Kandovan, Azerbaijan (Northern Iran)

Situated 60km southwest of Tabriz, capital city of Irans northern province Azerbaijan - Kandovan is a village steeped in history, (800 years of it) and wonder, and it functions still today - all be it with the added ‘luxuries’ of the little things in life like power, dvd players and tourist dollars.

Formed from volcanic activity, Kandovan is the plural form of the word ‘kando’ which means ‘bees nest’ so called because of the bees nest like ‘houses’ carved out of the natural, rocky formations - and its this architecture the village is famous for, aswell as its mineral water, which is said to dissolve kidney stones.

It was my first day in Azarbaijan, and being taken to Kandovan was an Iranian highlight. We managed to get a look inside one of the ‘houses’ - inhabited by mother and daughter. The main room that we were shown was the ‘house’ - bedroom, lounge room, storage and kitchen rolled into one, although the mother did tell us there was a bigger kitchen downstairs.

It is said that the original inhabitants of Kandovan moved there during the Mongolian invasion, and hid in the caves, later carving them into houses so they could remain.

The main sources of income are from agriculture and animal husbandry - with various hand crafts and foodstuffs for the tourist dollar.