Qavam House (Narenjestan e Ghavam)

[Parvaneh]

Introduction: Narenjestan or Qavam Garden of Shiraz dates back to Qajar era and is located on the eastern side of the end of Lotfali Khan Zand Avenue. Due to abundance of sour orange trees it is called Narenjestan. Narenjestan building has been a place where ordinary people went for administrative purposes and public meetings as well as meetings among Qajar dignitaries and nobles were held there.

Construction of the building started by Ali Mohammad Khan Qavam-ol-Molk in 1257-1267 AH and was completed by Mirza Mohammad Reza Khan, grandson of the first Qavam-ol-Molk and grandfather of Qavam in about 1300 AH. The building has been rehabilitated once by Ebrahim Qavam and has been decorated with mirrors, paintings, tilework, plaster work, and inlay. It is an architectural feat of Qajar period.

The main entrance of the garden opens toward south along the main axis of the building and into an octagonal corridor. Its façade is decorated with bricks. There is a tablet of marble stone on top of the entrance on which Quranic verses have been written along with poems of Asudeh Shirazi about founder of the garden and date of its construction. On both sides of the lower part of the entrance you can see two Qajar soldiers holding their rifles. The entrance door is made of wood and has been inlaid. Ceiling of the octagonal corridor is decorated with bricks and tiles and is shaped like stars.

Narenjestan building has been constructed by artisans of Shiraz over 3,500 square meters of land with total foundation area of 940 square meters in two northern and southern wings. The southern wing was special to servants and included two porticos with inlaid wooden columns and rooms decorated with beautiful plaster work. The northern wing has two stories and includes a portico with two stone columns flanked by inlaid doors and windows and including a wooden roof with mirror work along with paintings and is among architectural feats of Qajar era. Mirror hall is in the middle and surrounded by rooms on right and left in a symmetrical way. Floor of porticos are covered with white and blue tiles in a beautiful manner and attractive plaster work has covered walls of the porticos.

The building stands two meters above the yard and is mainly made of bricks. Its ceiling is covered with beautiful paintings in warm colors and varied patterns. Outside the building you can see bas-reliefs of Achaemenid soldiers, lions, tombs, and pictures of fighting mythological creatures which have been inspired by carvings at Persepolis. A stone pool in addition to date and sour orange trees are facing the building. Ebrahim Khan Qavam-ol-Molk dedicated this beautiful building to University of Shiraz in 1966. It is now Narenjestan Museum which is affiliated to Faculty of Architecture of the same university.

Source:iranreview

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Location: Shiraz, Fars province

Walking path length: No need to walking

Days of trip: 3 Days from Tehran to Tehran (Without heavy traffic you need about 12 hr driving from Tehran to Shiraz)
Attention: In holidays there is heavy traffic in all roads around Tehran.

Best time to visit: No limit, but spring is a best time.

Daily time visit: No permission at night

Difficulty level: Easy

Requirements: Guide or GPS track,

Legal permission need: No

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Overall risk: No

Animal risk: No

Lost risk: No

Rescue: Yes, you can call 115

GSM Mobile Antenna: Yes

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Hotel: Yes

Village: Located in Shiraz city

Shop: Yes

Gasoline: Yes

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How to get there:
1- Go to Baihaghi or south terminal of buses in Tehran (more info)
2- Take a bus to Shiraz (Also can use train or airplane)
3- Take a taxi to Qavam House


Nearest airport: Shiraz airport

Nearest train station: Shiraz station

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Location on map:

Pictures:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qavam_House

[Parvaneh]

Variant Names Naranjistan-i Qavam, Naranjistan, Bagh-i Naranjistan-i Qavam, Naranjistan-e Qavam, Naranjistan Qavam, Naranjistan House, Narenjistan Palace, Qavam House, Museum and Gardens, Bagh-e Narenjestan, Bagh-e-Narenjastan, Narenjastan, Narenjestan-e Ghavam, Narenjestan-e Qavam, Orange Garden, Ghavam Orangery, Qavvam House, Ghyavam, Divan Khaneh
Location Shiraz, Iran
Client Ebrahim Khan-e-Qavam
Date 1879-86/1296-1303 AH
Style/Period Qajar
Century 19
Building Types landscape, palatial, residential
Building Usage garden, garden pavilion, private residence

The Naranjistan of Shiraz is a garden and pavilion located in the center of Shiraz that was once part of a larger residential complex. The residence belonged to the Qavam family, who built it between 1879 and 1886. Ebrahim Khan-e-Qavam, the original patron and owner of the complex, is known to have designed the buildings in collaboration with a master mason. Qavam was the prime minister during the reign of the Qajar kings Aqa Muhammad Khan (1796-1797) and Fath Ali Shah (1797-1834).

