Of all the places I’ve visited so far in Iran, I loved Isfahan the most. In Isfahan, there are several beautiful bridges in the city, Khaju being one of them. The river Zayanderoud is now mostly dry except during the Persian new year, Nowruzm, period. Built in the Safiyeh age, Khajou is a symbol for Isfahan.
The best time to visit Khaju Bridge is definitely at night. It was so pleasant to see people, both young and old, gathering here singing and dancing under the bridge.
Kgaju Bridge by night
Local youngster hanging out here
My homestay host Hossein studies architecture. He told me some interesting stories of the bridge. The bridge is a simple art and engineering wonder that you won’t find anywhere else.
Hossein whispered into one of the alcoves and I can hear the echo on the other side of the alcove. It was so much fun, make sure you try it out when coming here.
If you look diagonally trough the arcs you will see candle forms. Can you spot the shape of the candle here?
Yes, this statue is a lion. Khaju Bridge has two lion statues that if you watch them from far enough, will see the eyes glow in the dark. The light was a reflection of the light of the bridge, the statue itself is made nothing but stones.
It is a great place for locals to see tourists and for tourists to see the locals (still more locals than tourists). Due to the echo effect under the arcs of the bridge, people love to sing and play music here. I was listening to some groups singing. I think many Iranians can sing very well, it feels like karaoke place back home.
Listen how well they can sing!
伊斯法罕是我伊朗旅行全程最喜欢的城市。在伊朗有句古话叫“Esfahan nesf-e jaha” ，意思是伊斯法罕半天下。这座曾经的伊斯兰世界中心也确实是我心中伊朗的“灵魂”城市。在伊斯法罕可以找到很多古老壮观的建筑。我最喜欢的还是这座叫做“哈柱”的桥，这里也是伊斯法罕人最喜欢去的地方。
伊朗气候干燥，很多河流现如今都已经干枯。在伊朗很多城市都可以看到不少曾经流淌现在干涸的河。伊斯法罕的这条大河只有在每年伊朗新年时节才会特地注入水流，庆祝春天的到来。其他的时间都可以随意在河床行走。我觉得看哈柱桥最棒的时间当属夜晚。
很多伊朗人开玩笑说，在这个国家什么都违法，所以晚上可以有的娱乐活动太少了。还好在伊斯法罕有几座美丽的大桥。伊朗大多是晴朗温暖的好天气，于是晚上无论男女老少都喜欢来这里娱乐，喜欢唱歌弹琴吟诗的人们过来抒发内心的情感，不喜欢唱歌的也过来聊天看热闹。我特别喜欢这座桥的原因是在这里终于体会到当地忍的生活气息。
我在伊斯法罕跟Hossein一家人住。Hossein是学习建筑的，他跟我讲了很多关于大桥的故事，让我不禁赞叹这座桥真是艺术和工程最完美的结合了。大桥有两层，底层有23个拱柱，对着对角线说悄悄话，在另一侧可以听到呢，很有意思。桥两侧有石制的狮子，狮子本身长得很奇怪，更厉害的是，建筑师利用了反光的远离，从一个狮子望向另一侧的另一个狮子，可以看到它眼睛里的光，其实是反射的桥上的光。Hossein还教我看借位的蜡烛形状，这也是设计师的巧心设计。
由于拱桥的回声效果，很多人喜欢来这里演唱，他们很厉害，很多伊朗人很有音乐天赋，不信你们听听看，我觉得即使没有回音效果的加持，也是唱得很棒。这座桥让我回想起曾经在国内经常唱KTV的日子呢！真有意思。
