Ali Qapu portal

The Ali Qapu portal is located in the city of Qazvin (homonymous region). The construction of its original building dates back to the Shah Tahmāsp (930-983 lunar Hegira) and during the Safavid period, at the time of King Abbās I (985-1028 lunar Hegira) took on its current appearance while in the qajara and pahlavi has undergone repairs and additions.

The Ali Qapu high 17 meters portal whose main entrance was one of the seven gateways to the Safavid royal citadel, includes a large Iwan of entry with a bow and three rows of arches on both sides.

I gushvāreh with fake two-story brick columns complete the portal façade. A vestibule united to 'Iwan The entrance has an octagonal shape and there are surveillance rooms on either side of the entrance.

In this vestibule there are stairs that lead to the upper floor, to the place of the players of the naghāreh (instrument of Iranian traditional music). On the front of this portal there is a beautiful inscription with majolica inlaid in calligraphy sols, the work of Alirezā Abbāsi - famous calligrapher of the Safavid period - and above it there is a large, cross-linked window in tiles.

At the time of the first Pahlavi, as the police resided in this building, the initial name “Nezāmieh” and then “Shahrbāni” above the portal was stuccoed and by the time of the second Pahlavi the added part above was removed.

The Ali Qapu portal in Qazvin is not to be confused with the eponymous palace of Esfahān!