Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Shahvand Palace) At the uphill end of the complex, the more classical-looking Green
Palace was built at the end of the Qajar era and extensively remodelled by the Pahlavis.
Reza Shah lived here for only a year and apparently found the bed, if not the mirror
stalactites on the ceiling, a little too soft - he slept on the floor instead. It was later used as
a private reception hall (upstairs) and residence (downstairs) for special guests. The
design is over-the-top opulent, with wall-to-wall mirrors in the appropriately named Mir-
ror Hall and the bedroom. Be sure to take in the view from the back.
ART GALLERY, MUSEUM
Other Museums & Galleries
The most interesting of the remaining museums include: the Royal Automobile Mu-
seum , with its Rolls Royce, Cadillac and a 'unique' armoured Mercedes Benz 600; the
expansive Museum of Fine Arts in a building near the front gate that served as the royal
court between 1968 and 1979 and now exhibits furniture and paintings by modern and
older Iranian artists, plus Western painters including Salvador Dali; the Royal Dishware
Museum as much for the faux-French architecture as the ornate plates; and the Military
Museum set inside and around another palace that belonged to the shah's nephew
Shahram - just look for the helicopter.
Niyavaran Palace Museumنارواین خاک هزوم
( 2228 2050; www.niavaranpalace.ir ; Niyavaran Ave, off Shahid Bahonar Sq, Niyav-
aran; admission US$0.20 plus individual tickets US$0.20-0.40; 8am-4.30pm winter,
9am-5.30pm summer) East of Tajrish in the Alborz foothills is the palace where Shah Mo-
hammad Reza Pahlavi and his family spent most of the last 10 years of royal rule. It's set
in 5 hectares of landscaped gardens and has five separate museums - tickets must be
bought individually at the main gate.
PALACE
MUSEUM
Sahebqaranieh
(King's Special Office) With tickets in hand we recommend going first to Sa-
hebqaranieh , which was built during the Qajar period and used as Nasser-al Din Shah's
harem before later being transformed into Mohammad Reza Shah's office. It contains a
fine collection of paintings and other furnishings, including several colourful Qajar-era
works Queen Farah Diba rescued from Shiraz (look for them in the ceilings).
But Sahebqaranieh is most interesting for the insight it affords into the shah's daily life.
Rooms include a basement teahouse, private dental surgery and a bar decorated with
Shirazi painted beams. Keep an eye out for the shah's golden phone and gold-coloured
pistols, and for photos displayed in the Ambassador's Waiting Room; the mixed bunch
sees Mao Zedong share space with Pope Paul VI, while Hitler, Queen Elizabeth II,
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