The Azadi Tower can immediately be seen at the entrance to Tehran from the western side along the main road. The first to be seen by guests arriving at the airport of the Iranian capital.
This fifty-meter beauty was built in Tehran in 1971.
The tower of the memory of the kings (the original official name) was built in honor of the 2500th anniversary of the Persian Empire. Its construction has consumed 8,000 blocks of white marble, brought from the province of Isfahan. The cost of building the Azadi tower amounted to $ 6,000,000 donated by large local businessmen (there are about five hundred).
The history of the tower
The Iranian government in the 60s of the XX century announced a competition. It was necessary to develop a project dedicated to the 2500th anniversary of Iranian (Persian) statehood. As a result, the project was won by Hossein Amanat - a local architect. The opening of this grandiose building took place in 1971, just in time for the anniversary.
At that time, the Azadi tower was called Bordj-e Shahyad (translated from Persian as “Shah's memory tower”), as well as the square where it was installed (Meydan-e Shahyad - “Shah's memory square”).
After the Islamic revolution in Iran (1979), the tower and square were renamed and began to be called Azadi (translated from the Persian language as “freedom”).
First name
The tower was originally given the name Darvase-e Kurush (translated from the Persian language as “The Gate of Cyrus”). However, the chairman of the upcoming celebrations associated with the 2500th anniversary of statehood, Asadollah Alam proposed the structure to be called Darvaze-e Shahanshahi (translated - “Gate of the Tsars of the Kings”).
As a result, the final name of the tower was given by the Iranian professor Bahram Farahvasi. He decided to give this building the name Bordj-e Shahyad Aryamehr, which translates as “Tower of memory of the shahs of the Aryan light”. In 1971, he was simplified to Bourj-e Shahyad ("Tower of the memory of the Shahs").
Location
The Azadi Tower (photo in the article) is often called the “Gateway to Tehran”, as it is located on the main road in the western part of the city leading to it. This is the first thing that people who come to Tehran see from Mehrabad International Airport, which is the second largest in Tehran (the first is Imam Khomeini International Airport).
Not far from the tower and the square on which it is located, important transport arteries pass not only to Tehran, but also to the entire state. This is the Saidi motorway, the Muhammad Ali Jinn highway, and the road to Keredzh. In addition, this place is the beginning of one of the largest streets of Tehran, called Azadi Avenue.
The area with the same name, located on the territory of 50 thousand square meters. meters, is one of the largest in Iran. Azadi Tower occupies its central part.
Tower characteristics
The Azadi Tower project was created by the famous Iranian architect (later Canadian) Hossein Amanat, who left his homeland after the Islamic Revolution. The construction was headed by the famous mason G. D. Varnosfaderani.
The height of the tower, built of white Esfahan marble, is 45 meters. In total, 8,000 stone blocks were used for its construction. The style of the tower combines some elements of pre-Islamic Iranian architecture, including the architecture of the Sassanids and Ahmenids, as well as Persian post-Islamic. It should be noted that in 1982 in Algeria, the Monument of Martyrs was built, embodying the appearance and construction of the Azadi tower.
Museum
In the basement of the tower housed the original museum of the same name. Many of its exhibits are in crypts, and the lighting in the halls of the museum is slightly dim. The walls are decorated with tiles and ceramics, Persian miniatures and pre-Islamic paintings.
The Azadi Tower Museum in Tehran presents exhibits of Zoroastrian (pre-Islamic) Iran, as well as items from the time of the spread of Islam. One of the main exhibits is an exact copy of the Cyrus Cylinder (the original is located in the British Museum in London).
There are exhibits in the museum relating to the period of the White Revolution in Iran: a small copy of the Koran, famous paintings. The most ancient exhibits: porcelain varnishes, gold sheets, square plates and terracotta products found in Susa. Many items are covered with cuneiform. Presented here is a considerable collection of Persian classic miniatures, covering periods up to the 19th century. Some of them belonged to Farah Pahlavi - the last Shahban of Iran (Empress).