14 June 2014 / leggypeggy

Golestan Palace—Tehran’s crown even has a royal tent building

African Trails, Golestan Palace, Iran, Middle East, overland travel, palaces, Persia, Tehran, tents, travel, wind breakers

A very impressive side room in the palace’s Wind Breaker Building

Tehran is overrun with palaces, but the showpiece has to be the Golestan complex of palaces, museums and halls near the centre of town.

Surrounded by an ancient wall, this combination of buildings, mirrors, stained glass, tiles, mosaics, marbles, woodcarvings, enamels, gardens, fountains and more is the city’s oldest monument.

Poor John and I spent almost half a day exploring Golestan’s lush gardens and lavish buildings.

Housekeeping

Mismatched tiles

They have a cunning, money-making admission system. We paid 150,000 rials (better known as 15 tomans) or about $5 to get in. Then we paid an extra 50,000 rials per individual building we wanted to visit. There’s a big map to choose from, but the lack of explanation makes it hard to pick. Luckily, we only had to specify a number of buildings and not give exact names.

In the end, a local guide standing near the ticket counter suggested which buildings to skip, so we bought tickets to visit five of the nine on offer.

Golestan Palace is one of the buildings that made up the city’s historic citadel (Arg), which was built in the 1500s. In the late 1770s, the palace became the official residence and seat of government for the royal Qājār family. In 1865, Haji Abol-hasan Mimar Navai had it rebuilt in its present form.

The palace’s most characteristics features and rich ornamentation date from the 19th century. They incorporate traditional Persian arts and crafts as well as elements of 18th century European motifs and styles.

In addition to being used as the governing base of the Qājāri kings, the palace also functioned as a recreational and residential compound and a centre of artistic production during the 19th century.

During the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty (1925–79), the palace was used for coronations and formal royal receptions. The family built their own formal residence at Niavaran. In fact, Reza Khan (Pahlavi senior who reigned from 1925–41) had much of Golestan demolished because he thought the old structures might stand in the way of modernisation.

Marble Throne

Such a pity he felt that way. After all, his coronation was in the famed Takht-e-Marmar, or Marble Throne.

Built more than 200 years ago, the Takht-e-Marmar and its surrounding terrace are adorned by paintings, marble carvings, tile work, stucco, woodcarvings, enamels and lattices.

Golestan Palace with the Marble Throne in the far center

Figure

Marble Throne

Lion

The actual throne sits in the middle of the terrace and is made from yellow marble from the Yazd province. It was designed and created by the Qājār court’s main painter and several master artists. It is said to include 65 pieces of marble.

Shamsolemārah, Building of Sun

The Shamsolemārah, or the Building of Sun, is considered the complex’s most significant and beautiful structure. The ruler Nassereddinshāh had seen pictures of multi-storey buildings in Europe and decided he had to have his own. The Shamsolemārah’s two tall towers made it Central Asia’s first ‘skyscraper’.

Shamsolemārah verandah

Shamsolemārah detail

Shamsolemārah main room

Shamsolemārah mirrors

Shamsolemārah towers

Shamsolemārah towers

Karimkhān’s Sanctum

Then there’s the Karimkhān’s Sanctum, a verandah with three arches and a small marble throne. This was supposedly a favourite spot for Nassereddinshāh, and where he spent private time smoking his hookah. His tombstone is here.

Karimkhān’s Sanctum marble throne

Karimkhān’s Sanctum tomb

Karimkhān’s Sanctum

Chādorkhāneh, tent warehouse

Given that we are camping most of the way from Tehran to Beijing, I was rather taken by the Chādorkhāneh, or warehouse for royal tents during the Qājār period. Apparently, Qājār clan members loved the great outdoors and living in tents. I bet they loved having their servants trot along to put up the tents and cook and serve meals.

Tent warehouse

Emarat-e Bagdir, Wind Breaker

But the Wind Breaker (wind catcher) Building is certainly one of my favourites. Also known as Emarat-e Bagdir, this was the second structure in the Golestan Palace complex.

The four wind catchers that rise overhead capture the breeze, making the building cool during the hottest months of the year. But I like it because it’s just so darn beautiful. I could have wandered in the darkened rooms for the rest of the day.

Wind breaker stained glass

Wind Breaker

Wind breaker side room

Wind breaker windows

Wind Breaker chandelier

Wind Breaker main room

Wind catcher tower

Mirror Hall

A final stop was in the Mirror Hall. Photos aren’t allowed, but an iPhone on silent works wonders. I reckon the guard knew what I was up to, so I limited my bad behaviour to a couple of snaps.