Sa'dabad Palace Complex

🕰️When was it built?

In the Qajar period Sa'dabad was a summer residence of the shahs. Under the Pahlavis more land and buildings were added, and separate palaces were built for members of the royal family. After the revolution several of these buildings were turned into museums.

🏛️What was it built for?

The garden was used for summer living, court business and receptions. Today its museums show both the furnishings and rooms of the palaces and collections such as paintings and travel mementos; each building has its own theme.

👀What you will see

• The Green Palace is faced with green stone from the Khamseh quarries in Zanjan and Khorasan marble, and stands on high ground in the garden.
• The White Palace, with its pale facade, had ten ceremonial halls and was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's summer residence.
• The Jafarabad river runs through the grounds, and the garden spreads over a slope at different heights.
• The Omidvar Brothers Museum is in a red-brick Qajar building that used to be the carriage house.
• The Farshchian Museum, in an old building in the garden, has five halls showing more than seventy works by the artist.

💡Something interesting

The river alone was not enough to water all of Sa'dabad. Under Mohammad Reza Shah, twelve qanats, old and new, were also used so that the garden had water and the people living around it kept their share.

🎒Good to know before you go