Abyaneh village

Being a village of great antiquity, Abyaneh is like a living architectural and anthropological museum. It affords an impressive exponent of the adaptation of man with his environment. It is located on the north-western slope of Mt Karkas, 2 kms away from Natanz (a town in Isfahan province).
It is 2500 meters above sea level. At a place called Hanjan is 55 kms away from Kashan and 25 kms away from Abyaneh. Abyaneh is mainly watered by the river of Barzrud.
Set on the slope of the lofty mountain of Karkas, this village has a cold climate and enjoys numerous springs creating a favorite condition for agriculture. Considering the evidence found in Abyaneh, it dates back to antiquity, but its golden age was during the Safavid period.
The word Abyaneh has been derived from the word "viona" meaning willow grove. (In the local Dialect "vey" means willow.) The village is expanded along the river, and its configuration indicates that in the past the people showed much consideration for security.
Although the village itself is situated on high ground, ...see more there are three castles that protected the people when the enemy attacked. furthermore, the configuration of Abyaneh protects it from strong winds and floods. Abyaneh has a compact fabrication with narrow and steep alleys.
Set on the slope of the mountain, the houses are arranged in a stair-step shape, so that the mountain, the houses are the yards of the others. The materials used for building the roofs are timbers, straw and clay.
The materials use for building the roofs are timbers, straw and clay. The walls, built by red mud bricks are impressive. The mud bricks are of quality that become harder when they are exposed to the rain.
To use the sun as much as possible, the houses face the east. An impressive aspect of Abyaneh's architectures is that the houses are uniform in appearance.
The doors, most of which have two knockers, are wooden and built in traditional styles. There are beautiful patterns, poems and the names of the owner and mason carved on some doors.
These poems afford a good picture of the old Iranian culture. Many facades Date back to the Safavid period. Beside the door of many houses there are small platforms providing place for passers-by or local residents to rest for a while. The simplicity found in Abyaneh's houses affords a picture of life in rural Iran.
Each room is used for various purposes. For example, a single room may be used as a dining-room, a sitting-room, a bed-room and a guest-room. To economize in the use of fuel, the rooms and used in winter are architecturally different from those used in summer.
For providing equal light for all parts of the rooms, there are several small openings in the roofs. The size of the rooms, windows and doors all indicate the simplicity of life in this old village. Abyaneh is called an entrance to the Iranian history.
In some of the houses there is earthenware belonging to a few hundred years ago. The local traditional clothes are in style of great antiquity. It is said a woman of Abyaneh has inherited her wedding dress from her grandmother.
The Language (an Iranian Language of the Parthian people who were inhabitants of an ancient country to the southeast of the Caspian Sea, now a part of NE Iran). In addition to natural beauties, there are several historical monuments in Abyaneh, of which the following are of more significance. Abyaneh is a famous historic Iranian village near the city of Natanz in Isfahan Province. Characterized by a peculiar reddish hue, the village is one of the oldest in Iran, attracting numerous native and foreign tourists year-round, especially during traditional feasts and ceremonies. An Abyunaki woman typically wears a white long scarf (covering the shoulders and upper trunk) which has a colourful pattern and an under-knee skirt.
Abyunaki people have persistently maintained this traditional Costume despite pressures from time to time by the government trying to change it. On top of the village sits the ruins of a Sasanid era fort. Since June 2005, the village has been undergoing archaeological excavations for the first time ever, as a result of an agreement between Abyaneh Research Center and the Archaeology Research Center of the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO). reference: www.wikipedia.org http://www.iranparadise.com