Shaking Tent

The Shahsavan are a Azeri-Turkish speaking nomadic pastoralist tribe located in northwest Iran. In yearly migrations they dismantle and pack up the components of their unique dome-shaped tents onto camels and move them, along with their flocks of sheep and goats, from summer to winter quarters in a 240 kilometer (150 mile) journey—a three or four week trip taken twice per year. Each daily leg of the migration covers 9-16 kilometers (6-10 miles). The caravan carries 30-60 tents. Due to the hot climate the travel is done during the cool night and AM hours. The dome-shaped tents, called Alachigh ("alla-cheeg"), with diameter of nearly five meters (16 feet), are relatives of and similar to the yurt. They are usually decorated with bells, colorful cloths, rugs, and cushions. Men, the shepherds, usually set up the tents and women produced a variety of colorful and intricate flat-woven rugs, storage bags, blankets, and some knotted pile carpets. The dome-shaped tent's sophisticated system of building components, it can be erected in situ in only 45 minutes. As a man holds above his head a circular slotted crown hub, other men insert 24 to 32 pre-arched wooden purlins into it's slots. When complete, the frame stands like a giant spider. Woolen bands are wrapped around the frame providing the tent with lateral stability. A large wooden peg is driven into the ground under the center of the crown and a woven cord is stretched and tied top and botton (see red cord in CG model), thus compressing the entire frame against the earth, similar to a bow and arrow effect. Once assembled, the frame is covered by several sheets of thick wool felt (insulation), which are tied to the frame and the ground. The crown hub can be left open for venting or closed. The open crown hub, acting like an "oculus", lets a beam of light into the tent interior, acting like a time-telling sun dial.

Elevation is c. 1,400 meters (4,500 feet ) above sea level

Materials: wooden pre-bent compression roof purlins, wooden crown hub, circumferential and central woven tension cords, wool felt padding roofing tied to tent roof structure, and wooden rug flooring.

Data for CG model:
1. Youtube: Clark, Gordon, 2020; Shahsavan Alachigh, The Incredible Dome Tents of Iran.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuzipuvXULg
2. Shahsavan Alachigh, Northern Iran, The Alachigh, a Unique Variant of the Yurt, 2015; Institute of Nomadic Architecture
https://www.nomads.org/shahsavan.html
3. Hassas, Nejemh, & Borucka, Justyna, 2019; A Comparative Study of Iranian Nomadic Housing; ISVS e-journal, Vol. 8, no.2, Poland.
http://isvshome.com/pdf/ISVS_6-2/ISVS-ej-6.2.1-Justyna-Final-Published.pdf