The Naranjistan is composed as a walled rectangular garden with a pavilion at its northernmost edge. This pavilion is the biruni of a larger residential complex, with the function of receiving guests and serving as a place for reception and celebration.

In addition to the Naranjistan, the Qavam residential complex included an anderun, the private quarters of the family, to the west, a public and a private bathhouse, a stable, and a husseiniyah (hoseinieh), a building dedicated to religious ceremonies. The anderun, called the Zinat al Mulk, is still extant today and is connected to the biruni via an underground tunnel.

The Naranjestan garden takes its name from the naranj (bitter orange) groves that it contains. It is a rectangular garden surrounded by perimeter walls on all sides except for the north, where the biruni spans the entire length of the edge. The garden has a formal organization with a water channel along its center, flanked on each side by plots of flowers and grass, walkways, and groves of trees. Entered from the street on the south, the organization of the garden is directed towards the main elevation of the biruni. From the street, the entry vestibule splits into two separate entrances directed towards the two paths flanking the water channel. Flanking the vestibule are offices. Each side is divided into three spaces that look out onto the garden. The organization is such that a visitor coming only to conduct business would not need to proceed further into the garden, which was intended for guests.

Situated at the northern short edge of the rectangular garden, the main elevation of the biruni faces onto the garden with the water channel at its center preceded by a pool of water. At the center of the main elevation is the talar, a recessed roofed porch with two large double-story stone columns at the plane of the elevation. The talar, 9 meters long, 5.2 meters wide, and 6 meters high, is both the main reception and waiting hall. Towards the interior, directly behind the talar, is the throne room. It was here that Ebrahim Khan-e-Qavam received his guests and conducted business. These two spaces, the talar and the throne room, are the most elaborately decorated rooms of the entire complex. Both are covered with mosaic mirror work. Eight three-tiered chandeliers hang from the ceiling of the talar.

The talar and the throne room, located symbolically and functionally at the center, also served as the central axis from which each side is mirrored. To each side of the talar is a hall followed by a smaller room, both of which may have served as guest rooms. At the end of each of the smaller rooms is a staircase leading to rooms on the upper story. To each side of the talar are two additional staircases. With a function beyond the maintenance of symmetry, these four staircases lead to autonomous clusters of rooms, presumably intended to provide privacy for each visiting guest and his entourage. The rooms adjacent to the talar have windows that look into the talar space.

Below the elevated first floor is a semi-subterranean summer room. Unlike the rest of the biruni, which is decorated with mirror and tile work, and painted wood ceilings, the decoration of the summer room consists only of patterned brick. Its main elevation is decorated almost entirely with tile work. Structurally, the building is composed of mud bricks, stone, and oak beams.

In addition to the biruni at the north end of the garden and the office spaces to the south end of the garden, there is also a guest house to the east of the Naranjistan walls. This guest house could be entered directly from the street or from the two entrances on the east wall of the Naranjistan garden.

From 1969 to 1979 the Naranjistan served as a museum under the Asian Institute with the American archaeologist Arthur Upham Pope as its coordinator. In 1998 it was occupied by the faculty of Art and Architecture of Shiraz University.

Sources:

Brookes, John. 1987. Gardens of Paradise; The History and Design of the Great Islamic Gardens. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson Ltd., 94-96, 105.

Hobhouse, Penelope. 2004. Gardens of Persia. Hong Kong: Kale Press, 176-177.

Manzoor, Shokrollah. 1993. Pardis Gardens in Iran. Gothenburg: Graphic Systems, 71-76.

O'Donnell, Terence. 1970. The Narenjestan: A Brief History and Interpretation of the House. Shiraz: Asia Institute, Pahlavi University.

Porter, Yves and Arthur Thevenart. 2002. Palaces and Gardens of Persia. Paris: Editions Flammarion, 124-132.

Wilber, Donald N. 1962. Persian Gardens and Garden Pavilions. Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 210.

"Naranjestan-e-Ghavam." http://www.shirazcity.org/shiraz/Shiraz ... m#Pictures. [Accessed October 18, 2005].

http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-si ... e_id=12161

[Parvaneh]

The construction of Narenjestan Mansion was started in the 1870s by Mirza Mohammad Reza Khan, the grandson of the first Qavam-ol-Molk, and Qavam-ol-Molk’s father.

The mansion’s venue in Shiraz, Fars province, was selected because it was near the Qavam family’s residence.

Documents indicate Narenjestan was designed by Ebrahim Khan in collaboration with a master mason. The mansion consisted of several buildings that were collectively called Narenjestan, Shirazu.ac reported.

Narenjestan had a section called ‘Biruni’, the men’s quarter at the time of Qavam, and it was separated by an alley from ‘Andaruni’, or the women’s quarter. The two are connected through a tunnel.

