulad through the lens of sociology and product design, while another, entitled The Passageway of Takht-e Foulad, explores visitors’ experiences from the perspective of tourism. Other narratives focus on the site’s artistic heritage, including architecture, calligraphy and stone carving. In this approach, research provides a foundation for storytelling, while narrative brings historical findings to readers in a different and more accessible form.
The book also seeks to challenge the conventional perception of Takht-e Foulad as a place associated exclusively with death and mourning. Beyond commemorating the dead, the historic complex serves as a place for solitude, prayer, contemplation, tranquillity and engagement with history and art. On Thursdays and Fridays in particular, visitors come to pray, reflect or find respite from the pressures of urban life, demonstrating the site’s continuing connection with the everyday lives of Isfahan’s residents.
The Isfahani scholar Jalaleddin Homai also highlighted the site’s contrasting qualities, describing a place that can evoke sorrow while also offering enjoyment and recreation, alongside asceticism and worship. The combination of distinguished figures buried there, valuable architecture, artistic works and social beliefs creates an experience that extends beyond a conventional visit to a cemetery. For many visitors, Takht-e Foulad becomes a place of personal meaning and spiritual connection.
Despite these qualities, Takht-e Foulad has yet to receive the prominence it deserves in the presentation of Isfahan’s tourist attractions, and it remains unfamiliar even to some local residents. In addition to its historic Takyehs, the complex contains Chelleh Khanes (traditional places of spiritual retreat), mosques, cisterns, inscriptions, gravestones, calligraphic works and religious traditions, each reflecting aspects of the city’s social and cultural history.
Features dating from different historical periods, from the Ilkhanid and Safavid eras to the Qajar period and the contemporary age, make the site a valuable resource for understanding Isfahan’s historical and cultural development.
Initiatives such as Takht-e Foulad tours, research programs and guided visits to its Takyehs have helped raise awareness of this heritage in recent years. Nevertheless, much of its cultural, artistic and tourism potential remains to be fully explored. Historic cemeteries can be understood as open-air museums of social history and anthropology, preserving evidence of a community’s past, beliefs and ways of life while helping sustain its collective identity.