The “life giver” river

Zāyandé-Rūd or Zāyanderūd (Persian: زاینده رود, from زاینده[zɑːjændɛ] “life giver” and رود[rʊːd] “river”), also spelled as Zayandeh-Rood
or Zayanderood, is the largest river on the central plateau of Iran, Isfahan Province.

The Zayandeh has significant flow all year
long, unlike many of Iran’s rivers which are seasonal. The Zayandeh is spanned
by many historical Safavid era bridges, and flows through many parks. (Unfortunately
this time the river is seasonal and flow just in 1 or 2 months during a year.)

Zayandeh River crosses the city of Esfahan, a major cultural and economic center of Iran. In the 17th century, Shaikh Bahai (an influential scholar and adviser to the Safavid dynasty), designed and built a system of canals (maadi),
to distribute Zayandeh water to Esfahan’s suburbs. Water from the Zayandeh
River helped the growth of the population and the economy, helped established Esfahan as an influential center, and gave a green
landscape to Esfahan, a city in the middle of a desert.

Si-o-se Pol (bridge) There
are several new and old bridges (pol) over the Zayandeh River.

80% of the Zayandeh’s extracted water is used
for agriculture, 10% for human consumption (drinking and domestic needs of a
population of 4.5 million), 7% for industry and 3% for other uses.(From wikipedia)

About 2 months ago, again zayanderud river has
been flowed and as other years many marine birds have moved from Cold regions to Isfahan. (Seagulls, ducks, storks, etc) It
is the best time for seeing and sketching migratory birds behaviors.

When I tried to begin my sketch, myattentionwasattracted to some storks With their amazing special gestures …sometimes
like humankinds.

 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Behzad