Fin Garden

About this place

Fin Garden is a historic Persian garden in Kashan, whose present form dates to 1590, making it the oldest surviving garden in Iran. It belongs to the Persian Garden sites on the UNESCO list. It brings together running turquoise water, tall cypresses and decorated pavilions, like a complete oasis at the edge of the desert. Its origins may predate the Safavids, but the garden in its present form was built under Shah Abbas the Great near the village of Fin. It later suffered neglect and damage several times before being restored. In the Fin Bathhouse the Qajar chancellor Amir Kabir was killed in 1852 by order of Naser al-Din Shah. The bathhouse still stands, and many people visit it. You enter by a tall gateway with a decorated dome, then walk along channels lined with turquoise tiles, with small fountains driven by natural water pressure. At the centre is a pavilion with wonderful ceiling decoration. To the side is the bathhouse with its colourful rooms. The water comes from a nearby spring, and you hear it everywhere. It is about 5.5 km in a straight line from central Kashan and about 7 km from Tabatabaei House. The finest times are spring and autumn. It fills up on holidays, so start in the morning. The UK Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to Iran and warns that British nationals risk detention, so check official guidance before making any plans. We could not confirm the current state of this site.