Welcome
This website showcases my researches into Iranian culture and history:
- Walking with the nomad Bakhtiari on their famous biennial migration, and then collating a photographic history of this influential tribe. The Bakhtiari are important in Iran as key players in the 1909 Constitutional Revolution; and important for the world since Middle East oil was first found on their land.
- Following in the footsteps of Shah Abbas the Great, by completing the first ever retracing of his epic thousand kilometre walk from Isfahan to Mashhad in 1601. You can see my own (and some archive) photos plus various maps of places along the route to get an insight into this decisive time in Safavid history.
- Learning more about the skills of the master craftsmen who built, and now maintain, Iran’s architectural masterpieces.
Currently, I am starting to work on Safavid ceramics – especially the (rare) dated pieces, and the qalyans (waterpipes, or hookahs).
If you want to hear more about Iranian history and culture please sign up to my weekly newsletter here or by simply emailing caroline@carolinemawer.com with 'newsletter signup' in the title line. Every Friday you’ll then receive a little gem from my most recent work.