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Kordasht geosite

Kordasht geosite

The Kordasht (means “Great Plain” in the local language) Complex comprises some historical monuments or buildings, such as the Kordasht Bathhouse, Gharib Mosque, a natural fridge, Kordasht Fort, and a garrison. The Kordasht Village is located in about 80 km east of Jolfa City, on the southern bank of the Aras River (near the border of Iran and Armenia).

Kordasht Bathhouse was built in Abbas the Great (fifth Safavid Shah of Iran ruled from 1587 to 1629) dynasty. Abbas Mirza (Qajar Crown Prince) refurbished the building and started living there. The bathhouse has two separate entrances; the southern one was for the public and the northern entrance was only for Abbas Mirza. Kordasht Bathhouse Building is surrounded by a garden. It has an octagonal vestibule with a huge dome that supports eight octagonal stone columns. The bath is ornamented with attractive and glorious patterns and carvings.

The main Kordasht Fort was built in the Zand dynasty (1751 to 1794) but it was destroyed during Qarabakh Khanate's emergence. In the Qajar Dynasty, Abbas Mirza built here a new fortress to defend against the Russian Invasion (during Russo-Persian Wars) in 1811. The walls of the old Kordasht Fort have been built on Oligocene Granodiorites. Tafoni erosional shapes are visible on the surface of rocks. Granodiorite is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite.