Tehran, Portrait of a Changing City
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Tehran, Portrait of a Changing City The structural and functional aspects of city Austrian Major Auguste Kriziz1 and Ectezad - life interact. The nature of urban design ol Saltane, (1 854),overlaid on the map of sur- influences the activities of its inhabitants, and, roundings of Tehran by A.F. Stahl'. conversely, the engagement of the citizens in particular types of cultural activity affects a city's structural features. This interactive fra- Picnic in Bagh-e L5Iezir (Park) mework clearly illustrates how changes in the structural layout of a city can be altered over "The situation of the town, in full view of the time as the preferences of its inhabitants for snowcapped mountains of Elburz, is unque- particular cultural activities change and the stionably fine; and the air is clear and exhila- a pleasant place to stay fashion for various pastimes wax and wane. rating. In a word, it is in, rather than an interesting place to see.13 In what follows I will try to illustrate change This is how Edward G. Browne described and growth in Tehran from the mid-nineteenth Tehran in 1887. A time when walksdthrough century to the present solely by focusing on gardens and picnics were the most popular the prominent leisure activities, the typical ways people had of passing their leisure time. outings and pastimes of its inhabitants. A The eastern and western Dulab-s, the series of maps of Tehran show the limits of Mostawfi garden in Vanak village, Behjatabad the city in the different historical periods. garden, the Bagh-e Melli at Mashq square and the Lalezar garden with its small zoo were the most frequently visited.' The Zell-ol 1850 - 1885. Population: 150,000 Soltan and the Amin od-Dawle parks, the Nazem ol-Molk based on the plan compiled Tehran in this period is represented in the by the Austrian Major Auguste Kriziz and map based on the plan compiled by the Conte de Mont Frette, otherwise known as VIEW OF TEHRAN WITH THE ALBORZ MOUNTAIN 7 '7<.7 77, ;~. K ~ < ,; <~ ..........................'I.') 7 77'. >1 10 TEHRAN IN 1854, AFTER THE PLAN BY KRIZIZ OVERLAID ON THE MAP OF THE ENVIRONS OF THE CITY BY STAHL 1-; - Se-r I- - \ -tC -~. - mer \\\f. 3c r- Ve- 7 ..- I- fart 00,: nerescht CC - t ?Men F T -- -nt -Rua n e --a ?v.a-a.- - -x-l-n-e- ach t -o --- Y 11 corner of the Tupkhane square, Naseri park, as well as the gardens at Ark northeastern we enter another avenue similar to square were some of the other places people " whence with Khiyaban-i Ala'ud Dawla... could go to escape the dust and heat of a and parallel on the right by a fine Tehran summer. This avenue is bounded Lalezar (Garden of the In 1810, King Fath'Ali Shah and his son garden, the Bagh-i I believe to the Mohammad Mirza frequently rode in the Lalezar Tulip-bed), which belonged, 9 known as garden, where a palace was constructed to talented Riza-Kuli Khan, generally 5 the Shah".10 house the king's guests. General Gardane, who the Lala-bashi, or chief tutor of was the Ambassador of Napoleon III and some other English and Austrian guests lived there during their stay in Tehran.' In 1880, two parallel streets, each 10 meters The Abbas -Ali Tree (Burial Place) wide were built through the Lalezar garden from Tupkhane square towards the Dawlat Inside one of the courtyards of H.H. Valizade, gate to the North of the city. The western daughter of Khosraw Khan Vali and wife of street was called Khiyaban-e Lalezar and the Naser od-Din Shah, was an old plane tree eastern one Khiyaban-e Bagh-e Vahsh. The called Abbas-Ali. It was presumed to have garden between these streets was open to derived its name from the fact that it was public. A small zoo was built there (it was later planted at the period of Shah Abbas, the moved to Dushan Tappe). This street and Ala Safavid king. Mocayer ol-Mamalek tells a od-Dawle became the place for the dish story associated with this tree." mashdi 7 and their followers to ride around on "One of the servants in the private palace their decorated donkeys and ponies.' (andaruni) had committed some wrong. Afraid Edward Granville Browne mentions the of punishment, she escaped to ShahcAbd ol- Lalezar garden as located across the cAzim shrine" the same night. THE BAB-E HOMAYUN AVENUE LEADING TO THE ALMASIYYE GATE DEPICTED BY MAHMUD KHAN SABA, 1871 / /~r~ All/ / V // / / lt, 7 A 12 DETAIL OF THE PLAN OF TEHRAN BY ABD OL-GHAFFAR NAJM OL-MALEK, 1891 tt '1 I- ~ ljaa I, I - All, K / >~' 'V.:.; ii, ~ y I' -u~~~ -~sKvLrn- IS------ ------ - 7 ;~ If -1 13 The Shah, when informed of her defection, grew sad and told his wife to pardon the ser- vant. Then in order to keep the servants from escaping all the way to the holy shrine, he told one of the old ladies in the women's quar- ter (haram) to pass on the word that he had dreamed there was an emamzade13 buried at the foot of the old plane tree called Abbas -Ali. Everybody in the andaruni became happy. The king was asked to install railings around the tree. Then candlesticks were added and holy verses were hung on the tree, which became a holy burial place inside the palace, where servants could seek protection from the holy emamz de or pray for their wishes to come true."14 The burial grounds of the emamzade, usually on the outskirts of the city, were ideal places for a picnic or a pious visit. The Emamzade Hasan, Emamzade Abdollah and Emamzade Macsum to the west, outside the walls of Tehran, the Emamzade Saleh in Tajrish and Emamzade Qasem with the famous Zahir od- Dawle cemetery and Emamz~de cAziz in Evin EMAMZADE SHAH ABD OL AZIM to the north of the city were visited with the dual aim of combining a picnic with a visit to the shrine. There were also some shrines like EmamzAde Zeyd, Emamzade Yahya, Emamzade Esmacil and Em~mzade Nasr od- Din inside the city". But the most important of SALEH IN TAJRISH the religious sites to visit close to Tehran was THE PLANE TREE OF EMAMZADE the Shah cAbd ol-CAzim shrine. The first railway" to be built in Iran, called "smoking machine", connecting Tehran to Rayy, drasti- cally increased the number of visitors attrac- ted to this shrine. 1885 - 1900. Population: 250,000 14&- Tehran in this period is represented in the map based on the plan compiled by CAbd ol- A Ghafffr Najm ol-Malek, the head teacher of mathematics at Dar ol-Fonun school and Mohammad Hoseyn Khan, with the help of other teachers and students of the school (1884-1889).This plan is also overlaid on the , ;4 - above mentioned map of surroundings of A, AMON- Tehran drawn by A.F. Stahl. The city walls were designed by the French Itil engineer Bohler, whose model was probably the walls of Paris. 14 TEHRAN IN 1891, AFTER THE PLAN DRAWN BY OF ABD OL-GHAFFAR NAJM OL-MALEK OVERLAID ON THE MAP OF ENVIRONS OF THE CITY BY STAHL VIT 3-- -0\0 a 44. 0 s y r - A r-. jar M T -- - - Aih le am -DI reh n d*n Iiii Lb .- - za aJ f - - -Akbe - - --. P~~J~ - at - u rd 15 Tekiye Dawlat (Theatre) (ark) in 1864, the same year the construction of the Shams ol- cEmare palace" was started. "Her Highness the King's mother was leading It was called Tekiye Dawlat (theatre of the procession followed by the king's wives government). It was built on a site on the and their guests, almost 2,000 strong. They southern edge of the citadel replacing an old had been invited for lunch at court and for the prison, the house of Amir Kabir and some evening tacziye at the Tekiye Dawlat. This warehouses. Therefore the architect24 was not was a great honour she had granted me"7 to obliged to follow the urban pattern and could walk into the tekiye for the religious play by choose a circular form. her side. We, the women from the andaruni of George Curzon gives a detailed description of the court and their guests, walked from this structure: "It consists of a great rotunda, Narenjestan gate to the royal gate of the in the centre of which is a circular stone tekiye, through beautifully decorated red cur- platform, mounted by steps and ramps (for tains put up for the occasion, so that nobody the animals employed in the play). This is the could see us crossing the main courtyard of stage. An open passage runs round, succee- the palace. We went directly upstairs to the ded by five tiers of stone seats, which, on the first floor of the tekiye and entered one of the occasion of the performances, are packed loggias with silk carpets on the floor and with veiled women. Between these, nume- matrasses with big cushions and pillows to rous gangways lead to arched passages, lean upon. through which the actors come in. On one The first and second floors were entirely allo- side is a lofty marble mimbar , or pulpit, i.e. a cated to women, the third" to the servants. small platform at the head of a steep flight of They were busy bringing all sorts of food, steps, whereon stands the mullah, who including smoked rice and lentils, tea and directs or interprets the ceremonies.