Tehran

When it comes to cities, especially the grand capital, Tehran, I believe in long walks and observing. Not too much breathing the air because Tehran is usually polluted… but maybe taking in all it has to offer.

Tehran is known for its political features; The center of all administrative and organizational decisions of the country, all of which are organized under the supervision of the Iranian capital. But in my opinion, this is only one aspect of Tehran, perhaps the most visible one anyway.

Tehran with an area of ​​about 12200 square kilometers is the most populous and city in Iran. The total population of Tehran is 8693706 according to the population and housing statistics of 2015.

Because Tehran is the capital, all the roads, and airways, in this case, lead to Tehran. The domestic airport of Mehrabad and Emam Khomeini International Airport are the two most crowded airports in Iran. There is a lot to say about this city. No one in Tehran gets bored because of its various attractions which could amuse almost anyone.

 

Tehran is the largest metropolis in Iran. A city is full of smoke and crowds with people who are constantly running everywhere. The thought of spending several days or even months alone in Tehran can be terrifying, particularly if you are from a small and quiet town. However, you must know that beneath that guise of a wild monster lies an infinite beauty and a great warm hug.

For the first time in the modern history of Iran, Tehran officially became the center of arts such as theater, cinema, television, and sports in various styles, especially football. Many industries were built in this city and gave it an industrialized face as well as the political and artistic ones. The scientific, academic, and modern society of Iran was formed basically in Tehran. This is the main reason why this city is so populous.

Archaeologists have indeed found human skeletal remains dating back as far as 7000 years around Tehran, but the official history of Tehran began with its selection as the capital. The area around Tehran was not so deserted. Ray was the largest and most well-known city before everything was transferred to Tehran. From the very moment that Shah Tahmasb Safavid built a gate for Tehran to protect Qazvin, his capital at the time, Tehran’s political duties started.

Before Shiraz robbed Karim Khan’s attention all to herself, he was considering Tehran to be the capital of his new reign. After this dynasty met its match and got washed away like footprints in sand by the hand of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar his insistence on claiming back Tehran from the rest of the Zand family made him conquer Tehran and in Nowruz of 1210 AH he entered the town and crowned himself King of all Iran and Tehran the capital. Tehran was close to Gorgan, the seat of the Qajar tribe, sufficient water supplies, nice weather (at the time), and most importantly, it was never capital before, not even a proper city. Tehran, the grand metropolis and father of Persian cities, came into being when Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, one of the most hated but powerful Qajar kings marched into it.

The original core of Golestan Palace was built by Agha Mohammad Khan. Later, his successors, Fath Ali Shah and Mohammad Shah made many changes to the city, but it was Nasser al-Din Shah who, considering his foreign travels, wanted to build a city like Paris and tried to give Tehran this spirit. Nearly all of the modern features of culture and art, such as the first camera and the very first theater, were his souvenirs from abroad. The foundations of modern government establishments such as offices, departments, a new educational system, and hospitals changed the face of Tehran.

The grand and traditional Bazaar of Tehran, Tekyeh Dowlat, Sepah Salar Mosque and the current Bab-Homayoun and Nasser-Khosrow streets, and of course the Golestan Palace complex in the south of Tehran were able to give Tehran the essentials needed for a reformed, modern, and strong capital. 

Much of Tehran’s modernism and its equalization with the most advanced cities in the world at that time, such as New York, took place during the Pahlavi dynasty. The explicit emphasis of Reza Shah and later Mohammad Reza Shah on leading Iran towards modernity made Tehran a city that is unique in Iran. large office buildings, skyscrapers, wide and long intersecting streets such as the current Valiasr St., which is 17 km long, the establishment of prestigious universities, the Azadi Tower, Iran hosting the 1974 Asian Games at Aria Mehr Stadium (Azadi), buildings with ancient Persian architecture which were exclusively built for government offices, museums and cinemas, grand parks such as Saei and Melat, and the special attention of the Ministry of Culture and Arts to all branches of art created an atmosphere in Tehran that attracted, amused as well as educated many Persians and other visitors. 

Tehran has also witnessed the game-changing points of Iran’s history. Although the Tehran conference which the great leaders of World War II were its participants, questioned Iran’s independence as a neutral country, it still managed to change the face of the war. The Constitutional Revolution in the time of Qajars followed by the Islamic Revolution of 1957 were also two major events that altered the fate and course of Iran.

