Good memories of Hamadan - Beautiful Iran 5

We stayed at a hotel in Hamadan, and the next early morning, April 20, walked around the city, which is more than 1800 meters above sea level in the mountainous region of Zagros. It was slightly cold, so we took jacket or coat to go outside under the cloudy sky. However, when we arrived at the Jame mosque, it temporarily cleared away.

The Jame mosque in Hamadan

The Jame mosque was a mosque, built during the reign of Fat'h Ali Shah (1797-1834) of the Qajar dynasty. Entering one of the gates, we found ourselves in front of a pool filled with water in the large rectangle court-yard.

Our tour guide Mr. Musa explained, “People believe Jame mosque is Friday mosque. But actually jame means ‘perfect’ in Arabic. It is the perfect mosque.” 

Each city or larger area in Islamic countries has a Jame mosque. It means the central one among many mosques in the area, where all the local people gather. However, when we visited, there were a few people. The door of the prayer hall was closed. It was calm and quiet. I loved it.

The mosaic of the Jame mosque

After looking around and taking pictures inside the Jame mosque, we walked into the streets. Hamadan is well known for handicrafts like leather, ceramic, and carpets. In fact, the mosaic of the Jame mosque was decorated with colorful tiles produced there. Besides ceramic, we found carpet and shawl shops in the bazaar near the mosque and interestingly faucets and other parts of water system sold on the road side. 

A carpet shop in the bazaar

Faucets sold on the road side

After Darius the Great constructed the Royal Road from Susa in Mesopotamia to Sardis in Anatolia, Hamadan became one of the most important juncture on the Silk Road. Caravans connecting East Asia and Europe stayed at the city for trade and commerce until the early 20th century. 

A shop owner pealing carrots 

That atmosphere of the old days still seemed to linger in the streets. I found a juice stand at which a shop owner prepared to make fresh juice by pealing a heap of carrots, as if he had been working there in the ancient times. 

Hamadan is one of the oldest cities in the world. It was conquered by the Assyrians in 1100 B.C. Herodotus describes that it was the capital of the Median Empire around 700 B.C. It became one of capital cities of the Achaemenid Empire. Its ancient name is Ecbatana.

The name Ecbatana is mentioned in the book of Ezra of the Hebrew Bible, which describes that the Jews returned to the land of Israel from the Babylonian exile. 

When we got into our tour bus, Mr. Musa began to talk about the story:

“Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire conquered Babylon in 538 B.C. Cyrus allowed the Jewish people to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple. After his death, Darius the Great became the king soon. Darius searched the evidence of Cyrus’s order and found a scroll in the archives at Ecbatana. Darius confirmed his order, and everything went on to the happy end.”

  

According to Ezra 6 (King James Version), “Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid…. And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to his place, and place them in the house of God.”

“That is the content of Cyrus’s order that opened a great epoch for the Jewish people. They praised the Persian king as a messiah sent by God. I wonder whether Israel’s leaders today would have forgotten that historical episode,” Mr. Musa said sadly. 

Now writing this article, I remember there is the Shrine of Esther and Mordecai in Hamadan, which we missed because we didn’t have time to spare on our journey. 

The shrine of Esther and Mordicai in Hamadan (from Wikipedia)

There is a bible story mentioned in the book of Esther. Esther was a Jewish queen of King Ahasuerus of the Achaemenid Empire. Haman, one of the ministers, plotted to kill all the Jews in Persia. He had a grudge against them. One theory is that his ancestors may have been wiped out in certain area by King Saul and David. He tried to convince the king to order the killing of the Jews including Mordecai who raised Esther in orphanage as his daughter. But the plot was eventually foiled because she succeeded in informing the king of Haman’s plot of genocide. The day of deliverance of the Jews became the holiday called “Purim.”

I am concerned over the recent hostile relations between Israel and Iran, looking back upon happy bygone days in Hamadan. History talks of good memories that encourage us to move on to the better future, I hope.