Fin Garden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fin Garden, located in Kashan, Iran, is a historical Persian garden. It contains Kashan's Fin Bath, where Amir Kabir, the Qajarid chancellor, was murdered by the King Nasereddin Shah in 1852.
The garden in its present form dates to the Safavid era, but it is thought to have been in existence for several thousand years, feeding the vicinity of adjacent Sialk.
The Bagh-i-Shah of Fin is a palace that combines the architectural features of the Safavid, Zandiyeh and Qajar periods. It is known for its abundant water-supply (Cheshmeh Sulaimani), a garden thick with trees, a pool with numerous spouts, and an old historical bathing-house (where Amir Kabir was murdered.) The original construction of the park and the Suffehs are attributed to the reigns of Shah Safi and Shah Sulaiman, the Safavid monarchs, which later on have been expanded and repaired under other Safavid kings. The present remains consist of two suffehs known as Shah Abbassi and Fath Ali Shahi, a structure called Karim Khani, and its famous bathing-house. Nearby is the Shah Abbassi suffeh, which is a two-story building situated almost at the centre of the park facing the impressive portal. At the center of the suffeh, there is a pool. Upon the walls and on the ceiling of the suffeh, traces of Safavid color paintings can be seen. These paintings include views of hunting-grounds, portraits of princes, and other scenes. The frieze of the suffeh is of marble, of which only some fragments have survived. The other covered suffeh, known as Fath Ali Shahi has been constructed in A.H. 1226 (A.D. 1811), and in the interior of this structure, these exist some paintings depicting different sceneries as well as a plaster inscription in Nastaliq script. Most of the verses included in it have disappeared. The poet's name is Khavari and that of the calligrapher, Muhammad Taqi Husseini who has done the work in A.H. 1226 (A.D. 1811). The present portal of the park belongs to the Qajar period, around which remains of a guard-house and some other structures can be seen. On the whole, the Bagh-i-Shah of Fin counts amongst the most well-known ancient parks of Iran for its location, a bountiful fountain called Sultani, numerous old cypresses, pools and streams of flowing water and water spouts. The extensive fountains are entirely gravity fed. Today, the garden is a major tourist attraction at Kashan.
