Top 10 Cities in the Middle East - 8. Tehran

Welcome back to our exquisite tour of the Middle East! The fascinating style of this part of the world is always a source of endless inspiration as far as architecture is concerned. This applies even more when we talk about the top destinations in the region... Top 10 Cities in the Middle East is there to give you a deep insight into the modern architecture as encountered in the world's state-of-the-art areas, one of them undoubtedly being the Middle East. Today, the top goes to a distinct culture, an awe-inspiring civilization which is often considered as the ancient cradle of architecture...

Have you ever dreamed about a cosmopolitan city, blending an outstanding architectural heritage with the futurist style of the modern times, still resembling the traditional local atmosphere from other times? Without a doubt, the answer will be crystal clear as soon as you get acquainted with the today's destination, worth ranking on the 8th place in the top of the modern cities of the Middle East. Say hello to... Tehran!

Tehran is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With a population of about 8,300,000 and a 15 million-plus metropolitan area, it is Iran's largest city and urban area, and one of the largest cities in Western Asia. Tehran is ranked 29th in the world by the population of its metropolitan area. Tehran has been the national capital of Iran for 220 years. In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, Tehran was called Ray (which in the Avesta occurs in the form of Ragha)

In the 20th and 21st centuries, Tehran has been the subject to mass migration of people from all around Iran. Contemporary Tehran is a modern city featuring many structures, of which the Azadi (Freedom) Tower and the Milad Tower have come to be symbols of Tehran itself.

Tehran historically was known as Ray which is etymologically connected to the Old Persian and Avesta Rhaga. The city was a major area of the Iranian speaking Medes and Achaemenids. In the 10th century, Ray is described in detail in the work of Islamic geographers. The origin of the name Tehran is unknown. Tehran was well known as a village in the 9th century, but was less well-known than the city of Rhages (Ray) which was flourishing nearby in the early era.

In the early 18th century, Karim Khan Zand ordered a palace, and a government office to be built in Tehran. Tehran finally became the capital of Iran in 1795, when the Qajar king Agha Mohammad Khan was crowned in the city. It remains the capital to this day.

In the 1920s and 30s, the city essentially was rebuilt from scratch under the rule of the Shah of Iran, Reza Shah Pahlavi. He considered that ancient buildings such as large parts of the Golestan Palace, Takieh-ye Dowlat, the Toopkhaneh Square, the city fortifications and the old citadel among others were not suited to be part of a modern city. They were systematically destroyed and modern buildings in the pre-islamic Iranian style, such as the National Bank, the Police Headquarters, the Telegraph Office and the Military Academy were built in their place. The Tehran Bazaar was divided in half and many historic buildings were destroyed in order to build wide straight avenues in the capital. Many Persian gardens also fell victim to new construction projects.

In the 1960s and 70s Tehran was rapidly developing under the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Modern buildings altered the face of Tehran and ambitious projects were envisioned for the following decades. The majority of these projects were continued after the Islamic revolution of 1979 when Tehran's urbanization had reached its peak, and the new government started many other new projects, such as Milad Tower.

The climate in Tehran is semi-arid continental, highly influenced by its geographical position, with the Alborz Mountains to the north and the central desert to the south.

Being a relatively old city, Tehran states its unique architectural tradition in countless samples of buildings whose style is hard to be encountered elsewhere. Even though the old constructions have not been preserved, by adapting the modern style to the local one, Tehran manages to impress its visitors with a wide range of cultural and architectural icons.

The oldest of the historic monuments in Tehran, the Golestan Palace (also Gulistan Palace) (The Rose Garden Palace) belongs to a group of royal buildings that were once enclosed within the mud-thatched walls of Tehran’s Historic Arg (citadel). Golestan Palace Complex consists of 17 palaces, museums, and Halls. Almost all of this complex was built during 200 years of Qajar kings ruling. These palaces were used for many different occasions such as coronation and other important celebrations.

The Azadi Tower has been the longstanding symbol of Tehran since its inauguration, which took place on October 16, 1971. It was constructed to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian empire, and was originally named "Shahyad Tower"; after the Iranian revolution, its name changed to "Azadi Tower," meaning "Freedom Tower". It marks the west entrance to the city. The architect, Hossein Amanat, won a competition to design the monument, which combines elements of Sassanid and Islamic architecture. It was built with white marble stone from the Esfahan region. 

Another iconic construction in Tehran is Milad Tower. Also known as Borj-e Milad or Tehran/Teheran Tower, is a 435 m-high (1,427 ft) multi-purpose Iranian concrete tower built in 2007. It is the sixth tallest tower in the world,  standing at 435 m from base to the tip of the antenna. The head consists of a large pod with 12 floors, the roof of which is at 315 m. Below this is a staircase and elevators to reach the area. It is also the current tallest freestanding structure in the world.

Milad Tower consists of five main parts: foundation, transition (lobby) structure, shaft, head structure and antenna mast and the architect to whom the design of the building belongs is Dr. Mohammad Reza Hafezi.

The tallest residential building in Iran is Tehran International Tower, a 56-storey building with over 162 meters of elevation and a square footage of 220,000 meters. 

Built during 2003-2007, Tehran International Tower was designed in order to withstand strong earthquakes. It is one of the most expensive residential buildings in Tehran with excellent transport links to the main motorways, in addition to the splendid view of the city as seen from the top floors.

 

Bagh-e Melli (The National Garden) is a government compound where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, The The gates of the National Museum of Iran, Malek National Museum, and the future National Museum of Post are located. The compound is located in central Tehran. e compound were built by Jafar-khan Kashani in 1906.

The National Museum of Iran, located in the city centre, is the combination of two museums, the old Muze-ye Irân-e Bâstân ("Archaeological Museum of Iran", a Sasanian revival building designed by André Godard and inaugurated in 1937), and the modernistic white travertine National Arts Museum ("Mūze-i Honar-i Millī"), inaugurated in 1972. The post-Islamic part of the museum was inaugurated in 1996 and consists of three floors.

 

The original museum (Building One) was designed by Andre Godard, a French architect.

Tehran City Theater (opened ca. 1972) or Teatr-e Shahr is a performing arts complex in Tehran. Architect Ali Sardar Afkhami designed the main building in the 1960s, later expanded. The complex contains several performance spaces including Chaharsou Hall, Qashqai Hall, Sayeh Hall, and the Main Hall. Built in the early 1970's by the Empress of Iran, Farah Pahlavi, the theatre gave a huge cultural impulse to the city of Tehran.

Even though a brief outline of the architectural masterpieces in Tehran can hardly get us some in-depth knowledge about the Iranian modern and traditional architecture, there's no doubt that, not only is the city worth visiting, but it also stands out with a particular awe-inspiring style. Despite the fact that the modern constructions are few, the remarkable mixture of past and present, as well as the spellbinding view of the Alborz Mountains rank Tehran among the greatest cities in the Middle East.

References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Museum_of_Iran
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran_City_Theater
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milad_Tower
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golestan_Palace
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azadi_Tower
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Tehran
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagh_e_Melli
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran_International_Tower