Allah. Allah. Allah. The word means "God" in Islam, and it is inscribed everywhere, throughout mosques and courtyards all over Iran. It doesn't show up in a graffiti form, though, and isn't plainly written. Instead, it is hidden into graceful curves, blended into the overall design of the building as beautiful Arabic calligraphy. One aspect of Islamic

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art is that the human figure does not appear. Instead, the art is non-representational: symbols, styles and designs that swirl in upon themselves in hues of blue, aquamarine, turquoise, and gold.

Our guidebooks point out that Islamic art, and Iranian art in particular, favors "geometrical shapes and patterns...

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grapevines and other floral patterns, often very complex; and highly stylized real or imaginary creatures such as lions, elephants, peacocks, phoenixes and griffins." (Lonely Planet, Iran, p. 31) In Ghazvin we saw one of those lions over the doorway to the entrance of the Imam Hussein mausoleum, as well as a tiled, circular picture in pinks and blues.

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Looking throughout the courtyard and mosque inside, we could see different examples of floral shapes and tiles spread out everywhere.

I tried to make sense out of the intricate design, but it was so beautiful and complex that I could only distinguish shapes and colors and come up with an overall sense of awe. The attention to detail is amazing. A few key artistic elements that seem to be repeated throughout Iran are latticed doors, arches with tile work throughout, and figures of animals and flowers. You can see some examples of beautiful Iranian art in these photos.

- Monica