Ganjali Khan, the Safavid governor of Kerman under Shah Abbas I, gave his city a new centre in the early 17th century: a rectangular square surrounded by a bazaar, a caravanserai, a mosque, a mint and — most famous of all — a bathhouse. It is a smaller cousin of Isfahan’s great square and still the lively heart of old Kerman.
The Ganjali Khan Bathhouse is one of the most beautiful in Iran, with painted plaster, stone columns and tiled domes; today it is an anthropology museum where life-size figures show the rituals of a traditional hammam. Nearby, the old mint houses a coin museum, and the bazaar lanes lead on through the Vakil Bazaar, one of the longest in the country.
Highlights
- The Ganjali Khan Bathhouse museum
- The Safavid square and its arcades
- Coin museum in the old mint
- Kerman’s long covered bazaar
Gallery
