Kãkh-e Ãli Qãpou کاخ عالی قاپو

Ali Qapu is a grand 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 originally designed as a vast portal. It is forty-eight meters high and there are six floors, each accessible by a difficult spiral staircase. In the sixth floor, Music Hall, deep circular niches are found in the walls, having not only aesthetic value, but also acoustic.
The name Ali Qapu, from Persian ‘Ālī (meaning “”imperial”” or “”great””), and Azerbaijani Qāpū (meaning “”gate””), was given to this place as it was right at the entrance to the Safavid palaces which stretched from the Naqsh e Jahan Square to the Chahar Baq Boulevard. The building, another wonderful Safavid edifice, was built by decree of Shah Abbas I in the early seventeenth century. It was here that the great monarch used to entertain noble visitors, and foreign ambassadors. Shah Abbas, here for the first time, celebrated the Nowruz (Iranian New Year) of 1006 AH / 1597 C.E.
Ali Qapu is rich in naturalistic wall paintings by Reza Abbasi, the court painter of Shah Abbas I, and his pupils. There are floral, animal, and bird motifs in his works. The highly ornamented doors and windows of the palace have almost all been pillaged at times of social anarchy. Only one window on the third floor has escaped the ravages of time. Ali Qapu was repaired and restored substantially during the reign of Shah Sultan Hussein, the last Safavid ruler, but fell into a dreadful state of dilapidation again during the short reign of invading Afghans. Under the reign of Nasir ol Din Shah e Qajar (1848–96), the Safavid cornices and floral tiles above the portal were replaced by tiles bearing inscriptions.
Shah Abbas II was enthusiastic about the embellishment and perfection of Ali Qapu. His chief contribution was given to the magnificent hall, the constructures on the third floor. The 18 columns of the hall are covered with mirrors and its ceiling is decorated with great paintings.
The chancellery was stationed on the first floor. On the sixth, the royal reception and banquets were held. The largest rooms are found on this floor. The stucco decoration of the banquet hall abounds in motif of various vessels and cups. The sixth floor was popularly called the Music Hall. Here various ensembles performed music and sang songs.
From the upper galleries, the Safavid ruler watched Chowgan (polo), maneuvers and the horse-racing opposite the square of Naqsh e Jahan.
The palace is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 20,000 rials banknote. Actually, the palace is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 20 rials banknote series 1953.

(Source: wikipedia.org)

Overview

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Kakh-e Chehel Sotun

Built as a pleasure pavilion and reception hall, using the Achaemenid-inspired talar (columnar porch) style, this beautifully proportioned palace is entered via an elegant terrace that perfectly bridges the transition between the Persian love of gardens and interior splendour. The 20 slender, ribbed wooden pillars of the palace rise to a superb wooden ceiling with crossbeams and exquisite inlay work. Chehel Sotun means ‘40 pillars’ – the number reflected in the long pool in front of the palace.
The only surviving palace on the royal precinct that stretched between Naqsh-e Jahan (Imam) Sq and Chahar Bagh Abbasi St, this Safavid-era complex is reputed to date from 1614; an inscription uncovered in 1949, however, says it was completed in 1647 under the watch of Shah Abbas II. Either way, the palace on this site today was rebuilt after a fire in 1706.
The Great Hall (Throne Hall) is a gem, richly decorated with frescoes, miniatures and ceramics. The upper walls are dominated by historical frescoes on a grand scale, sumptuously portraying court life and some of the great battles of the Safavid era – the two middle frescoes (Nos 114 and 115) date from the Qajar period but the other four are original. From right to left, above the entrance door, the armies of Shah Ismail do battle with the Uzbeks; Nader Shah battles Sultan Mohammed (astride a white elephant) on an Indian battleground; and Shah Abbas II welcomes King Nader Khan of Turkestan with musicians and dancing girls.
On the wall opposite the door, also from right to left, Shah Abbas I presides over an ostentatious banquet; Shah Ismail battles the janissaries (infantrymen) of Sultan Selim; and Shah Tahmasp receives Humayun, the Indian prince who fled to Persia in 1543. These extraordinary works survived the 18th-century invasion by the Afghans, who whitewashed the paintings to show their disapproval of such extravagance. Other items, including Safavid forebear Safi od-Din’s hat, are kept in a small museum.
The palace’s garden, Bagh-e Chehel Sotun, is an excellent example of the classic Persian garden form and was recently added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list (Read More…). An ancient fallen pine resting on a plinth gives a sense of the great age of the garden. The polished noses of the lions on the standing water spouts at the head of the decorative pool hint at this being a favourite spot for a photograph of the garden’s perfect symmetry. Art students have set up a calico shop at the garden’s entrance selling Iran’s popular printed fabric.

(Source: lonelyplanet.com)

Overview

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The Isfahan Music Museum is the first private one of its kind in Iran. The Museum was founded by two passionate Iranian musicians of the traditional music, Mehrdad Jeihooni and Shahriar Shokrani. It was inaugurated on the 2nd of December 2015.

Achievements of the Isfahan Music Museum so far:

• In 2016, the Museum obtained the first grade on the index for technical principles and physical standards from ICOM (International Council of Museums) IRAN.
• In the same year the Museum received the title of Best Privately Organized Museum in the country from the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran.

Over 300 traditional Iranian instruments

Your English/French tour guide will walk you through the different sections of the museum. You can see the way some instruments are played and listen to the sound they make with the help of media and audio display.

live Iranian traditional music performance

Hall of national instruments

This hall contains many of the instruments from all around Iran. Here you can get information about these instruments and listen to the sound they make with the help of media and audio display.

Hall of regional instruments

This separate showroom contains local Iranian instruments from different parts of the country. The tour guides will tell you about Iranian regional music and you can listen to the different musical traditions of Iran with the help of media and audio display.

The home of Iranian traditional music

This room of the museum is dedicated to the memory of some great musicians of Isfahan. Their biographies are presented. You can get a general understanding of the lives of these famous musicians who have had important influence on Iranian music.

The instrument factory

This is an opportunity for you to learn first-hand about the manufacture of traditional Iranian instruments and see the different parts that compose them.

The home of music

At the end of the guided tour, you can witness a live musical performance. After the performance, you can try different Persian musical instruments yourself.

Café

As you arrive, you enter through the back yard area which you are faced by a lightening sigh of a café. You can sit there, order drinks to rest and relax after your tour has finished.

The gift shop

If you are looking for souvenirs, gifts and music related accessories, you have come to the right place. The gift shop offers a wide variety of musical themed gifts such as traditional music albums, musical instruments, mugs and so on.

(Source: isfahanmusicmuseum.com)

Overview

Explore Isfahan Music Museum on these Suggested Tours