Golshan Garden (Afif Abad)

Golshan Garden - Afif Abad

The Afif Abad garden or Golshan garden is among the historical buildings of the city of Shirāz (Fārs region) and is a perfect example of Iranian floriculture.

The complex was built in 1863 and includes a Persian garden, a royal palace and the museum of ancient weapons. Some have also attributed the original construction of this garden to Afif Al-Din Shirāzi in the eighth century of solar Hegira.

The architecture of this garden of 13 acres is a mixture of the architectural peculiarities of the Achaemenid, Sasanid and Qajaro periods and throughout the ages has preserved its simplicity and beauty within the brick walls. The garden porch has four simple stucco columns whose capitals have been designed inspired by those of Takht-e Jamshid.

In the façade of the portico one can see the image of two lions and on the other side of the door the ceremony of the coronation of one of the Sassanid kings. At the entrance to the garden strikes the view a large rectangular tub its trees around.

This garden in the Safavid period was among the important gardens and the place of promenades. In the period qajaro was renewed and inside it was erected a beautiful building. At the end of this period it was acquired by a woman named "Afifeh" who made great changes and improvements and for this reason later became known as Afif Ābād.

In the XEUMX year of the solar Hegira, he practiced it and after the Islamic revolution was used as a second military museum in the country.

Palace of the Afif Ābād garden

At the center of the garden and in front of the large pool is a beautiful and sumptuous two-storey building with 3 salons dating back to the era of the Qajar and Zand. In the façade of the building an image of the coronation of one of the Sassanid kings was embellished with tiles.

THEIwan the entrance of the building with stone steps has four tall columns, capitals worked in stucco inspired by the Takht-e Jamshid reliefs and the wooden ceiling with color and oil paintings. Throughout the eastern length of the building, a large and magnificent was created Iwan.

The western facade of the building is very simple. Me too'Iwan southern from the point of view of the decorations is like the main one.

On the lower floor of the building there is a military museum in which a beautiful natural fountain has been created, its windows are reticular and colored and in the distance between the windows images of flowers and foliage have been engraved in the stone.

This floor with three steps connects to the second. In this museum you can admire a collection of white and firearms, automatic and semi-automatic, various types of swords, armor, spears, helmets, shields, types of muzzle-loading rifles, flint, hunting rifles, pistols, various types of machine guns and ancient weapons of value such as the weapons of the kings and princes of Iran, the ritual chariot that accompanied the royal body, the cannon of Fathali Shāh Qajar, the weapons of the militants of the Jangal movement, the machine gun of Commander Ali's depot Delvāri etc ...

The second floor has a wide corridor and both rooms are located one inside the other. At the center of this floor is a large and sumptuous salon. The wooden ceiling is decorated with floral images, hunting grounds and cheerful gatherings.

The walls around are stuccoed and muqarnas and the doors and windows have colored glass. On this floor is the "Ebrat Museum" which includes conference rooms, a cloakroom, a living room, study rooms, reception rooms and a game room. 

In addition to this, two marble stoves have been installed to the north and south of the main hall, which are remarkable to see. The precious carpets of the floor of the rooms, the objects and the antique furniture and a royal floor are among the precious assets of this collection.

Coffee house and traditional Hammam

The Hammam is one of the garden buildings located west of the building and behind the walls. It has a minaret and a dome in the roof and two khazineh of cold and warm water inside. In  khazineh you can admire bas-reliefs on the walls with the image of the "meeting of the people with Khosrow Parviz" and "Farhād in the mountain of Bisutun".

On the right, at the entrance to the garden, there is a coffee house in the Iranian architectural style with six rooms. The orange tree and the small pool in the courtyard have created a pleasant environment. On the brick wall of the rooms you can see pictures of the paintings of a coffee house. 

The brick walls of this setting depict images taken from Fāshousi's Shāhnāmeh, such as the story of "Zahāk and Kaveh the Blacksmith", the story of "Zāl and Simurgh", "the Battle of Rostam and Sohrāb", the battle of Tahmatan and the white monster "and" the battle of Rostam and Esfandiar "in the pictorial style of the coffee house.

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