Shams-ol-Emareh is one of

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

’s historical buildings and a remnant of

Qajar dynasty The Qajar dynasty (; fa, دودمان قاجار ', az, Qacarlar ) was an IranianAbbas Amanat, ''The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896'', I. B. Tauris, pp 2–3 royal dynasty of Turkic peoples ...

. It is one of the most prominent buildings on the east side of

Golestan Palace The Golestan Palace ( fa, کاخ گلستان, ''Kākh-e Golestān''), also transliterated as the Gulistan Palace and sometimes translated as the Rose Garden Palace from Persian language, was built in the 16th century, renovated in the 18th cen ...

. It was built around 1830. It is notable for its height, decorations and design. Shams-ol-Emareh is 35 meters tall with five floors. It was the tallest building in Tehran when it was built, and the first building using metal in its structure. All the pillars in the upper floors are of cast iron. Shams-ol-Emareh was the symbol of Tehran before Sar dar Baghe Melli was built.

History

Before his visit to Europe,

Naser al-Din Shah Qajar Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, ناصرالدین‌شاه قاجار; 16 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek ...

, the fourth king of

, was thinking of building a mansion in his capital to compete with

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

’s

Ālī Qāpū Ali Qapu Palace ( fa, عالی‌ قاپو, ''‘Ālī Qāpū'') or the Grand Ālī Qāpū is an imperial palace in Isfahan, Iran. It is located on the western side of the Naqsh-e Jahan Square, opposite to Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, and had been ...

. A tall building that he could stand on its roof and see the entire Tehran. By his order, Shams-ol-Emareh building was started in 1865 and was finished in two years. Naser al-Din Shah took his guests to the roof of this building to see the capital. The building’s designer was Moayer al Mamalek and the architecture was Ali Mohammed Kashi. The style of this building is a combination of traditional Iranian and Western architecture.

The Ministers’ Door

Qajar ministers used to take their cabinet meetings in this building. Cabinet members would enter or leave from a particular door so it acquired the name "the Ministers’ Door". The Prime Minister's carriage, with its seven guards, always stopped in front of this door. This is the only door that its Qajar style façade remains.

Style

The building has two towers in the same shape. Tiling and windows are Iranian style partly derived from western architecture.

ًRooms

First floor contains the king's porch and hall covered with excellent and minimalist mirroring, with rooms on the sides which together resemble ear rings on a human ‘s face. All parts have interesting decorations. These little rooms, with reticular decorations, drawings and mirroring, also can be seen on other floors.

Decorations

The floor of the king’s porch and façade are decorated with seven color tiling in the Qajar style. The tiling shows drawings from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

’s nature and western architecture, but the style is Iranian. Pillars’ marble bases are decorated with highlighted motifs of plants and animals faces. It seems these motifs belong to different epochs. file:Shamsol emareh (14).JPG , A seven color tile file:Shamsol emareh (11).JPG, Ground floor file:Shamsol emareh (6).JPG, Ground floor file:Shamsol emareh (10).JPG, Ground floor

The clock of Shams-ol-Emareh

This clock was a present to Naser al-Din Shah's palace from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The same palace which was built in European style and was distinguished among all buildings adjacent to

. The clock was mounted on top of Shams-ol-Emareh so as to inform people of the then small Tehran, of the local time. The loud sound of the clock, however, caused the palace residents to complain which in turn made the Shah to order tone down the sound. The repair work on the clock, however, did not do any good and resulted in the clock to go silent. The clock remained silent for over a hundred years. This silence finally ended on 12 November 2012 after new repairs were completed. The clock bell sounded again.

Repairs

Shams-ol-Emareh went through a period of repairs which ended in Repairs and maintenance of was finished in 1997. In 1999 the ground floor was opened to the public.Shams-ol-Emareh; 150-Year-Old Palace in Heart of Tehran
/ref> Image:Shams-ol-Emareh 13860106.JPG, shams-ol-Emareh a view from the palace) File:Shamsolemareh Qajar Era.jpg, A view from adjacent street Image:Shams-ol-Emareh_Iwan.jpg, shams-ol-Emareh- porch Image:Shams-ol-Emareh_Windows.JPG, windows to the palace Image:One_of_the_rooms_Shams-ol-Emareh.JPG, one of the halls Image:Shams-ol-Emare.jpg, A view from Shams-ol-Emareh Image:Shams.ol.Emareh.jpg, A view from mirrorings file:Shamsol emareh (15).JPG , A colomn file:Shamsol emareh (9).JPG, The ceiling in smallrooms

References

External links

{{Coord, 35.6790, 51.4221, display=title Palaces in Tehran Palaces in Iran Royal residences in Iran Museums in Tehran Persian gardens in Iran World Heritage Sites in Iran Historic house museums in Iran 19th-century establishments in Iran Buildings of the Qajar period