The Shah's Square, a photo from Esfahan, East

Photographer's Note

I remain in Esfahan, the nicest city I saw in Iran (I have only seen a few). It is still mid-July 1970, and this is from the side of the monumental square/park which was still called Maidan-e Shah, Shah Square. After the Islamic revolution it was renamed Maidan-e Nagsh-e Jahan (Image of the World Square) in 1979.

In the background is the large early 17th century mosque known today as the Mashed-e Imam, in 1970 still the Mashed-e Shah. Taking this photo of a horse and carriage I was probably standing near the entrance of the Sheikh Lotfollah mosque, built at about the same time, which I have shown before. I visited both mosques, and reading my diary now I found that I preferred Sheikh Lotfollah. It was built for the private use of the Shah and the royal court, and I found it more intimate and modest in size and decorations than the more extravagant Shah mosque, intended to appeal to the general public.

I can't say that I am entirely happy with the colours of this photo. I have adjusted them off and on several times. I think they speak loudly of the age of the photo: almost 52 years.

In the WS is a photo taken straight across the square. Both photos were scanned from Agfacolor CT18 slides.

The map coordinates 32.65695 51.67841 will show you approximately where I took these photos.

Fis2, ikeharel, pierrefonds, jhm, COSTANTINO, jean113, PaulVDV, aliabazari, mcmtanyel, ktanska, Royaldevon, adramad, ChrisJ has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fis2 (169731) 2022-01-15 0:37

Witaj Gert my neighbour today :)!
A very curious scene from street.
I like this building.
Good framing, colors and light.
Curious from archive.
Have a nice weekend.
Krzysztof

ikeharel (112439) 2022-01-15 0:50

Hello Gert,
I acn only guess that this place looks just the same after so many years - however, we cannot confirm that, due to politics... you know. The carter and carriage drew my first attention.
old stuff fairly well scanned.
Wish you a nice weekend,
ike

Silvio1953 (220605) 2022-01-15 1:41

Ciao gert, great view of fantastic square, lovely composition with carriage in FG, wonderful colors, fine details, splendid light and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

pajaran (114915) 2022-01-15 1:53

Pozdrav.

Lep pogled i trenutak, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Lep konj i kocija, dobro pokazano sa lepim bojama, kontrastom i uhvacenim trenutkom sa kocijasem.
Dobar rad skeniranjem, lepa fotografija.
Lepa fotografija u radionici i secanje.

Zelim vam lep dan, sve najbolje za vikend.
Paja

emka (157280) 2022-01-15 4:03

Hello Gert, Good quality for the half-century-old picture. Interesting composition. It looks different now. First of all, there is no street with cars but there are still many cabs. Also, there is no such low fence. I will try to find a similar view in my archive.
I found Esfahan to be the most interesting Iranian city and I visited some. But Shiraz is also charming.

Best regards MAlgo

PS. Would you like me to post a few photos from there?

pierrefonds (113590) 2022-01-15 4:56

Hi Gert,

You have captured well the movement of the horse and of the carriage. The point of view is showing the details of the Mosque in the background. The colors are ok for an old slide. Have a nice day.

Pierre

jhm (211734) 2022-01-15 5:50

Hello Gert,

Nice generally picture with carriage in foreground and Mosque in background.
This is a nice picture
An excellent photographed
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John

COSTANTINO (115539) 2022-01-15 7:49

Hello my dearest Gert
fantastic view of this monumental square
another photo of great value taken in 1970
this carriage draw my attention
immediately
there is a simplicity
in this photo which gives to
me a great pleasure to look at...
well done
regards
Costantino

jean113 (27637) 2022-01-15 8:31

Hello Gert, a lovely pair of shots from 52 years ago.
I can㦙 imagine that this view has changed very much in all that time.
There is not a lot wrong with the colour.
I guess that this road is much busier these days.
Thanks for sharing.
Kind regards, John.

jmdias (114278) 2022-01-15 12:09

gert

curious as these countries were so much closer of european way of life in those days, I guess they believed in a dream and had a deception and came back in time. nice details of the local architecture, looks this city is the typical iranian icon for visitors.

take care

jorge

GyurMaster (24668) 2022-01-15 12:12

Dear Gert,

The colours are fair enough for such an 'old' photo. Of course a BW conversion can serve as a quick solution to solve such problems. In the meantime, I enjoy the composition and the movement of the guy.

