Traditional Esfahan - Esfahan Travel Guide And Attractions

Palaces

Ālī Qāpū(The Royal Palace) – Early 17th Century. It is forty-eight meters high and there are seven floors, each accessible by a difficult spiral staircase. In the sixth-floor music room, deep circular niches are found in the walls, having not only aesthetic value but also acoustic. It is rich in naturalistic wall paintings by Reza Abbassi, the court painter of Shah Abbas I, and his pupils. There are floral, animal and bird motifs.

Talar Ashraf (The Palace of Ashraf) – 1650.

Hasht Behesht (The Palace of Eight Paradises) – 1669: Reportedly built for residence purposes of the King's harem.

Chehel Sotoun (The Palace of forty columns) – 1647: It is called Palace of forty columns, as there are many columns, and in Iranian, 40 means many. Incidentally, there are twenty columns, and these are reflected in the pool in front, which might also account for its name. The function of this palace was for holding religious-national ceremonies and royal festivals and for receiving royal ambassadors and guests.