The city of Abarkooh, which is a part of Yazd province, is located in the heart of the desert. In terms of geographical location, Abarkooh is located between the three cities of Shiraz, Yazd, and Isfahan. This city is known as one of the 14 cities of Iranian tourism because of its many natural and ancient monuments. Among its historical monuments, we can mention the Abarkooh Ice House, which was built during the Qajar era. This monument also referred to as Aghazade Icehouse, is also registered in the national heritage list in 2008.
When you enter the city of Abarkooh from Fars province and the Eqlid junction, the first building you see is the Abarkooh Ice House. Also, this building can be seen from the exit of the city toward Fars province.
Architectural Style of Aghazade/Abarkooh Ice House
In general, traditional icehouses are classified under the vernacular architecture of Iran. We don’t know the first architect of these buildings, but we know why they were built and why these buildings were frequently used until the invention of electric refrigerators.
Aqazadeh Icehouse has a height and depth of about 12 meters. Also, the thickness of the walls and the circumference of its dome are 3 meters and 64 meters, respectively. This high building is built in a circular and stepped way.
The reason it is high is that the heat tends to go upward due to its low density. As a result, the melting of ice is prevented. Also, to reduce the pressure of the dome, it was built in steps. The floor of this building is made deeper so that it can trap the cold and. As a result, cold is preserved on the inside of the refrigerator pit.
Materials such as stone, mortar, sand, and lime have been used to build this building, but most of its materials are clay and mud. In fact, the first half meter of the building is made of these materials, and the rest is made of clay and mud.
The architectural style of Abarkooh Ice House is such that in the early stages of construction, the building is wide and thick. As you get closer to the dome, its diameter and width decrease.
Also, four points have been considered in the architecture of this building:
- Ensuring enough cold for ice storage
- Choosing the right type of building materials
- Considering how the ice is processed
- Planning and applying of building insulation
To make sure that the refrigerator works with maximum efficiency, the above tips are to be observed.
How to Make and How to Use Abarkooh Ice House
This Icehouse, like its similar buildings in other parts of Iranian deserts, is a conical and circular building that consists of four parts as follows:
- Hoz Band: It is an ice production pond that is built in the form of a rectangular pit for the formation of ice and in the north of the shading walls.
- Ice Tank: It is a pit under the dome that is used as a storage tank. As the name suggests, the tank is a place to store the produced ice and is usually built north of the complex.
- Shading Walls: These walls are located in the south of the ponds. The shading walls prevented the ice from being exposed to sunlight and melting during the day.
- The Big Dome: it is the upper part of the building, which is located on top of it. The wall of the dome has a large diameter in the early stages of construction, and its diameter gradually decreases. The high height of the dome keeps the ice tank cool.
In the winter season, when the weather was very cold, they gradually filled the Abarkooh Ice House ponds with layers of water over several nights. When these layers were frozen, they were broken up and transferred to the reservoir for storage. Then, when needed, they would remove the ice from the small hatch installed to enter the Aqazadeh Icehouse. When the vent was not in use, it was blocked with clay and mud.
A sloping surface was used to transfer ice from the pond to the tank. In this case, the broken ice easily slid down the slope and poured into the tank. Inside the refrigerator tank, each row of ice was covered with a plant called “pizo”. This work continued until the tank was filled with ice.
In addition to Aqazadeh Icehouse, other glaciers can be seen in Abarkooh. Most of these glaciers were owned by khans and nobles, but some were donated to the public. Most of the glaciers are built in densely populated areas.
Since Abarkooh is located in a desert region, the existence of an icehouse seems necessary for its hot months. The residents of this city used the cold of winter and by producing ice in this season, they were spared from the summer heat to some extent. Aqazadeh Icehouse could store ice for a long time and make it available to the public.
You Should Visit This Attraction
A trip to Abarkooh is recommended in the colder seasons of the year such as autumn and winter. If you travel to this historical city on Iran tours of Iran or on your own, don’t forget to visit Aghazade Ice House in Abarkooh.
Destination Iran invites you to visit this beautiful building and other tourist attractions of Abarkooh.
