Cheshmeh Ali

Cheshmeh Ali is the name of an ancient ground in the southern hillsides of Alborz and in the ancient land of Rey. A water spring is boiling from the soil of this land that backs to the six to eight thousand years ago. This large rock was the place of Reybandi castle or Tabrak Castle related to about 1200 years ago. The ancient name of Cheshmeh Ali was mentioned in the historical reports of Souren that is the name of one of the great Parthian dynasties. Rey city, the spring capital of Parthian empire, was the place of Anahita worship in Iran with plenty of water. Therefore, there is a tight relationship between this spring and Anahita goddess, the goddess of water and fertility in ancient Iran. The historical documents report that Fathali Shah Qajar who come here some times for recreation ordered a petroglyph containing the king and his courtiers along with a few bits of poetry to be carved on top of the spring. Qajar king was depicted in this petroglyph with a high crown, throwing a spear towards a lion. But this Qajar petroglyph was in fact carved over a Sassanid rock relief in which a horseman had been carved, worn a diadem and with a spear in his hand, who was probably a king, in addition to an inscription in Pahlavi script; therefore, in such a way an ancient work was disappeared.

Another petroglyph is also remained of Fathali Shah in the west of the hill, on top of the sprig, underneath the ancient foundations of Rey. In the right side of this petroglyph, the king is on the throne with an eagle sitting on his right hand and an ornamented sword on his belt. In the middle of the scene, king is seen worn his unique crown with a mace in his hand, a dagger on his waist and a tasseled sword on his belt. The king is sitting on the thrown and two soldiers are standing in front of him. The depictions of courtiers are also observed in the left side of the petroglyph. Fortunately, some photos and paintings have been made from this Iranian ancient heritage during the last 200 years in order to maintain it for the future.
About one hundred years of archaeological excavations in Cheshmeh Ali have resulted in the valuable findings even related to Neolithic age; stone and pottery tools and shell seals in the floor of adobe houses are indicator of people who lived on this ancient hill. Meanwhile, spinning wheel shows keeping livestock, the oven of baking bread indicates the cultivation of crops and pottery wheel signifies the development of handicrafts.
Cheshmeh Ali has become alive again with the name Souren in the contemporary literature by Sadegh Hedayat’s Boof-e Koor (the Blind Owl). Currently, the local people go there for holding rituals like carpet cleaning for Nowruz’s housecleaning and also for swimming and bathing. In order to access Cheshmeh Ali, one can proceed Shahid Avini highway to reach 22Bahman street.