The Khajoo Bridge

Isfahan

The Khajoo Bridge is located in Isfahan, on the Zayandeh River, east of 33 bridges. This bridge is also called Shah Bridge, Baba Rokn al-Din Bridge (the path to the monastery and tomb of Baba Rokn al-Din and Takht-e-Foolad) and Hassan Beyb Bridge (the name of the previous bridge that was destroyed during the reign of Shah Abbas and this bridge was built in its place) or Shiraz Bridge. It is called and is one of the buildings of Shah Abbas II Safavid, which was built in 1650 AH.

In the middle of the Khajoo Bridge, a special building, known as Biglerbegi, was built, which was created for the temporary residence of the Safavid Shah and his family and still exists, and its arches are beautifully decorated with paintings. Due to its architecture and its tiled decorations are more famous than other bridges in Zayande River. The bridge has 24 spans made of carefully carved cubes and is blocked in the middle by wooden dams to block the river. In fact, the main function of this dam was to create a lake for royal celebrations and ceremonies.

In the words of Professors Opham Pope and Jean Chardin, the Khajou Bridge is “a monument of the culmination of Persian Bridge architecture and one of the most interesting bridges that exist”.