Prior to its construction, Qavam had two other houses, one called ‘Delgosha’ near the tomb of classical poet Sa’di, and the other a garden-house a few kilometers west of Shiraz called Afifabad or Golshan Garden that was used as a summer residence. Qavam intended to reside at Narenjestan.

Qavam Mosque is located approximately 500 meters west of the mansion and a special place was designated for marking religious ceremonies.



Purposes of Design

‘Biruni’ was usually designed for business, special ceremonies and celebrations, as well as for guests.

The six rooms on each side of the entrance lobby have grand balconies at the front. These rooms were used as offices and the balconies substituted as waiting rooms. There is a great garden between the office and the main building, surrounded by porches.

Another section of the building, in which there is no sign of the garden’s elegance, had a basement that was used as prison.

Guests arriving for some day-time reception or to spend the night, passed through ‘Hashti’ (an octagonal area) and the garden, and entered a large arena located at the upper level of the garden.

This arena has a large pool, which reflects the building and is surrounded by several small gardens. Beyond this arena is the main building. A grand hall with tall columns is located within the building, which opened toward the garden and the pool. The walls of this hall are all covered with mirror, in a way that if the chandeliers are lit or the sunlight is reflected, the whole place begins to shine.

Brick

Brick has been used as the major component in every section of the building, and the best kind can be seen in the entrance lobby and the basement, which have undergone repairs recently.

Tile

All of the tiles used in this mansion are from local sources. The most interesting tiled parts are the following: the entrance door that has tiles shaped like a star and the corridor that has a portrait of three servants carrying pears and sherbet.

In the spandrels above the servant scene, Solomon and Rostam are portrayed in an episode from Ferdowsi’s epic book Shahnameh.

Stone

Local stones used at the base of all exterior walls for strengthening the building can be viewed clearly. Beneath the two panels are portraits of soldiers as well as servants.

In the southern and other sections of the building, the pictures are all derived from Achaemenid complex known as Persepolis near Shiraz, and Shiraz’s miniatures can be seen at the bottom of the panels.

Marbles

Marbles used in the building are from Yazd and Tabriz. They can be seen in the margins of all rooms and fireplace. The fireplace presents Jamshid and other Perspolitan figures in low relief outlined with gold leaf.

There are two sketches of Mohammad Reza Khan, son of Mirza Ebrahim Khan, who completed the building of Narenjestan in 1885.

Wood Painting and Inlaid

All the doors are made of inlaid wood, which are from local walnut trees. The inlay material is mainly from India while the oysters are from Persian Gulf. With the exception of the throne room and parts of the hall, all ceilings in the main building are of painted wood.

In the center of the ceiling, a large medallion is designed, surrounded by six painted ovals, the coloring principles of which are in the style of the carpet. The rooms above the small salons have painted wooden ceilings.

Plaster

All levels of the main building bear a non-painted plain plaster. The most interesting example of this type of plaster is used in the main room of the western upstairs. Over the fireplace is a series of local designs.

Mirrorwork

Mirrors are used prominently in this building. The most beautiful part with colorful glasses is between the throne room and the hall.

(Source: Iran Daily)

[Parvaneh]

[Parvaneh]

Built in 1881, this magnificent building located in a beautiful citrus garden which dates back to the Qajar period. It was restored in 1967. This museum contains some of the objects relevant to 3000 years ago and also it’s photographic and slide archives on ancient monuments of Iran is considered to be one of the best in the country.

[Parvaneh]

The Narenjestan Qavam Orchard is another ancient orchard of the city of Shiraz, which dates back to Qajarid dynasty. It has numerous sour orange trees. This orchard’s construction was started by Ali Mohammad Khan Qavam ul-Molk, and was completed by his son, Mohammad Reza Qavam Ul-Molk, in 1300 AH.

The orchard’s gate is to the south, and its gateway is decorated with bricks and inscriptions made of red marble, displaying verses of Holy Qoran. This gateway is linked to the orchard’s courtyard via two corridors.

This orchard includes a building in northern, southern, and eastern corners. The main building is located in the northern corner with a two-pillar balcony. It is a two-storey building with a basement, and has been constructed based on the Zandiyeh era architecture.

On the two sides of the main balcony, two corridors exist for entry to other sections. These two corridors are at a two-meter height. The pillars of the main balcony are made of marble and are cylindrical shape.

The orchard’s building covers an area of 940 sq meters, in an orchard with an area of 3500 sq meters. This orchard was registered as a national Iranian work of art and monument in the year 1974. The building of this orchard is one of the most beautiful buildings of the Qajarid era in regard to its glasswork, paintings, woodwork, stonecutting, plasterwork, and arches.

Narenjestan Orchard was handed over to Shiraz University in the year 1966 and came under the authority of the Arts and Architecture Faculty of Shiraz University in the year 1999.

[Parvaneh]

[Parvaneh]

[Parvaneh]