[A] penetrating account of a series of journeys to Iran...Jason Elliot is a travel writer of the old school: untethered to an itinerary,eager to be led astray, and as ardent an observer of the experience of traveling as of his destination.

An important look at the forces at play in a region starting to dominate the Middle East.

Armchair travelers will enjoymoving with Elliot through bothfabled cities and remote corners of Iran.

FILLING A LONG-NEGLECTED GAP IN THE TRAVEL WRITING of the region, Mirrors of the Unseen is a rare and timely portrait of the nation descended from the world's earliest superpower: Iran. Animated by the same spirit of exploration as its acclaimed predecessor, An Unexpected Light, and drawing on several years of independent travel and research, this thought-provoking work weaves together observations of life in contemporary Iran with history, politics, and a penetrating inquiry into the secrets of Islamic art.Generously illustrated with the author's own sketches and photographs, Mirrors of the Unseen is a rich, sensitive, and vivid account of a country and its culture.

Map xiv

              One

             Tehran

Not Kansas Any More · Common Knowledge

What the Persians have Ever Done for Us · The Weight of Assumption

Street Names, Old and New ' Capital Growth · The Sweep of History

Trouble Ahead · Sorush, my Mentor · Heaven's Scent · Which Iran？

The Double Life

             Two

           Tehran · Isfahan

The Faces of the Doomed · Geography · First Glimpses of Isfahan

History of the Chahar Bagh · Half the World · The Naqsh-e Jahan

The Royal Mosque · The Mosque of Sheikh Lutfullah · Gardens of the Unseen

The Vision of Shah Abbas · Grim History

             Three

Tehran · Gombad-e Qabus · Gorgan

Eastern Alburz · Golestan

Fatter is Better · Louise Firouz · Conspiracy Theory · Steppe Country

Ranch Life · The Rescue of the Caspian Horse · Opium Dog-Hell

A Day at the Races · Romans and Parthians · Mithra Myths

Parabolas and Colonnades · A Forgotten Corner of Iran · Golestan

The Sound of Eons

             Four

       Soltaniyeh · Tabriz · Sanandaj

           Takht-e Suleyman

The Traveller's Ritual · Mongol Hoards · Dark Days for Islam

Pax Mongolica · Fantasy: the Persianization of the Mongols

Uljeitu and the Italian Connection · Sunni or Shi'a？ · Ali, Prince of Martyrs

A House of Strength · An Irreverent Host · Muqarnas · Border Manoeuvres

Wine and Women · Daydream at Vanished Shiz

             Five

          Kirmanshah · Hamadan

            Tehran · Shiraz

Trouble with Herodotus · 'Weststruck': Shades of Heidegger · The Sons of Adam

The Importance of Being Azerbaijani · The Virgin Castle

A Subterranean Discovery: What Byron Missed · The First Dome

Sasanian Rhapsody · Hafez and the Language of the Unseen · Blame the Greeks

Little Britain · Deja Vu · Begging For It

              Six

      Aups · Isfahan · Shiraz · Firuzabad

An Unbeautiful Instrument · Phi, Fie ... · Lines Visible and Invisible

The Riddle of the Maidan · Clues and Discoveries · Zizou's Honour

More non-Euclidean Speleology · Caveat Lector: Nasruddin's Pigeon

Aspects of Islamic Art · Epistemological Conundrums · The Problem of Meaning

All Roads Lead to Metaphysics · Dissolving Snowflakes

              Seven

     Persepolis · Yazd · Kerman · Natanz

           Kashan · Mashhad

Money Talks · Persepolis · The Shah's Last Hurrah

Operation Ajax: The Un-Democratization of Iran · a Civilized Way to Differ

Dualities · Holy Smoke · Taxis of Evil · Rendezvous in Paradise

Rosewater · The Crazed Ones · Plus ·a Change · Lessons in Profanity

To the Shrine · Full Circle

Appendage

Index