Iran - Andrew Burke [192]
On the upper floor, the music room is definitely worth the climb. The stucco ceiling is riddled with the shapes of vases and other household utensils cut to enhance the acoustics. This distinctive craftsmanship, considered by some to be one of the finest examples of secular Persian art, extends to the walls.
Chehel Sotun Palace
One of the only surviving palaces from the royal parklands between Imam Sq and Chahar Bagh Abbasi St, Safavid-era Chehel Sotun (Map; Ostandari St; admission IR5000; 8am-5pm, 8am-noon & 2pm-sunset summer) is today most famous for its frescoes. It was built as a pleasure pavilion and reception hall, using the Achaemenid-inspired talar (columnar porch) style. There are historical references to the palace dating from 1614; however, an inscription uncovered in 1949 says it was completed in 1647 under the watch of Shah Abbas II. Either way, what you see today was rebuilt after a fire in 1706.
The palace is entered via the elegant talar terrace, which perfectly bridges the transition between the Persian love of gardens and interior splendour. Its 20 slender, ribbed wooden pillars rise to a superb wooden ceiling with crossbeams and exquisite inlay work. Chehel Sotun means ‘40 pillars’ – the number reflected in the long pool in front of the palace.
The Great Hall (Throne Hall) contains a rich array of frescoes, miniatures and ceramics. The upper walls are dominated by historical frescoes on a grand scale, sumptuously portraying court life and some of the great battles of the Safavid era. From right to left, above the entrance door, the armies of Shah Ismail do battle with the Uzbeks; Nader Shah battles Sultan Mahmud (astride a white elephant) on an Indian battleground; and Shah Abbas II welcomes King Nader Khan of Turkestan with musicians and dancing girls.
On the wall opposite the door, also from right to left, Shah Abbas I presides over an ostentatious banquet; Shah Ismail battles the janissaries (infantrymen) of Sultan Suleiman; and Shah Tahmasp receives Humayun, the Indian prince who fled to Persia in 1543. These extraordinary works survived the 18th-century invasion by the Afghans, who whitewashed the paintings to show their disapproval of such extravagance. Other items, including Safavid forebear Safi od-Din’s hat, are kept in a small museum.
In the garden there is a small teahouse and a bookshop. Early morning is the best time for photos (flash not allowed inside).
MUSEUMS
Near the entrance to the Chehel Sotun Palace are three museums. The Decorative Arts Museum of Iran (Map; Ostandari St; admission IR3000; 8am-1pm Sat-Wed, 8am-noon Thu) is in a building that once served as stables and warehouse to Safavid kings. Today it contains a fine collection from the Safavid and Qajar periods, including miniatures, glassware, lacquer work, ancient Qurans, calligraphy, ceramics, woodcarvings, traditional costumes, weapons and horse gear.
Just to the north (right) the Museum of Contemporary Art (Map; Ostandari St; admission IR3000; 9am-noon & 4-7pm Sat-Thu, 5-8pm summer) shows temporary exhibits, mainly of Esfahani artists; while on the corner a large 15th-century building is home to the Natural History Museum (Map; Ostandari St; admission IR3000; 8am-1pm & 2-5pm, 4-9pm summer), where the fibreglass dinosaurs out front are not that enticing. The exhibits inside are better but won’t have you rushing off to write home about them.
Hasht Behesht Palace
Once the most luxuriously decorated in Esfahan, the interior of the small Hasht Behesht Palace (Map; admission IR3000; 8am-8pm) has been extensively damaged over the years. However, it retains a seductive tranquillity, with the soaring wooden columns on its open-sided terrace seeming to mirror the trees in the surrounding park.
Hasht Behesht, meaning ‘eight heavens’, was built in the 1660s. The interior boasts some impressive mosaics and stalactite mouldings and ceilings cut into a variety of shapes – similar to the music room in the