Varzaneh; A Mesmerizing Town in Central Iran

Most men in Varzaneh are farmers, and women weave fabrics and rugs. The city of Varzaneh has a new quarter and an old one. The new quarter is known as Imam Jafar Sadiq town and is located on the north of Zayanderud river. The old quarter is located on the south of Zayandehrud where a ditch used to lie.

As Varzaneh is a small town, it is possible to just walk by to see its visitor sites such as historical places and handicrafts workshops. However, you need a vehicle to get to Gavchah, the Shotor (camel) windmill, Gavgerd and the Qoortan castle. It would be a great joy to visit the Mirmiran house, underground water storage chambers belonging to the Safavid era, the anthropology museum, etc., as well as the white-clad people with the Pahlavi-Sasani dialect.

As women in Varzaneh wear white chadors rather than black ones, Varzaneh is known as the whitest city of Iran. There are different opinions as to why women there wear white chadors. Some believe they wear white chadors to protect against sweltering summer heat in this desert region.

The handicrafts of Varzaneh include Kar-weaving and tablecloth-weaving. Kar-weaving has existed since the Timurid era and was once very popular in Varzaneh. However, this beautiful art is slipping into oblivion with the encroachment of industrial fabrics. The fabrics made by Kar-weavers are used as special cloth for keeping bread, wrapping brides’ dowry items, white chadors, shrouds, etc.

At the moment, there are 16 half-active home workshops for Kar-weaving where all weavers are old women. The fabric made by Kar-weavers come in five colours.

The Varzaneh desert, which is the closest desert to Isfahan, contains large expanses of sand dunes in different shapes. The landscapes of sand dunes are so mesmerizing that you will hardly forget them. The desert is also known as a place where the earth and sky meet. Late autumn and early winter are suitable times for touring deserts as the sweltering heat subsides and deserts turn into ideal places for tourists. Deserts are good places to experience excitement, beauty and silence all at once.