Comments on: The Fairy Chimneys of Kandovan, Iran

By: mahsa

mahsa — Sat, 07 May 2016 06:22:05 +0000

kandovan is an amazing village. i traveled there last week

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:45:09 +0000

@Sam: Tabriz was one of our favorite regions that we visited in Iran. Yes, the earthquake was mostly in the villages in the northeast of Tabriz. Very sad.

By: Sam

Sam — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:33:37 +0000

We were there at Tabriz 3 years ago. Earthquake happens in rural and mountainous areas to the northeast of Tabriz

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 12:39:07 +0000

@Elle: Iran is a fascinating country; we really enjoyed our experiences there during three weeks last November. We also sincerely hope that the geo-political tensions in the region calm a bit so that others feel more comfortable visiting.

By: Elle of Solo Female Nomad

Elle of Solo Female Nomad — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 12:03:34 +0000

It saddens me also on what happened in Iran. It is a country that I have been drawn to for quite sometime now. I only hope that the turmoil quietens down so others can experience this country.

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:16:22 +0000

@Emily: That’s the odd thing about Kandovan – you kind of feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere, but then you see laundry hanging and are reminded it’s an inhabited village. All my research has indicated that Kandovan is likely OK, but villages made from mud bricks further north didn’t fare so well. Keeping the whole region in our thoughts.

By: Emily in Chile

Emily in Chile — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:34:28 +0000

Fascinating landscape and definitely not where I’d expect to see laundry hanging on the line! I’m glad the people you might are likely ok after the earthquakes.

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 07:40:41 +0000

@Jesse: I didn’t realize there were similar structures and homes in Pakistan. I can only imagine how terrifying it must be to be inside one of these structures during an earthquake. Fortunately, the volcanic ash is much sturdier than mud bricks, so these fairy chimney homes stand up better to earthquakes than mud homes.

@Paul: Couldn’t agree with you and the sentiment of your comment more. Unfortunately, the death toll keeps rising each time I check the news. And then comes the incredibly difficult task of rebuilding of homes and the lives of survivors. Just so sad.

@Tony: Kandovan is very unique, visually as well as culturally. Hope you have a chance to visit northwest Iran or central Turkey (where you can see similar structures) one day.

@Zain: Yes, the natural structure of the homes is unusual and it’s fascinating to see how people have added on or adapted to it.

@Michael: We had no idea either! It was our guide from Tabriz who recommended driving out to Kandovan to see it. Although right now might not be the best time to visit this region of Iran, I do hope that you have a chance one day. We also loved the Armenian church near the border that is also in this region.

@Victoria: Glad you enjoyed this! Yes, the imperfections and irregularities – both human-made and natural – are what make scenes like this so interesting.

By: Victoria Ugarte

Victoria Ugarte — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 21:32:33 +0000

What an exquisite corner of the world, untouched by ‘civilization’. The beauty of the structures, for me, was its ‘hand made’ quality, fashioned out of stone, wood and mud, and exquisite in its imperfections. Thank you for sharing this.

By: Michael W.

Michael W. — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 18:27:57 +0000

I had no clue that Iran had fairy chimneys. Visiting them in Cappadocia, Turkey was an amazing site to see! I’d love to visit Iran but doubt that will happen any time in the near future…