Khajoo Bridge
Khaju Bridge is one of the historical and beautiful bridges of Isfahan province that in that time was one of the most beautiful bridges in the world. Walking on the bridge, especially at night and in the early evening, is one of the most enjoyable entertainment that tourists can enjoy. The journey to the “Half of the world” will not be completed without visiting the bridge.
It is also called the Shah Bridge, the Baba Rokneddin Bridge (the route to monastery and the Tomb of Baba Rukneddin and Takht Fulad), and the Hasanbeig Bridge (the name of the previous bridge which was destroyed during the time of Shah Abbas, and which was built instead), or the Shiraz Bridge, and is a monument of Shah Abbas II Safavid, founded in 1650. In the middle of the bridge a special building, known as Biglarr-beigi was built, which was created for the temporary residence of Shah Safavi and his family and still exists, and its arches have beautiful painting decorations. in fact, Khajoo Bridge is more famous than the other bridges of the Zayanderud because of its architectural decorations. The bridge is 133 meters long and 12 meters wide. The bridge is also known by other names, but is known as Khajoo for its location in Khajoo district.
In recent years, the Khajoo Bridge stone lions have been incorrectly described as special symbols or bridge guards, Isfahan or Zayanderud guards since the time of Safavid; While the existence of stone lions in Isfahan is as old as the remains of Isfahan, especially in religious places and even some descendants of the prophet’s shrines. Despite the wide destruction of these places, in some cases they are from Jahanshah’s era, and even as books published from the ancient cemetery of Abbakhshan to the third century. But according to pictures of European travel documents, especially Chardin, as well as stories and researches of Khajoo Bridge, no signs of the presence of these stone lions and their temporal and specific contexts cannot be found with Khajoo Bridge; These lions are principally linked with issues of worship, especially since the Safavid era.
In the book Encyclopedia of Takht Foolad Second Volume in the section of introducing the Stone lions, Prof. Jalaluddin Homay mentioned that the number of lions of Isfahan is twelve. These lions are in the Darb Kushk, Ab Bakhshan, Darb-e Emam, Imamzadeh Ahmad, Imamzadeh Hamza, Golestaneh, Khajeh Ali Shah, Imamzadeh Ismail, Toqchi and Takht-e Foolad neighborhoods. Concerning the origin and location of these lions, Prof. Jalaluddin Homai says: “In Takht Foolad, there were two stone lions, close to the cistern in the beginning of Takht foolad, between the monument of Shahshahan and Seyed Mohamad Turk. “In the adjustments made in the Pahlavi era, the two lions were moved from their original location on both sides of the Khajoo bridge and now are there.” The poems of Isfahan have written beautiful poems about this bridge and they inscribed it with beautiful verses and praise its beauty. One of these poems is Saeb Tabrizi’s long ode, which is about a day of celebration and lights beside the bridge. According to historians and scholars who have been studying the Safavid dynasty, Shah Abbas II’s purpose was to build the Khajoo Bridge and link the two neighborhoods of Khajoo and Hassanabad with Takht foolad and the Shiraz Road. Tourists who come to Isfahan at different periods have praised the beauty of Khajoo bridge, and considered it to be permanent masterpieces of Iranian and Islamic architecture.
