Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
mihrab (niche in a mosque indicating the direction of Mecca) from Qom, and a 19th-cen-
tury inlaid door from Esfahan.
MUSEUM
Iran Ebrat Museumناريا تربع هزوم
(
www.ebratmuseum.net
;
off Sabt St; admission US$3.50; tours 10am & 2pm daily;
Imam Khomeini)
There is nothing subtle about the
Iran Ebrat Museum
, a one-time pris-
on of the shah's brutal secret police that now exhibits that brutality with an equal measure
of prorevolution propaganda. The prison is an incongruously attractive building, with
wings radiating from a circular courtyard. But what went on here was not attractive at all.
During the 1970s, hundreds of political prisoners - including several prominent clerics
and postrevolutionary figures whose names you will recognise from street signs - were
held in tiny cells and, in many cases, tortured by the Anti Sabotage Joint Committee, a
branch of the despised Savak (National Intelligence and Security Organisation). The vari-
ous functions of the prison are dramatically re-created with waxwork dummies and liberal
doses of red paint. The shah's henchmen are depicted wearing neckties (a pro-Western
symbol in modern Iran) and looking brutish (check the eyebrows). The propaganda ele-
ment is emphasised with numerous photos of the former royal family - just in case you
forget who was responsible.
Propaganda aside, this prison was undoubtedly a terrible place to end up and the people
running it guilty of brutality on a grand scale. It's just a pity that the abhorrence of torture
and politically motivated incarceration expressed here is not shared by the current ruling
regime; stories from Tehran's notorious Evin Prison are just as horrifying.
All visitors must follow the 1¾-hour tour, conducted in Farsi by a former prisoner.
Some exhibits have brief explanations in English, though little interpretation is required.
The tour includes a film that's not suitable for children.
National Jewels Museumیلم تارهاوج هزوم
( 6646 3785; Ferdosi St; admission US$2.50, child under 12 not permitted;
2-4.30pm Sat-Tue)
. Owned by the Central Bank and accessed through its front doors, the
cavernous vault that houses what is commonly known as the 'Jewels Museum' is probably
Tehran's biggest tourist drawcard. If you've already visited the art gallery at the Golestan
Palace, you will have seen paintings and photos showing the incredible jewellery with
which the Safavid and Qajar monarchs adorned themselves. Come here to gawp at the real
things.
MUSEUM
