Architecture of old buildings in Gavart village in central Isfahan is to be studied at a meeting at the Imam Ali Religious Arts Museum in Tehran.
According to the Persian website Honaronline, the meeting will be held Wednesday (June 20) at the museum located at No. 37, Esfandiar Boulevard, Valiasr Street.
Architects Majid Badiee and Abolhassan Mir-Emadi will appraise the buildings’ architecture in the ancient village.
Gavart is home to several historical structures dating back to the Ilkhanate (1256-1335) and Safavid (1501-1722) dynasties. However, the village is mostly known for its unique pigeon towers or dovecotes (kaboutar khaneh in Persian), structures built especially to house pigeons and doves.
A typical pigeon tower in Isfahan is cylindrical outside, made of unfired mud brick, lime plaster and gypsum. Large towers range from 10 to 22 meters in diameter, and are high 18 meters plus.
The pigeon towers were designed to collect pigeon dung, which has high nitrogen content and was a boon for Isfahan’s nitrogen-deficient soil. Pigeon droppings are also rich in phosphorus, another fertilizing agent. The dung was used to fertilize fruit trees, as well as the cucumber and melon fields of Isfahan. It also was used for making gunpowder.
