Azadi Tower

The Azadi Tower was completed in 1971 to a design by Hossein Amanat, then in his twenties, chosen in a competition, and it stands about forty-five metres high in white Isfahan marble on a square at the western entrance to Tehran. The form is a deliberate synthesis: the main opening is a broken arch derived from Sassanid work at Ctesiphon, the vaulting inside draws on Islamic muqarnas geometry, and the whole is resolved in a modern structural shell of some eight thousand cut blocks, each individually shaped. A museum occupies the basement and a lift and stairs reach an observation level in the upper structure. It has become the standard image of Tehran and the square around it is a major transport interchange.

What you actually see

• The broken Sassanid arch - the main opening under the tower.
• Muqarnas vaulting inside - Islamic geometry in the underside of the arch.
• Eight thousand cut marble blocks - each shaped individually for its place.
• The observation level - a view over western Tehran from the upper structure.

When to go

Year round. One to two hours including the museum and the upper level. Evenings when the tower is lit are the best view from outside. Access to the interior has limited hours.

Honest expectations

Interior access is not always open and hours change. The square is a traffic interchange and reaching the tower on foot means underpasses. The museum inside is small. Air pollution often obscures the view from the top.

Nearby

The airport road runs west; central Tehran lies east.