[A] penetrating account of a series of journeys to Iran...Jason Elliot is a travel writer of the old school: untethered to an itinerary,eager to be led astray, and as ardent an observer of the experience of traveling as of his destination.
An important look at the forces at play in a region starting to dominate the Middle East.
Armchair travelers will enjoymoving with Elliot through bothfabled cities and remote corners of Iran.
FILLING A LONG-NEGLECTED GAP IN THE TRAVEL WRITING of the region, Mirrors of the Unseen is a rare and timely portrait of the nation descended from the world's earliest superpower: Iran. Animated by the same spirit of exploration as its acclaimed predecessor, An Unexpected Light, and drawing on several years of independent travel and research, this thought-provoking work weaves together observations of life in contemporary Iran with history, politics, and a penetrating inquiry into the secrets of Islamic art.Generously illustrated with the author's own sketches and photographs, Mirrors of the Unseen is a rich, sensitive, and vivid account of a country and its culture.
Map xiv
One
Tehran
Not Kansas Any More · Common Knowledge
What the Persians have Ever Done for Us · The Weight of Assumption
Street Names, Old and New ' Capital Growth · The Sweep of History
Trouble Ahead · Sorush, my Mentor · Heaven's Scent · Which Iran?
The Double Life
Two
Tehran · Isfahan
The Faces of the Doomed · Geography · First Glimpses of Isfahan
History of the Chahar Bagh · Half the World · The Naqsh-e Jahan
The Royal Mosque · The Mosque of Sheikh Lutfullah · Gardens of the Unseen
The Vision of Shah Abbas · Grim History
Three
Tehran · Gombad-e Qabus · Gorgan
Eastern Alburz · Golestan
Fatter is Better · Louise Firouz · Conspiracy Theory · Steppe Country
Ranch Life · The Rescue of the Caspian Horse · Opium Dog-Hell
A Day at the Races · Romans and Parthians · Mithra Myths
Parabolas and Colonnades · A Forgotten Corner of Iran · Golestan
The Sound of Eons
Four
Soltaniyeh · Tabriz · Sanandaj
Takht-e Suleyman
The Traveller's Ritual · Mongol Hoards · Dark Days for Islam
Pax Mongolica · Fantasy: the Persianization of the Mongols
Uljeitu and the Italian Connection · Sunni or Shi'a? · Ali, Prince of Martyrs
A House of Strength · An Irreverent Host · Muqarnas · Border Manoeuvres
Wine and Women · Daydream at Vanished Shiz
Five
Kirmanshah · Hamadan
Tehran · Shiraz
Trouble with Herodotus · 'Weststruck': Shades of Heidegger · The Sons of Adam
The Importance of Being Azerbaijani · The Virgin Castle
A Subterranean Discovery: What Byron Missed · The First Dome
Sasanian Rhapsody · Hafez and the Language of the Unseen · Blame the Greeks
Little Britain · Deja Vu · Begging For It
Six
Aups · Isfahan · Shiraz · Firuzabad
An Unbeautiful Instrument · Phi, Fie ... · Lines Visible and Invisible
The Riddle of the Maidan · Clues and Discoveries · Zizou's Honour
More non-Euclidean Speleology · Caveat Lector: Nasruddin's Pigeon
Aspects of Islamic Art · Epistemological Conundrums · The Problem of Meaning
All Roads Lead to Metaphysics · Dissolving Snowflakes
Seven
Persepolis · Yazd · Kerman · Natanz
Kashan · Mashhad
Money Talks · Persepolis · The Shah's Last Hurrah
Operation Ajax: The Un-Democratization of Iran · a Civilized Way to Differ
Dualities · Holy Smoke · Taxis of Evil · Rendezvous in Paradise
Rosewater · The Crazed Ones · Plus ·a Change · Lessons in Profanity
To the Shrine · Full Circle
Appendage
Index