Best Wishes,
Gy.

lousat (138609) 2022-01-15 14:29

Hi Gert,now you have some regrets for the elements in the photos, as you say in the WS, but it is already a great achievement to have something so rare and extraordinary, they weren't much traveling in these countries 50 years ago .. excellent capture of the Ali Qapu building , and also the main photo is remarkable, the mosque has changed the name but not the style, another beautiful testimony of a different political era pre 1979. Have a nice Sunday and thanks,Luciano

PaulVDV (62802) 2022-01-15 15:35

Hello Gert,
So the photo with the horse cart was taken in 1970. In another photo of someone from Iran taken much later, I also saw a horse cart. However, I can't remember seeing these vehicles at all in Esfahan.
Also, part of the huge square here seems to contain a garden. In other photos I also saw a lot of trees and shrubs.
I remember from 1996 a huge and almost empty square, without (many) plants or trees. There was, however, partly a lawn on which Iranians picnicked.
My idea at the time was that individually a number of buildings (mosques) were absolutely worth seeing and visiting, but that the square looked quite desolate.
Perhaps Esfahan had slightly more architectural assets than Shiraz but I have very fond memories of meeting the people of Shiraz.
Of the Sheikh Lutfallah Mosque and the Mosque of the Shah I especially remember the difference in colour of the large domes.
I see you were there in the month of July. Another thing I remember from Iran. I was there in the same month (when I was working most of my journeys were in July and part of August). It was of course quite warm but nobody was bothered by the heat as much as the Iranians themselves. Much more than in Spain or Latin America, I was confronted in Iran with the phenomenon of the siesta.
In the afternoon about everything closed, even the parks. Very frustrating.
Best regards, Paul

aliabazari (21271) 2022-01-15 20:23

Hi dear friend Gert
Good view of Shah Square. Your pictures are very valuable to me. Well seen. Thanks for sharing

ifege (46951) 2022-01-15 20:50

Hi Gert
It is a little late to go back to reposition your photo of the boy in the WS. He, like most of the rest of us will be a lot older.
3 more good photos from Esfahan, a place my son has been to but not me making me quite jealous of him. (but I've been to many places he hasn't).
cheers
Ian

mcmtanyel (67657) 2022-01-15 21:13

Hello Gert,
Still strong after all these years.
I look upon these photos with sadness. I am sure I am not the only one who misses the days of the shah. In Turkish, we have a saying, "the one who comes makes you long for the one who left."
Regards,
MT

ktanska (44468) 2022-01-16 3:04

Hej Gert,
A good combination of this beautiful mosque and daily life in the foreground. I'm sure horses were much more common on daily life those days than what they are now. Cart and decorations look very nice.
Kari

kasianowak (17672) 2022-01-16 5:29

Hi Gert
Esfahan was one of two nicest cities I visited in Iran (the other one was Yazd) and this square was among the most beautiful places I saw in Iran, even though it was also one of few where I kept getting approached by hustlers. Malgo seems to think it's change a lot, but, considering half a century that passed and a revolution I wouldn't say so. The fence might have changed and this street is pedestrianised, there are fountains in the pool. But the main buildings still stand and you can still go for a ride in a horse carriage like this. One detail I remember that may have been different in 1970 - there are lots of souvenir shops around the square where you can buy anything from sugar on sticks to carpets.
Nevertheless, it's nice to see photos taken 50 years ago. I don't think the colours are bad, you are just a perfectionist. :-) Great timing for the man in the foreground, about to step onto the road.
Best wishes
Kasia

Royaldevon (85606) 2022-01-16 9:27

Hello Gert,

Both photographs are great memories of your travels in 1970.
I like to see the horse drawn carriage in association with the mosque in the b/g. It gives a historical feeling for the place. I wonder if the carriages still operate or if it is all cars and taxis now.
It's a fine composition.
Your dissatisfaction was the colours; they don't immediately look wrong but maybe a little less contrast would suit you better.
No problem with the w/s.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

adramad (72562) 2022-01-17 12:00

Hi Gert.
Magnificent both images, the great mosque in the huge square and the old palace of the Shah, what memories your photos of this wonderful place bring me, which I visited in 1998, I have gone to browse my photos that are also scanned, and there are some that They are not bad, I love the inclusion of the carriage, which fills the spaces and adds a nice touch of charm.
An image to enjoy, great luminosity and good sharpness, with 52 years.
Good work. I love it.
Happy start of the week.
Very best regards.
Luis.

ChrisJ (171222) 2022-01-18 3:08

Hej Gert

A good daily life scene from more than 5 decades ago. The horse and carriage add life and interest to the fg and the bg mosques looks magnificent. Tfs!

clic (76) 2022-01-19 11:48

Hallo Gert
Due to a slow shutter you had luckily a motion blur on coachman's and horse's legs, adding a sense of ambulation to this team proceeding to a sharp left turn; as a result you had a clear view on the magnificent buildings across the street.
Let of depth expressed in between the carriage and the city d嶰or.
Basta halsningar