Kandovan is an extraordinary ancient village in the province of East Azarbaijan, near the city of Tabriz, Iran. With its at least 800 years existence, this remarkable place is inhabited by 670 people and offers scenic beauty for its travelers.
With homes carved inside rocks, some of them 700 years old, the Kandovan village is said to have been partially formed by volcanic remains from a strong Mount Sahand eruptions hundreds of years ago.
As you will see in the small movie below, this is a place where houses are not built on a mountain, but within a mountain. Another interesting aspect is the fact that the rock acts as an energy efficient material, keeping the house cool during summer and warm during winter. This is why most of the inhabitants here do not use heaters or air conditioning systems.
The intriguing architecture of this village seems to defy all rules and travelers are usually fascinated by its incredible slopes and irreverent paths. Recently a hotel was built, inspired by and connected to the “style” of the village. The “Rocky Hotel” features beautiful cave interiors with very comfortable living spaces. What we found interesting is that it takes ten months for four people to dig a room. Be sure to check out the video to see how these rooms look.
7 Comments
Ali Marefat
October 21, 2012 at 10:39 pmNice pics from Kandovan village.. i like my lovely land.. also strong fan of visiting all countries and be familiar with different cultures.. Thanks! 🙂
maryam sadeghi
February 4, 2014 at 2:36 pmbeautiful pictures . i visited Kandovan this summer . it was wonderful .
Iran has many other amazing places . hope every one come and visit .
Tudor
February 24, 2014 at 10:39 amHello, Maryam! Thank you for your comment. We also dream to get there someday.
Shahab Alddin Shokri
July 18, 2014 at 8:44 pmDear Tudor
I used this description about Knadovan in my paper. Now I want to know more details to reference it in my paper.
For example:
Author(s), Date of publication, place of publication and name of the publisher and so on.
Best Regards,
Shahab Alddin Shokri
Tudor
July 31, 2014 at 12:15 pmHello, Shahab!
The date of publication it is specified under the article’s title. The author is Tudor Ciuculescu.
Have a nice day
Nasim
March 6, 2017 at 5:36 amGood
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May 10, 2018 at 1:09 pm[…] Wander through the ageless maze of carved out rock dwellings in Kandovan. […]