Local Cultures – Global Spaces

Abstract

Yakhchāls are historical-traditional buildings to make and store ice in hot and arid climates for spring and summer use. There are varieties in the structural elements composing a Yakhchāl, yet the main idea remains untouched to produce, store, and provide ice to the local community for a relatively long period. Kan, nowadays a part of Tehran, was a village known for fruit gardens and cooler weather than Tehran, thanks to the river of Kan running from the Alborz Mountains. Yakhchāls were constructed in Iran, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan, which makes them familiar to these nations. The main structural elements were: a pool to make ice during winter nights, a huge and lengthy wall to throw shadows on ice in the pool to keep it longer during the day before carrying those to the storage place, and a subterranean storage space, usually covered with a dome or a vaulted roof, depending on the shape of the storage place. There was a vast vacant area beside these. The Yakhchāl in Kan is probably one of the rare Yakhchāls of Tehran. However, others have not remained. In spite of its dilapidated condition, the Yakhchāl of Kan has historic importance for Tehran. On the other hand, Kan has been an accepting place for either internal or foreign immigrants due to keeping its small rural houses, which are cheaper to rent. The historical importance, familiarity of the name and function of Yakhchāls in general for both nations, the remained vacant area beside this particular Yakhchāl, a relatively crowd population of Afghan immigrants and refugees beside immigrants from different parts of Iran in the area, make this Yakhchāl a candidate to be a favorite meeting place for communities living around. No need to say how legal and/or illegal immigration is changing the world, and how our world needs meeting places and communication beyond the digital age, this historical place has a significant potential as a meeting place for peace.