1 Varamin, a small village about 18 miles from Ray, south of Tehran, is well-known for its tower, especially the cone shape of the tower, built during the ascendancy of the Mongols in the region. Indeed, the destruction of the metropolitan city of Ray by the Mongols in 1220 affected Varamin in a most positive way. First the village became a town, and soon after that, it became the capital of the province. Its agriculture, the mainstay of Iranian towns and villages of the time brought it a great deal of prosperity.

In a way, the destruction of Ray was also the cause of Varamin's fall in the long run. Varamin's rival, the village of Tehran, gained even more prominence than Varamin. And, as Tehran grew in importance, it drew on the man power of neighboring towns and villages, including Varamin. This demand placed a great deal of strain on the ability of these villages to continue their farming practices in the manner of their ancestors. The pace of departure from the town of Varamin was quickened by a number of earthquakes that destroyed the towns major centers, including its main mosque (Masjid-i Jami') built in 1326. Visitors to Varamin can still distinguish some of the mosaics and brickwork typical of the period on the remaining walls and arches of the mosque.

The main attraction of Varamin, however, is a 13th century mausoleum built in the shape of a tower. The structure of the tower, built in the manner of Central Asian towers (cf., for instance, Bukhara's Kalyan Minaret), starts quite wide at the base and tapers off as it reaches the top, giving the structure a conical feel. This structure, too, like the mosque, was affected by both by the same ravages of time and the earthquakes mentioned above.1

2 Persian for "come... come!" 2



Sadeq Hedayat's Corner
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