The village exemplifies manmade cliff dwellings which are still inhabited. The troglodyte homes, excavated inside volcanic rocks similar to dwellings in the Turkish region of Cappadocia, are locally called Karaan.[3] Karaans were cut into non-welded ignimbrites, also called "ash-flow tuffs," of Mount Sahand. The cone form of the houses is the result of the erosion of ignimbrite layers consisting of porous, round and angular pumice together with other volcanic particles that were positioned in a grey, acidic matrix. During the eruption of Sahand, pyroclastic flows formed the rocks of Kandovan. Around the village the thickness of this formation exceeds 100 metres (330 ft) and with time, due to water erosion, the cone-shaped cliffs were formed.[4]
Origin and stages of development
Mount Sahand is one of the most important mountains, the Silent volcano in Iran for one hundred and forty thousand years ago, After the retreat of Kandovan Lake basin, The stone of Kandovan has appeared.
There are several narrations about the causes of the emergence of the village:
The original inhabitants were nomads who had previously been Condon this place was used as a summer house and houses dug inside the rocks, as a house they used it temporarily to reduce the hassle of moving later have settled there.
Primary residents of Kandovan village, residents of the ruined and ancient village was "Hilevar". Those times Mongol attack from this village, which is about two kilometers It is far from Kandovan, they had moved and lived in Kandovan .
In ancient times, some of the warriors from this place passed, due to the better military position of the place, Especially its topographic position that penetrates from above makes the domain impossible, use it as its own refuge they chose and started digging houses inside the rocks.[5]
Gallery
Far view of a hotel on the left and the rock houses on the right
Closer view of the village
In the village
In the village
Interior of a traditional home
View of the village and surroundings from the rock houses
References
^Kandavan can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3813310" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
^Hashemi, S., 2013. The Magnificence of Civilization in Depths of Ground (A Review of Underground Structures in Iran – Past to Present), Shadrang Printing and Publishing Co., Tehran.
^Kaljahi, E.A., Birami, F.A. and Hajialilue, M., 2015. Influence of Geological Structures and Weathering in Formation and Destruction of Cone-Shaped Rocky Houses of the Kandovan Village, Iran. In Engineering Geology for Society and Territory-Volume 8 (pp. 231-234). Springer, Cham.
^Yusef Gorji Mehlabani and Elmira Saanayi, Rural Architecture, Architecture in harmony with the cimate of Kandovan, 2009 , Housing and Rural environment
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