Akhavan Sigari House of Yazd (Torab House)

Akhavan Sigari House of Yazd, Torab Ecolodge, is an old house, various parts of which were built during the Qajar dynasty and some parts in the Pahlavi era. It is not clear who the first owner of the house was; however, it is named Akhavan Sigari after its last owners.

Akhavan Sigari House, One of the Most Important Schools

In the first Pahlavi’s period, Akhavan Sigari House of Yazd changed to a school and since 1921 it was considered as one of the major schools of Yazd for 20 years. It was called Tadayyon School and managed by Mr. Seyed Hashem Faghihi.

Mr. Akhavan Sigari Gets the Ownership of the House

After the school period, Mr. Akhavan Sigari bought the house. The Sigari family (Mr. Haj Abdul Hussein Sigari, RIP) owned the house for 50 years. After buying the house, Mr Sigari made some changes to the building; he built an office in the andaruni (inner part) and he also changed the panjdari (room with five doors) and reduced one of the doors of the room. In November 1994, Akhavan Sigari House was bought by some professors of Architecture Department of Shahid Beheshti University, for restoration purposes, from the inheritors of Mr. Sigari. Being purchased, the building was repaired in order to be protected and prevent further damage. It should be mentioned that in different periods of time different people have resided there.

In July 2011, Mr. Seyed Naser Razavi and Mr. Seyed Hadi Razavi bought the house and they intended to experience an Iranian lifestyle and atmosphere.

Architecture of Akhavan Sigari House of Yazd

Only one side of the Sigari House (Torab Ecolodge) hems the alley, and the other three sides are surrounded by three other houses. After passing through narrow passages and seeing the tall shadow casting walls and passing through some sabats, we arrive at this beautiful old house.
Torab House has two entrances on the alley (a main entrance door and a secondary door) that are located the farthest from each other. Akhavan Sigari House has four courtyards, two of which are very small and include none of the typical Iranian courtyards elements like pond.  These four courtyards include: 1- Outer courtyard, 2- Inner courtyard, 3- Business or Trade courtyard, and 4- Maids’ courtyard. We enter the courtyards one by one in order to see the details.

Outer Courtyard of Akhavan Sigari House

As we enter the outer courtyard of the house, if we turn 90 degrees to right we can enter the inner courtyard through a subsidiary hallway. Across from us, on the eastern side, there is a room with three doors and a narrow Iwan or porch. There are two doors on the west side of the court, one to the basement (Narenj basement) and the other to a small toilet. On the northern side of the courtyard is a corridor that connects the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard. At the end of this corridor, there is a set of stairs leading to the three-door room in the corridor. In the middle of the outer courtyard, there is a square lightwell bringing light into the basement.

Inner Courtyard of Akhavan Sigari House

Let’s enter the inner courtyard. This is the main courtyard in a long rectangle shape and there is a large pond with five fountains surrounded by gardens. There is a large hall, at the eastern side of the courtyard, called the badgir hall which used to be a panjdari. On the two sides of the hall are two-door rooms and hallways providing access to the rooms. In the northeast corner of the main courtyard, there is a corridor reaching the maids’ courtyard. On this corridor, there is a room that is a larder of the eastern two-door room of the courtyard.

Keeping Valuable Properties in the Darkroom Hoard

There is basement under the room with sash windows that can be reached through steps of the same side corner. The eastern darkroom also has a marble light well. By virtue of large niches, this room was probably used as a storeroom. In the corner of the eastern darkroom, there is a hoard used to save valuable properties or even life of the residents.

Maids’ Courtyard of Akhavan Sigari House

In the northwest of the main courtyard, there is a sloping corridor leading to the courtyard of the maids which is on a lower level than the main courtyard. On the southern side of this courtyard, there is the main kitchen and on the northern side, there is the Safavid kitchen and the food storeroom.

Courtyard of the Business and Trade, Mr. Akhavan Sigari’s Workplace

The second entrance of the Sigari House reaches a vestibule that has Kar-bandi. Right across from the entrance there is another door, which leads to a courtyard called the courtyard of the business and trade. On the northern side of the courtyard, there is a three-door room, formerly five-door, which Mr. Sigari used as a workroom, and as mentioned before, it has a door to the maids’ room.
Akhavan Sigari House of Yazd is located in Gazorgah neighborhood of Yazd, Imam Khomeini Street, the third alley of Shahid Paknejad, across from the Imamzadeh Fazel.

Stay at Akhavan Sigari House of Yazd

Akhavan Sigari House has been changed to an ecolodge and hosts a lot of tourists under the name of Torab House. Click here to book in this beautiful old house.

On March 15, 1997, Akhavan Sigari House of Yazd was registered in Iran National Monuments List with registration No. 1847.

For more information about the Akhavan Sigari House of Yazd, please contact Raadina Online Support.