At the invitation of one of my close friends, who is originally from Bajestan city in Razavi Khorasan province, I attended the national pomegranate festival on November 3rd, 2022 in the land of red rubies. This city is known as the land of red rubies because of its saffron fields, pomegranate orchards, and red marble stone mountains.

Before the official start of the festival, we visited the exhibition of handicrafts and agricultural products in this city. It is interesting to know that most of the items that were prepared all had a symbol of a pomegranate, such as necklaces, rings, and bracelets. Even delicious foods such as cakes, soups, and pickles were all made of pomegranates or had a combination of pomegranates.

 After the speeches of the provincial and city officials about the solutions and business development of this heavenly (according to the words of the Holy Quran) fruit, we suddenly observed a beautiful artistic event of local music with the presence of the bride and groom, where a singer with a good voice in local costume sings this folk song with this concept:
 "When the groom wants to throw pomegranates, don't stand in his way"
"Allow him to throw red apples and red pomegranates at the bride's skirt"

Then, we were directed from the festival venue to the pomegranate orchards outside the city, where the men played local music and dances, and the guests were all treated to a bowl of seeded pomegranates and then a local lunch. It should be mentioned that since the day of the festival, the gardeners of this city started to pick pomegranates from the orchards.

The geographical location of Bajestan city
This city is located in the south of Razavi Khorasan province, around 300 km away from Mashhad, 50 km west of Gonabad county and 62 km north of Ferdows city, and next to the main axis connecting the southern provinces of the country to Mashhad.

Historical background
Bajastan is one of the holy cities of Zoroastrians. The presence of ancient sites and monuments around Bajestan and the important Grand Mosque, which was built during the Timurid Shahrokh period, is proof of the historical importance and validity of this city. Bajastan probably dates back to the Achaemenes period. Bajestan was important during the Timurid era, and its prestige was so great that Timur's contemporary rulers and nobles were able to prevent him from ruining that city. In terms of trade and commerce, Bajestan was very important and prosperous during the Qajar period. The wide network of roads and numerous caravanserais, including Fakhr Abad, Qasem Abad, Zein Abad, etc., on the way from Feyz Abad to Bajestan and Ferdows, are the reasons for the prosperity and trade in this area.

Some historical works of Bajastan county
1. Bajastan Grand Mosque
The most important work left in Bajestan city from the 9th century is the Grand Mosque of Bajestan, which was built during the time of Timurid Shahrokh and the date of its completion is 828 Hijri according to the inscription in the mosque. This mosque, which is located in Taheri Alley, currently has two porches on both sides of its square-shaped courtyard, and at the end of the previous porch, there is a carved adytum, and on the west side is the Shabistan  (A part of the Grand mosques that has a roof and prays there) Mosque, the roof of which is supported on columns. It was restored once in 1024 AH during the Safavid era.
2. Mazar Hand-Carved Monastery or Mosque
 Mazar village is located 5 km from Bajastan. This village has several national works registered in Iran's cultural heritage, one of them is Mazar monastery which has been dug in the form of underground corridors under the castle and in the rock over the years. This place is very dark and there is no opening to get light from outside.
The entrance to the monastery is a corridor with a width of one and a half meters, a length of seven meters, and a height of two meters, which leads to an open space with an area of ??one hundred and eighty square meters. There are three thick stone pillars in the middle of which no specific geometric shape can be considered.
The villagers call this place a monastery. According to the signs of the monastery, it is believed that this place was a Mithraism temple in the past. According to the feature of Mithraism, this collection can be related to the Achaemenes period and even before that.

3. Yonsi Bridge
Among the historical buildings of Bajestan, which was built on the Shore River, is a solid brick structure known as the Yonsi Bridge, which takes its name from the city of Yonsi, located 45 km away from Bajastan. The architecture of this bridge has 9 arches and semi-circular arches, some of which are made of stone or Sarouj (concrete) mortar and other parts of brick and plaster. This historical building is one of the relics of the Safavid period.
4. Zein Abad caravanserai
This valuable building is located 15 kilometers southeast of Bajestan and along the Bajestan-Ferdows road. Zein Abad Caravanserai with an area of ??approximately 2,500 square meters in the form of a quadrilateral map and different architectural spaces has been a stop for caravans traveling through the desert. On the north and south sides of the courtyard of the caravanserai, there are three-meter-wide spaces for the accommodation of passengers and rooms with dimensions of 3x4 meters. The royal part of the building, which is considered the most prominent part of this architectural work, is located on the west side of the courtyard, and two corridors lead to its back. Zein Abad Caravanserai is one of the architectural monuments of the Qajar period.
 5. Fakhr Abad Caravanserai
Fakhr Abad four porches caravanserai is located on the outskirts of the village of the same name. This place, with its vast spaces, was apparently used by caravans who intended to travel to the desert during the time of prosperity. The caravanserai building belongs to the Qajar period and its architecture includes the entrance door, porches on the sides of the entrance as a summer stop, a royal part, a stable area, a dock, and a courtyard. The interesting decoration of this caravanserai is the use of incompletely fired bricks, which, by combining with ordinary bricks, create beautiful geometrical shapes in the front part of the entrance and the royal part.
6. Marandiz Grand Mosque
This building, with an area of approximately 600 square meters, is located 37 kilometers northeast of Bajestan in Merandiz village. Its architecture includes a courtyard, a porch, a qibla (toward Mecca) porch, and a domed nave, and it is a one-porch type of building. Marandiz Grand Mosque due to the presence of part of the decorations and the exterior of the surroundings and the courtyard and the porch in terms of the plan and the type of decorative elements It is similar to the historical mosque of Khaf city, the mosque of Roshtkhar city and the dome of the tomb of Qotb al-Din Heydar in the city of Torbat Heydarieh. This building belongs to the 11th century.

7. Qasem Abad Caravanserai
Qasem Abad Caravanserai is one of the valuable buildings left over from the Safavid era, which is located in a village of the same name, 20 kilometers west of Bajestan. The mentioned building is located in the center of the village, and one of its prominent features is its very beautiful architecture, roof covering decorations, and quadrilateral wind tower.
 This building, which is one of the seven caravanserais of Shah Abbasi of Bajestan, used to be the route of the Silk Road, which is now crossed by the Bafq-Mashhad railway. Qasem Abad caravanserai is a building of past architecture in the heart of the beautiful desert of Bajestan, whose four-sided wind tower is very famous in Khorasan.

Dr. Seyedhossein Hosseiniseddiq is a faculty member at the Islamic Azad University