A UNESCO World Heritage Site

 
The oldest of the historic monuments in Tehran, the Golestan Palace belongs to a group of royal buildings that were once enclosed within the walls of Tehran’s Historic Arg (citadel).

The Arg was built during the reign of Safavid dynasty, and was later renovated by Karim Khan Zand. With coming of the Qajar s to power, the Arg became the seat of their government of the Qajar, who made Tehran the capital of the country and Golestan Palace became the official residence of the royal family.

During the Pahlavi era Golestan Palace was used for formal royal receptions.

In its present state, Golestan Palace is the result of roughly 400 years construction and renovations. The buildings at the contemporary location each have a unique history.

Golestan Palace is a masterpiece of the Qajar era, embodying the successful integration of earlier Persian crafts and architecture with Western influences.

At present, Golestan Palace complex consists of eight key palace structures mostly used as museums and gardens, a green shared centre of the complex, surrounded by an outer wall with gates.

Palace Sections:

Ayvan Takht Marmar

The spectacular terrace known as Ayvan Takht Marmar (The Marble Throne Terrace). It was built in 1806 to the order of Fatḥ Ali Shah Qajar.

Adorned by paintings, marble-carvings, tile-work, stucco, mirrors, enamel, woodcarvings, and lattice windows; the throne embodies the finest of Iranian architecture. The renowned Takht Marmar (Marmar Throne) is located in the center of this terrace.

Coronations of Qajar kings, and formal court ceremonies were held on this terrace. The last coronation to be held at Takht Marmar was the coronation of, the self-proclaimed King, Reza Khan Pahlavi in 1925.

Khalvat Karim Khani:

Located after in the east part of Ayvan Takht Marmar and its attachments and dating back to 1759, it is a semi-open structure which is in fact a small remaining fraction of the interior residence of Karim Khan Zand. It is a terrace with four entrances of which one faces the south and three the east. There is an octagonal pond in the center of this space through which the water from Qanat used to flow into a smaller octagonal pond. There is also a ditch in the west of the pond which takes water to the lower pond.

Ornamentations of this structure include stone reliefs and tile work with a variety of arabesque, geometrical patterns, floral patterns, animal patterns and scenery.

Today, Naṣser al-Din Shah’s marble gravestone and Fath-Ali Shah’s marble summer throne, are kept in this terrace.

 Main Palace:

This palace consists of archives, including the painting archive, the library of manuscripts, and the archive of documents.

Pond House (Howz Khaneh), The Pond House was used as a summer chamber during the Qajar era. Works of European painters presented to the Qajar court are housed at the Pond House.

Brilliant Hall (Talar e Brelian), The Brilliant Hall was named so for it is adorned by the brilliant mirror work of Iranian artisans. The hall was built by the order of Nasser al-Din Shah to replace another hall called Talar e Bolour.

Containers Hall (Talar e Zoruf), All the chinaware that were dedicated to Qajar kings by the European kings were taken to this room and were arranged in show cases which were built for this purpose.

Ivory Hall (Talar e Adj), Ivory Hall is a large hall used as a dining room. It was decorated with some gifts presented to Nasser al-Din Shah by European monarchs.

Mirror Hall (Talar e Aineh), The Mirror Hall is the most famous of the halls of the Golestan Palace. This relatively small hall is famous for its extraordinary mirror work.

Salam Hall (Talar e Salam), (Reception Hall) was originally designed to be a museum. During the reign of Nasser al-Din Shah, this hall was used to exhibit Iranian and European paintings alongside gifts presented to the Iranian court. Royal jewels were also exhibited inside glass cases. These jewels are now housed at the Royal Jewels Museum of the Central Bank of Iran.

Shams-ol-Emareh

Covering an area of nearly 664 m2 in five floors, now serving as a museum, Shams-ol-Emareh (Edifice of the Sun) is the most outstanding and the tallest structure built in the government citadel. It is also the first entertainment tower in Tehran and is considered to be the first building here where modern materials such as cast iron are used in the columns and handrails. The idea of building a tall structure came to Nasser al-Din Shah before his first European and from pictorial images of European buildings. The Monarch wanted a structure from which he could have panoramic views of the city.

Emarat Badgir

Emarat Badgir (Wind CatchersBuilding) was constructed during the reign of Fath-Ali Shah. The building underwent major renovations, including structural changes, during the reign of Nasser al-Din Shah.
The building is comprised of Talar Shahneshin (King’s Hall), two lateral chambers, two vestibules, the Hoz Khaneh and four Badgirs (wind catchers), all decorated with multi-color tiles which was blue, yellow, black with golden.

Talar Almas

Talar Almas which means Diamonds Hall is located in the southern wing of Golestan Palace next to Emarat Badgir and Chador Khaneh. It is called Hall of Diamonds because of the exceptional mirror work inside the building. The construction of this hall dates to the time of Fath-Ali Shah.

Chador Khaneh

The Chador Khaneh (House of Tents) was used as a warehouse for royal tents. The Qajar tribe loved the great outdoors and made several royal camping trips each year. These trips were grand affairs with multitudes of servants and attendants – in addition to all royal necessities. Many tents were needed to accommodate the entourage. Thus, a need for a House of Tents.

Kakh Abyaz

The Abyaz Palace covers an area of about 1191m in the south of Golestan Palace. Made of white stones, the structure has a gable roof and European- style decoration. The façade is decorated with Stucco works shaped as human head, arabesques and floral patterns inspired by the European neoclassical school. The entrance is in the east, below a terrace with two pairs of double columns. Unlike other palaces of the ensemble and unlike the tradition of Iranian architecture, Kakh Abyaz does not have a symmetric design, and the larger part of spaces and rooms are along the south side. The Palace now houses one of the most interesting ethnological museums in Iran with a colourful exhibition of traditional Iranian costumes and folk arts.

1 DAY TOUR IN TEHRAN