Tehran

Tehran, the Capital of Iran, is located on the south hillside of the Alborz mountain range with the height of 900 to 1800 m above the sea level.

Tehran climate is greatly defined by its geographical location surrounded by the mountains in the north and by desert in the south. Accordingly, the north of Tehran enjoys a cold and arid weather but the south is largely warm and arid..

Tehran consists of three parts as “Kan“ , ”Markazi“, and “Aftab“; three cities named “Tehran“, “Bomehen“, ”Pardis”; and four rural districts. Demonstrating the traditional and modern architecture, Azadi square symbolized Tehran in the past and Milad tower plays this role, at present. As the capital of Iran, Tehran is a populous city and one of the most significant urban centers in the world experienced the modernity before the other cities of Iran.

Placed in a large area, Tehran is one of the biggest, most significant metropolitans in the world. In other word, it is the center of all affairs, government, politics, economy, culture, work, commerce, history, science, industry and production and it is why people are mostly inclined to immigrate to here and the population is continuously increased.

Locating on the hillside of Alborz mountain chain and near Damavand, the highest volcanic peak of Iran, Tehran embraces the unique attraction and landscapes where one of the most important historical attractions is placed. Tehran residents speak in Persian standard language. Different religious groups live together in Tehran.

Carpet Museum

Given to the antiquity of carpet weaving in Iran which dates back to the Acheamenid dynasty the necessity of establishing a museum has been highly apparent. The Carpet Museum of Tehran was constructed in 1356 SH, Bahman 22, representing a collection of the most noble and invaluable hand woven carpets. The architecture of the museum is highly spectacular and glorious. The decorations on the external facade of the museum is exactly similar to a carpet loom. The exhibition ground of the museum includes two halls the first one has been designed for permanent exhibitions and the second floor’s hall has been dedicated to the temporary exhibitions of carpet and Kilim.

The most valuable samples of Persian carpets and Kilims related to a period between the 9th century and the contemporary time are kept here categorized based upon their quality, antiquity, and given to the other features of Persian carpets in terms of dying, design, pattern, weaving and the verity of carpet weaving centers. There are about 135 masterpieces of Persian carpets woven in the main centers such as Kashan, Kerman, Isfahan, Tabriz, Khorasan, Kurdistan and other regions exhibited in the hall of the first floor. A library including different books in Farsi, Arabic, French, English and German languages and a book store are the other parts of the museum.

Azadi Tower

Azadi Tower (Persian: برج آزادی‎, Borj-e Azadi) is one of the tourist attractions in Tehran, Iran. Due to the proximity of this majestic monument to Mehrabad International Airport, many tourists will be getting acquainted with this place as photography upon their arrival. This tower with its stunning architecture is located in the middle of Azadi Square, the main entrance and exit of the city. Every day, many In-city and out-of-city trips are made through it, so it is marked as the western gate of the city. Azadi Tower was designed around 1971 by Hossein Amanat, a young Iranian architect, and was built by Mohammad Pourfathi.

In 1967, a competition was held among the Iranian architecture to design a symbol for the country. The engineer  (Hossein Amanat) who graduated from the Tehran University won and was selected for the construction. In 1972, the Azadi tower was put into operation under the name of Shahyad Tower. It was registered in the list of national monuments of Iran on March 16, 1972.

Tower architecture is a combination of Sassanid, Achaemenid, and Islamic architecture. The main arch inside the tower is a symbol of the Sassanid era, the parallel bases are reminiscent of the Achaemenid style of architecture, and its upper arch is inspired by Islamic architecture.

Hossein Amanat used the features of Iranian architecture such as a Windcatcher, Chahartaq, Persian garden, Iranian bazaar, and spectacular tiles to double the beauty of this monument and to help tourists to understand the Iranian culture and civilization.

The area of the square is 78,000 square meters. This tower is built as a gate with a height of about 45 meters from the ground and has eight separate sections. The width of this building is 64 meters. Around the tower is planted with beautiful flowers. Iron and Isfahan-marble have been used in the construction of the tower. Muqarnas and beautiful decorations added to this architectural masterpiece.

In this tower, 4 facades are considered which are symmetrical with each other; of course, the main views of the west and east are the ones that attract more attention. It consists of four floors with two staircases and four elevators. Hamedan granite stone has been used in the construction of the main doors, and the stones of the floors are from the stones of Kurdistan Pearl Mine. In the basement of the tower, there are several theaters, galleries, libraries, and museums.

Address: Azadi Tower, Azadi Square, District 10, Tehran (Azadi Square is located on the intersection of three highways and one of the main streets of the city. They are Shahid Lashgari Highway from the west, Saeedi Highway from the south, Jinnah Highway from the north, and Azadi Street)

Saadabad Palace Complex

The early building of Saadabad was constructed by Qajar kings and it was just 8000m2 in area in that time. Given to the good weather, Qajar kings used this place as their summer residence; however, after the 1299 coup when Pahlavi regime came to power, this place was extended at Reza Khan’s command, through constructing 18 small and large palaces in different architectural styles; the newest sector here is related to the palace of Leila, the youngest daughter of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

The palaces are as following: Ahamad Shahi Palace, Shahvand Palace (the current Green Museum, the summer residence of Pahlavi I), White Palace (Mellat Palace- Museum, the summer residence of Pahlavi II), the Special Palace (the previous Museum of Natural History), the Black Palace (the current Museum of Fine Arts), Princess Shams Palace (the Museum of Royal Clothing), Princess Ashraf Palace (the Museum of Glassware and Handicrafts), Prince Gholam Reza Palace (the Museum of Weapons of Court), Palace of Queen Mother, Prince Ahmad Reza Palace, Prince Abdol Reza Palace (Saadabad administration), Prince Bahman Pahlavi, named after the son of Gholam Reza Pahlavi (the management office), Shahram Palace, named after the son of Princess Ashraf (Military Museum), Farideh Diba Palace, the old palace of Reza Pahlavi (Behzad Museum), the new palace of Reza Pahlavi (the previous Dafine Museum), the Palace of Princess Farahnaz and Prince Ali Reza, the children of Mohammad Reza (the Museum of Mir Emad Calligraphy), Leila Palace (the targeted center for kids).

Saadabad Complex Museums

The visitors can reach to the complex through eight gates: Nezamie, mostly used by Reza Khan; Zaferanie; Gate of Darband Street, mostly used by Mohammad Reza; Gate of Darband Square; two Jafar Abad gates; River Gate; and the White House Gate.

In addition to the mentioned palaces and several old buildings, there also exist many other facilities and installations such as poultry and dairy halls, banana garden and greenhouses, pools, fountains, tennis court and bowling hall as well as the open cinema and theatre halls.

There are also some newly added museums here as follows: Museum of Royal Albums and Historical Documents inside the building of imperial guard; the Museum of Royal Kitchen inside the building of Mellat Museum’s kitchen; the Museum of Omidvar Brothers; Water Museum; Farshchian Museum; the Museum of Royal Automobiles,