Discovering the Persian Way

I had the opportunity to visit the interesting city of Tehran. I must confess that I wasn’t quite sure which places to visit, but I went out and explored this marvelous city anyway.

Tehran is the capital of Iran. It is the most liberal and secular city in Iran. The traffic is crazy, and it’s very busy.

I was trying to search for which places I could visit in one day, and was advised to go and visit the 7 Palaces, which is a big park with lots of different museums.

Sad Abad has 18 palaces, of which seven have changed to museums. I didn’t have time to visit all the museums.

The Sadabad Palace is a palace built by the Pahlavi dynasty of Iran in the Shemiran area of Tehran. The complex was first inhabited by Qajar monarchs and royal family in the 19th century. After an expansion of the compounds, Reza Shah lived there in the 1920s. And his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi moved there in the 1970s.

The Sadabad Palace is very interesting, There are some works of art like figurines and chinaware which are kept in showcases. Furniture, chandeliers and paintings are all European-made. There are four big mural paintings, the subjects of which are Iranian myths.

It was quite peaceful when I was there, and it was in autumn time. I really liked the light in autumn which make everything look slightly brown.

I saw this beautiful carriage when I was walking around. I was feeling quite tired when I was there, as the time change was quite confusing.

It’s quite a large area where all the palaces are situated. I found it quite easy to walk around. It was a beautiful day.

People are really friendly there, and try really hard to help you. I was leaving the palaces,  and was trying to go to the Grand Bazaar. I had to take taxis everywhere, and hardly anybody could speak English. Despite the language barrier, I did find my way there. Luckily I had everything written down on a piece of paper.

Arriving at the bazaar.

The Bazaar is quite a fascinating place to visit,  if a somewhat daunting place to explore. The bazaar is much more than just a place to stock up on a few essential shopping items. It felt like a maze to me.

Some beautiful tiles art work I saw around the bazar.

I saw this beautiful blue mosque that was being restored.

My impression of Tehran was that it is a huge city with a lot to offer. People are really warm and welcoming there. It was a shame a didn’t have much more than a day to explore, but I was quite pleased with what I saw.