Narenjestan-e Qavam (Qavam Garden)

🕰️When was it built?

Building began under Ali Mohammad Khan Qavam al-Molk and was carried on and finished under his son Mohammad Reza Khan. Later generations also made changes to the building, so the garden and mansion are not the work of one person in one short phase.

🏛️What was it built for?

Narenjestan was the outer part of the Qavam complex, used for government and administrative business and for receiving guests. The complex was later handed to Shiraz University for cultural use, and today the Narenjestan Museum is housed here.

👀What you will see

• The main iwan has two single-piece marble columns with round shafts and muqarnas capitals.
• The flat ceiling of the iwan and the hall are decorated with large and small mirrors and colourful paintings, and not every surface has the same design.
• Orosi windows with several openings beside the hall, and the coloured glass of the shahneshin, bring light and colour into the rooms.
• The central pool runs in line with the mansion, and the bitter orange beds on either side form the main part of the garden.

💡Something interesting

Between 1969 and 1979 the house was the base of the Asia Institute, led by Arthur Pope. The basement on the north side was later repaired and turned into a museum space, where cultural objects donated by Pope are kept.

🎒Good to know before you go