Tehran had many political conflicts after the Islamic Revolution. From countless assassinations to the bombing because of the war between Iran and Iraq.

Although Tehran has always been the representative of Shiite, many Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian also live in this city and have special neighborhoods, educational centers, places of worship, and academies.

You could categorize Tehran’s many sights, find out what your interests are, museums tours, performing arts, or see the palace complexes. You can also wander and stray. Tehran is a city of sycamore and acacia and it is still so young that it can accompany you step by step in your walks.

 

Golestan Palace Complex

We have a blog written about this exquisite complex because it is one of Iran’s UNESCO World Heritage sites but to brief you a little, Golestan Palace complex One of the wonders of Tehran is the. Especially since the city of Tehran started to develop from there.

 

Darvish Tea House

Finding this 100-year-old teahouse in the heart of Tehran’s bazaar may be a difficult task, but it is worth the effort. Haj Kazem, the owner of this teahouse is full of knowledgeable people who have information about almost anything and will easily talk to you. The decor of this teahouse is very nostalgic and beautiful and the taste of its teas is unique. The money you pay for this tea, firstly, will not be taken from you if you are a student, and secondly, it is spent on charity.

 

Cafe Naderi Tehran

For those who still live in Tehran or are interested in the history, literature, and artistic works of 70 and ’60s, the name of Cafe Naderi is very familiar. This cafe was founded by one Iranian-Armenian who later became a hangout for a large group of Iranian intellectuals such as Sadegh Hedayat, Jalal Al-Ahmad, Nima Yoshij, Simin Daneshvar, and many popular singers.

 

Tehran Ebrat Museum

This place is a black tourism attraction, but the question is could one soul bear the horror this museum reveals. Black tourism is one of the darkest aspects of tourism because it no longer deals with the human’s glory but rather the disgrace they have brought to this world with them.

The Ebrat Museum A.K.A. Women’s Prison or the later Anti-Sabotage Committee was built by the order of Reza Shah and precisely for torture and temporary detention, and confession. The building has been built in a circle and has made those who enter it forget day and night and have no knowledge of the time. The torture chambers, on the other hand, were well-equipped and the walls were built in such a way that the sighs and groans of the detainees could be heard throughout the prison and terrify the other prisoners.

 

Moghaddam House, the most valuable house in Iran

Moghadam House was built in the late Qajar period and belonged to the family of Mohammad Taghi Khan Ehtesab-ol-Molk, the sovereign minister of Iran in Switzerland. Mohsen Moghadam, his son was a professor of archeology at Tehran University, and together with his wife, who was the director of the National Library of Iran tried to keep all the valuable objects. Many beautiful Qajar style tiles, with a combination of European colors, Spanish towers, and fortifications, storytelling with tiles, library, a museum of antiquities and coins, and historical texts could be found in this house.

 

Niavaran Palace Complex

Fath Ali Shah, who seemed to have been more talented in locating than the ruling chose a pleasant place during the Qajar reign, which had not yet reached the city of Tehran, for his summer recreation. Mohammad Reza and Farah Pahlavi expanded the Niavaran complex. A series of small Qajar buildings were demolished and several buildings with the new architecture of the second Pahlavi period were added to it.

 

Saad Abad Palace Complex

To see all the palaces of this complex, you have to take several days. One of the characteristics of the Saad Abad complex is that it is very green in spring and has an amazing fall, different rivers flow into it, and because it is located at an altitude, its air is several degrees cooler than other places in Tehran.

 

Azadi Tower (Shahyad) 

Everyone in Iran and maybe the whole world knows Iran, especially Tehran, by this symbol. Azadi Square was built almost at the entrance of Tehran from the west and very close to Mehrabad Airport. The case was that the design of an Iranian identification symbol was put up for competition among Iranian architects. The design of Hossein Amanat, a graduate architect of the Faculty of Arts, The University of Tehran, won. Hossein Amanat himself says that the design of this tower was inspired by the architecture of the Achaemenid, Sassanid, and Islamic periods. The bases of the tower are halls for exhibitions and museums and have four elevators. 

During the revolution, this square became a gathering place for people to protest, and when Imam Khomeini returned from exile, people were waiting for him in this square, and it was at this time that its name was changed from Shahyad to Azadi (Freedom).