About this Story
Iran is a large and ecologically diverse country stretching across the Iranian plateau in western and central Asia. The Gilan region located in the north and hugging the southern shores of Caspian Sea, for examples, enjoys a lush green and humid climate ideal for growing rice and tea. This is a stark contrast to the central desert regions near Yazd which support hardy yet other culturally important crops like pistachios and pomegranates.
This diversity of landscapes has shaped Iranian life - from agriculture and food to architecture. These connections come to life in the photographs of German geographer Eugen Wirth, who traveled across Iran in the early 1970s. This story explores how Iran's land and culture are deeply intertwined through his lens.
Who is Eugen Wirth?
Eugen Wirth (1925-2012) was a pioneering cultural geographer and professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg from 1964 to 1991. With a strong focus on North Africa and the Middle East, he travelled extensively across the region, exploring the relationship between people and their environment through photography
Wirth's deep curiosity about culture and geography is evident in his photographs, which are now housed in the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin. Taken during his travels through Iran in the early 1970s, these images capture the country’s striking landscape diversity. Besides his interests on geography, Wirth also documented everyday life - from farmers in the fields and shepherds grazing their flocks to artisans at work. His photographs show how Iran's varied environments shape the way people live, eat and build.
Through the lens: everyday life in Iran
Farmers working on rice fields in northern Iran.
Shepherds grazing their flocks.
Farmers plowing the land with cattle.
Through the lens: Iran’s geography
The towering Zagros and Alborz Mountain ranges frame much of the country, while the central plateau is dominated by two vast deserts: Dasht-e Kavir (the Great Salt Desert) and Dasht-e Lut (meaning “Empty Plain”), the latter being one of the hottest places on earth. To the north lies the lush Caspian Sea region, which contrasts sharply with the arid interior, To the south, the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman form strategic coastlines, including islands such as Kish and Qeshm.
In Tehran, Mount Damavand rises snow-covered in the distance, long cherished by residents as an ideal destination for picnics and leisure.
View of Mount Damavand in northern Tehran
Mountain landscape in northern Iran.
Dasht-e Kavir (Great Salt Desert) view, Iran.
Persian Gulf
Architectural Landscape
Eugen Wirth's photographs also document the diversity of building techniques across Iran, with particular attention to water systems and local housing traditions. They reveal how architectural practices have been thoughtfully adapted to suit contrasting climatic regions. This section brings together images from two regions: the rain-soaked Caspian Sea region, where houses are adapted to high humidity, and the arid central desert, where settlements are shaped by extreme dryness and the presence of oases.
Living with the rain in Iran
Parts of the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan in present-day Iran form the Caspian Sea region. Architects in this area make extensive use of local materials. Mazandaran Province, for example, is divided into three main zones: mountainous areas, foothills and plains. In the mountainous regions, stone and wood are commonly used, while in the coastal and lowland areas wood and mod are the primary building materials. As rice cultivation is widespread in northern Iran, straw becomes an important material in local architecture.
The climate in the Caspian Sea region is characterized by hot and humid summers and cold and wet winters. To protect homes from moisture, preventing dampness from entering the building is essential. One common solution is to raise houses above ground on platforms, often supported by timber stilts. This elevated structure keeps the living spaces dry by avoiding contact with moist soil and allowing air to circulate beneath the building. In many cases, the space below the house is also used to shelter animals, adding practical value to the design. Roofs near the sea are often built with four-sided hips, allowing rainwater to run off on all sides and reducing the risk of water penetrating the ceilings.
On the exterior of these traditional houses, openings in the walls are designed to maximize cross-ventilation within the interior. In addition, balconies that wrap around the buildings help prevent rainwater from entering the structure.
In recent decades, tiles have also become a common roofing material. The steeply pitched roofs with extended eaves have been retained, allowing rainwater to run off efficiently.
Building in the desert
In the central desert regions, earth is the primary building material. Mixed with water and shaped into bricks, it is naturally dried and hardened by the intense desert sun. This traditional method, well suited to the dry climate, has given rise to the distinctive mud-brick architecture found in cities such as Yazd. Buildings are constructed with thick mud-brick walls, which help buffer extreme heat and maintain interior comfort.
Water harvesting and water conservation
Water harvesting and water conservation are major challenges in the desert environments. Through the ingenious use of qanats - underground water channels – water is brought to the settlements. These systems have made life, agriculture, and even the creation of gardens possible in the arid landscape.
What are qanats?
Qanats are a sophisticated water-management system that has been used for thousands of years in Iran and across Central Asia. They consist of a series of vertical, well-like shafts connected by a gently sloping underground tunnel that channels water. This system allows groundwater to be transported from deep aquifers to the surface through subterranean aqueducts, without the need for pumping.
Garden with qanat
The Fin Garden, now a well-known tourist attraction, is located southeast of Kashan. Originally laid out by the Safavid rulers in the 17th century, the photograph taken in 1998 shows far fewer tourists than the one taken today. At the center of the garden stands a two-storey pavilion, in front of which lies a rectangular reflecting pool. A natural spring feeds water into the garden’s four axial pathways, all supplied by the qanat system.
A walk along the spring-fed channels connects the pavilion to the main entrance, creating a harmonious flow through the garden. This type of layout is commonly known as a chaharbagh (four-part garden design). In summer, the pools—lined with turquoise tiles—shimmer like jewels beneath the fragrant shade of the trees.
Windcatchers: A Pre-Modern Cooling System
How could buildings remain cool during the intense summer heat? One solution was the creation of natural airflow. In addition to the ingenious qanat system, the badgir (windcatcher) is another defining feature of Iranian architecture. A windcatcher functions as a passive air-circulation system: when its open side faces the prevailing wind, it captures the breeze and channels it downward into the heart of the building.
Windcatchers are tall towers built on rooftops of houses, water reservoirs, and other structures, particularly in desert cities such as Kashan. They direct fresh air to lower floors and basements, helping to cool interior spaces long before the invention of modern air conditioning. In the past, perishable food was often stored beneath windcatchers to keep it cool before refrigerators became available.
Structurally, a windcatcher consists of a narrow vertical tower with openings at the top, angled toward the prevailing wind. As air enters the tower, pressure differences create a natural draft that draws warm air upward and out of the building. The interior surfaces are sometimes lined with damp materials—such as straw or cloth—which further cool the air through evaporation. This method can significantly reduce indoor temperatures, especially in hot and dry climates. Windcatchers are also common in the Persian Gulf region, where ventilators are oriented toward the sea to capture the relatively cooler breezes generated by tidal airflow.
Most of the photos of this article are from the collection of Eugen Wirth (1925-2012).
This collection can be accessed through https://syrian-heritage.org, the database is part of the project "Crossroads Iran (ایران: محل تلاقی)", supported by the Ludwig Foundation through the Friends of the Museum for Islamic Art.
About the author:
Shunhua Jin is an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow at the Museum for Islamic Art. Her research explores Islamic material culture in China, with a focus on mosques. She also works on the iconography of Persian ceramics and book arts, and their relation to East Asian art. She studied at the University of Tehran and travelled around Iran in 2019-2020.
External reading:
- Escher, Anton. “Eugen Wirth (1925-2012) - Geographer of the Oriental City in North Africa and the Near East.” Middle East - Topics & Arguments 2019.
- Wirth, Eugen. "The Concept of the Oriental City. Privacy in the Islamic East Versus Public Life in Western Culture." Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre 18 No. 1/2 (2000/2001): 10-21.
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