Visiting Abyaneh

On my drive back to Tehran from Esfahan, I made one last stop in the small village of Abyaneh. Built high in the mountains at an elevation of more than 2,000 meters, or around 7,000 feet, the village stands out for its distinctive reddish homes built into the slopes. The architecture reminded me a little of the adobe buildings of Santa Fe, New Mexico, especially with the rugged mountains rising behind the village.

Abyaneh was also surprisingly popular with Iranian tourists. Many people seemed to visit from larger cities such as Esfahan and Tehran or stop here while traveling through the region. The village is known for preserving its own traditional clothing and customs, although when I visited most of the people I encountered were dressed in modern clothes. I did see one local man wearing the traditional loose black trousers, but he disappeared before I had a chance to photograph him.

Walking through Abyaneh meant following narrow streets and stairways between the traditional red-colored buildings. Because the village is built along a mountainside, many of the homes seem to rise almost directly above one another, giving the entire place a distinctive appearance that was unlike anywhere else I visited in Iran.

I also noticed vendors selling sheets of dried pomegranate fruit, something similar to a fruit roll-up in the United States. I had tried them while traveling in Georgia and enjoyed them, so I decided to buy one here. I’m not sure whether I chose a bad batch, but it was one of the saltiest things I’ve ever tasted! It seemed more like pomegranate-flavored salt than salted pomegranate. Fortunately, I found someone else who was much happier to take it off my hands.

Abyaneh was a relatively short stop during my journey through Iran, but its mountain setting, red architecture, and narrow streets made it one of the more distinctive villages I came across. After spending much of my trip exploring Iran’s larger cities and famous historic sites, it was interesting to finish with a glimpse of life in a small mountain community.