Bam

The city of Bam is located in the Kerman Province. The weather in this section is warm and dry, but proximity to desert gives it pretty cold night.  It is famous for housing the majestic Bam Citadel, the biggest adobe construct of the world. Although today the citadel is part of the Bam city, in past it was the city itself; a city that the visitors were in awe of its power and fame. Its construction proves that it was one of the main trade centers of Iran; a place where the best products were sold and bought.

In the story of Haftwad in the book attributed to Ardeshir Babakan a place named Kojaran is mentioned. There is a neighborhood with the same name in the western sections of Bam, which gives us the idea that this neighborhood might be the core of the city where the other sections were later made around.

Historically, the name of the city is mentioned in the travelogues of many travelers that visited Iran. From them we understand that Bam is a strong city with fortification that has four gates. Although there are bazaars inside city, but most of the bazaars were held outside the gates. The state of the city’s financial and economic situation is proof enough of the importance of the city; it is natural that the invaders were attracted to the wealth and fortunes of the area. Mahmoud Afghan, in particular, attacked the city couple of times until he was defeated by Nader Shah of Afsharid tribe.

The history of the city is accompanied by as much happiness and prosperity, as with pain and tragedy. The highlight of the tragedies of the place is the capture of Lotf Ali Khan the successor to the Zand Dynasty by Agha Muhammad Khan of Qajar Dynasty that led to his brutal torture and murder. The people of the city that had given refuge to Lotf Ali Khan found a same fate and many were killed, tortured and amputated.

The main agricultural product of Bam is date. In addition to the fruit itself, one finds numerous delicious sweets and deserts made with date here in this city. Eggplant, pistachio, and almond are other famous local products of the region.