Iran - Andrew Burke [78]
Today, the former embassy is known as the US Den of Espionage (Map; Taleqani Ave) and is used by the Sepah militia, a hardline group dedicated to defending the revolution. The interior of the chancery is preserved as a museum, with incriminating documents that had been pieced together after being shredded among the exhibits. Unfortunately, it’s rarely open to the public – usually only from 1 to 10 February.
Despite this, the embassy’s colourful history and more colourful murals along the Taleqani Ave wall mean most travellers come for a look. The murals pronounce the evil of the ‘Great Satan’ (the USA) and Israel, including one in which the face of the Statue of Liberty is rendered as a skull. There’s no sign saying you can’t take pictures of these highly photogenic murals but try to be discreet. We’ve had reports of travellers asking and being allowed, while others have been told not to take photos. We’ve photographed the wall several times without trouble, but on the last visit we were briefly apprehended and led away before persuading our half-hearted captors that we hadn’t, in fact, taken any photos at all and were just dumb tourists.
Diagonally opposite the US Den of Espionage is the Shohada Museum (Martyrs’ Museum; Map; cnr Taleqani Ave & Forsat St; 8.30am-3.30pm Sat-Thu), which has rolling exhibitions of photographs, usually from the Iran–Iraq War or the 1979 revolution.
PARK-E LALEH
Near the centre of Tehran, Park-e Laleh (Map; Keshavarz Blvd) is one of those places that is more than the sum of its parts. Certainly, it is a well-designed green space, but its location amid so much traffic makes the park a real oasis. As you wander through, perhaps on your way to the adjoining Carpet Museum or Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, you’ll notice plenty of young Tehranis refining their flirting techniques over soft-serve ice creams. It’s a great place for people-watching.
TEHRAN MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
On the western side of Park-e Laleh, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (Map; 8896 5411; www.tehranmoca.com; Kargar Ave; admission IR4000; 9am-6pm Sat-Thu & 2-6pm Fri, to 7pm summer) is in a striking concrete modernist building constructed during the shah’s rush to build modern landmarks in the 1970s. Contrary to preconceptions of Iran, here’s a collection of art (not always modern and rarely contemporary) by Iranian artists and some of the biggest names of the last century. Established during the ’70s under the direction of the progressive Queen Farah Diba, the museum holds arguably the greatest collection of Western art in Asia – worth between US$2 billion and US$5 billion. It includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh, Miró, Dali, Bacon, Pollock, Monet and Warhol, among others.
During the Ahmadinejad years, however, this collection has been locked away in the museum vaults, deemed to be symbolic of a Western liberalism that is decidedly out of favour among the ruling classes. While this is disappointing, it does put a lot more Iranian art on display and it’s still well worth visiting. Part of the museum’s charm is its distinctively modern design, with gallery after gallery appearing in an ever-descending and circling pattern, with plenty of comfy seats from which to take it all in. It’s a good place to meet arty Tehranis, especially in the café (which serves real coffee!).
Carpet Museum OF Iran
Just north of the Museum of Contemporary Art, the two floors of the Carpet Museum (Map; 8896 7707; http://carpetmuseum.ir; cnr Fatemi Ave & Kargar Ave; admission IR5000; 9am-4.30pm Tue-Sun, to 6pm summer) house more than a hundred pieces from all over Iran, dating from the 17th century to the present day; the older carpets are mostly upstairs. The museum itself was designed by Queen Farah Diba and mixes ’70s style with carpet-inspired function – the exterior