Si-o-se-pol Bridge

🕰️When was it built?

The bridge was built under Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty, overseen by Allahverdi Khan, and its architect was Master Hossein Banna Isfahani. Different years are given for the start and the end of the work, but it belongs to the laying out of Chaharbagh in the same period. It was registered as a national monument, number 110, on 5 January 1932.

🏛️What was it built for?

The bridge links Chaharbagh Abbasi with Upper Chaharbagh and carries people on foot across the river. In the Safavid era it was more than a crossing: the water-splashing festival and the Armenians of Isfahan's ceremony of the blessing of the water were also held here.

👀What you will see

• Thirty-three arches stand one after another and form the row of vaults across the bed of the Zayanderud.
• The bridge is about 295 metres long, so seeing both ends of it means a proper walk.
• Its width of about 14 metres shows how narrow the crossing is compared with its great length.
• From the north end you reach the end of Chaharbagh Abbasi, and on the other side the bridge leads on to Upper Chaharbagh.

💡Something interesting

At the water-splashing festival of the Safavid era, people threw water and rosewater at each other on the thirteenth day of the month of Tir. European travel writers also described the festival being held beside the bridge.

🎒Good to know before you go