General Information about Kashan

The city is growing into a large urban center in Isfahan province. So, its population is going higher than 320,000 and a lot of new streets and residential areas are under construction. The alititude of the city is approximately 940m above sea level and the climate is dry with extremely hot summers and very cold winters. The reason should be sought in the existence of adjacent Dasht-e-Kavir (northern desert of Iran).

Traditionally Kashan has been famous for producing silk, carpets, velvet, rose water and potteries. Today, in addition to those traditional products, Kashan’s automotive industry produces cars and motorcycles as well as other goods in its factories.

The historical mounds and sights in and around Kashan indicate the history-old nature of settlement in this part of Iran since antiquity. Fin village that used to be outside Kashan is now connected to the city and has added to the size of the city. Some of Kashan tourist attractions are either at Fin or between this village and Kashan itself.

Several large industries have recently been added to the industrial city at the north east of Kashan making an employment magnet out of the city for the people living in the harsh climate around it. The summer temperature in and around the city is hard to tolerate unless one goes to the very nice villages at the foothills  near this city.

History of Kashan

For those who travel to Iran and plan to visit Kashan, the history has been a major

reason. Since more than 8000 years ago, there have been people who had settled and lived in Sialk mounds, which is inside Kashan today. The archaeological findings show the variety of artifacts produced, bought and sold there.

Like many other cities of Iran, Kashan has been a community of Zoroastrians before Arabs’ invasion. After 7th century, despite a lot of efforts in order not to surrender, people had to open the city gates and submit to the Arabs and subsequently convert to the new religion. Together with Qom and Sabzevar, Kashan turned into a highly religious city after the advent of Islam in Iran. It is still in the same condition as it has been.

In 11th century, khwarezmians built a fortress inside Kashan and a wall called Jalali to protect the inhabitants. Safavid kings showed particular interest in this area and Fin garden was created as a Persian Garden for Shah Abbas who stayed there during his trip to Kashan. Qajars continued this special attention specially at the time of Fath Ali Shah who added a few sections to the garden.

The city prospered a lot when foreign trade began to flourish between Iranian and Russian businessmen. Some of the old houses of Kashan, which are now considered typical old houses of Iran, indicate the wealthy Iranians’ living conditions of that period. They also showcase the architecture of average Iranians’ houses regardless of

decorations and size.