Isfahan Is Half the World""

During the 17th century, Abbas the Great renewed the city of Isfahan, turning the former Seljuk capital into a vast garden city of flowing water and lush vegetation. Although the shah is long deceased, his city is still an oasis in the desert, and the Imam Mosque has been a reassuring presence from his time until now. This program uses the restoration of the mosque's dome as a point of entry into the life of the city: the practice of Islam, the work of men who craft tiles and women who weave carpets, and the peoples who have made Isfahan a cosmopolitan center since the time of the Silk Road. (53 minutes)