Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sa'd Abad Museum Complexدابآ دعس هزوم هعومجم
( 2275 2031;
www.sadmu.com
;
www.saadabadpalace.org
; Valiasr Ave, Taheri St; ad-
mission by individual tickets US$0.20-0.40 each; 9am-4pm)
Set on 104 hectares of
spectacular mountainside parkland, the
Sa'd Abad Museum Complex
was a royal sum-
mer home during the Pahlavi period. The site's 18 buildings house museums dedicated to
subjects as diverse as the royal dishware, royal automobiles and miniature paintings. To
see everything you'll need at least three hours. Having lunch at Darband and then entering
from the north entrance makes sense and your thighs will thank you.
All tickets must be bought at either the front gate or the northern entrance from Darb-
and, so you'll need to decide in advance what you want to visit. For example, be sure to
buy a ticket for the Nation's Art Museum or you won't be able to see the basement of the
White Palace. Ask also for the English map and 'brochure'. If you start at the front gate,
take the free minibus from outside the White Palace up to the Green Palace (the two high-
lights), then walk down. Following are a selection of the museums.
There are two appealing
cafes
on the grounds. To get to the front gate, walk or take a
taxi (US$2
dar baste
) 1.5km northwest from Tajrish Sq, beginning on Ja'fari St and turn-
ing left and right (ask anyone for 'Musee Sa'd Abad'). Or go to Darband and enter from
there.
PALACE
White Palace
(Palace of the Nation)
What is now called the
White Palace
was built between 1931 and
1937 and served as the Pahlavi summer residence. The two bronze boots outside are all
that remain of a giant statue of Reza Shah - he got the chop after the revolution. Most of
what you see in the 5000-sq-metre, 54-room palace dates from Mohammad Reza Shah's
reign (1942-79) and little has changed since the revolution. The modern building is filled
with a hodge-podge of extravagant furnishings, paintings, a tiger pelt and immense made-
to-measure carpets. It was the height of luxury in its day, with discreet air-conditioning
units that fold away into the walls. In the upstairs
Ceremony Hall
is a 143-sq-metre car-
pet that is said to be one of the largest ever woven in Iran. The nearby
Dining Hall
con-
tains a similar carpet, and it is here that the shah, convinced the palace was bugged,
dragged a table into the middle of the room and insisted both he and the American general
he was entertaining climb on top before they spoke. Don't miss the trippy stainless-steel
staircases at the back of the ground floor, which spiral down to the
Nation's Art Museum
in the basement.
PALACE
Green Palace
PALACE
