What souvenirs you can find in Isfahan, the city of culture?
Isfahan is one of the most important cities and the third populated city of Iran. There are lots of things you can find as the souvenirs of Isfahan.
Isfahan has the most famous tourist attractions in Iran. Many tourists choose the city as one of their destinations because of the variety of the amazing monuments they can visit in Isfahan and if you ask their favorite city, most of them choose Isfahan, the city of color, culture, beauty and history, THE HALF OF THE WORLD!
In this article we are going to help you in buying the most beautiful handicrafts as a memento from Isfahan and tell you about the delicious souvenirs you shouldn’t skip tasting them in this amazing city.
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Souvenirs you should EAT!
The most famous eating souvenirs of Isfahan are GAZ, JOZ and POULAKI but there are also other tasty souvenirs waiting to be eaten in this city too, such as BERESHTOOK, SOHAN and special ISFAHANI COOKIES.
Gaz
Gaz is the most famous souvenirs of Isfahan, the souvenir goes back to 450 years ago to the Safavid dynasty. At that time, Gaz was a special edible which was only eaten in the royal court or sent as a gift to other lands. This delicious souvenir is produced from the root of Angabin tree, which grows in an area called Khansar.
Gaz is served in different shapes and flavors. You can find it in flavors of chocolate or flour and in the shape of a coin, screw finger or in the shape of square.
Joz with powdered sugar
This local sweet is one of the most expensive souvenirs in Isfahan. To make it, they use a local fruit called algae, which is actually a type of peach. First, the skin of this fruit is peeled and instead of kernels, the walnut kernels with sugar is poured, and finally they are dried. In other cities, in addition to this local peach, other fruits such as plums, figs, pears and etc. are used.
Poulaki
Another souvenir of Isfahan is Polaki. It is a thin, circular and sweet candy that is best served with tea. Coconut powder, omani lemon, chocolate, ginger and saffron are used as flavored flakes. As poulaki is shiny and thin like the fishes scales, they call it poulaki (poulak means scale in Persian).
Bereshtook
Bereshtook is one of the traditional Iranian sweets that is prepared in different cities of the country. Depending on the type of flour used in it’s preparation, it is produced and sold with cardamom and powdered sugar of wheat bran and peas. The bereshtook is cut into lozenges and then packaged.
Sohan
Honey, butter, sugar, sliced almonds and pistachios, water, rose and saffron are the raw materials for preparing a delicious and different sweet that you can prepare in Isfahan. These sweets are marketed in different ways. Some of them are cut into sheets and others are cut in different shapes.
The ones you should have in your luggage as a memento!
Isfahan is the center of Iranian handicrafts. The city’s handicrafts goes back to a long time ago in Iran’s history, the souvenirs you can find in Isfahan are very famous not only in Iran but all over the world. You can buy the best artworks of Iranian artists from Naghsh-e Jahan Square and the old bazaar of Isfahan.
Inaly (Khatamkari)
You can find this souvenir, in Isfahan and also in Shiraz but it originally comes from the city of Abadeh, in Isfahan province. Inaly dates back to the Safavid period and is used in the wood industry. In this artwork, small pieces from wood, similar to triangles, are used to create various geometric shapes. In making this souvenir, various materials such as metal, silver, camel bone, jujube and ebony wood are used.
Enamels (Minakari)
Isfahan is the birthplace of the beautiful art of enameling. Nowadays, this art has become one of the most important handicrafts in Isfahan and it’s so flourishing. Domestic and foreign tourists buy this beautiful piece of art as a gift or something to remember beautiful Isfahan. Enameling is the art of decorating generally metal objects with colored materials. Of course, in addition to all kinds of metal utensils made of gold, silver, brass, copper and bronze, enamel is also used to decorate all kinds of pottery and porcelain.
Engraving (Ghalamzani)
Ghalamzani is one of the most beautiful and valuable handicrafts of Isfahan. Traditional patterns, birds, animals and sometimes a part of a famous artwork or historical places are engraved on materials such as gold and silver.
The master should be skillful and have a good imagination to create a nice artwork with this method.
the drawing process begins with a solution of resin and chalk then the pattern is applied with a special tool, called Sonbe pen, which is used to perform the elementary sketch. Then the pre-applied solution will be washed off and the surface will be rubbed with coal and polished. After polishing, the picture is going to be glittering.
