Shahyad Tower -- Tehran
The Shahyad Tower, its name: Shah (king) and Yad (remembrance). It is 45 m high, the height of the large arch is 21 m, the base is 63 m wide. It is built with white stone from the Esfahan region. There are eight thousand blocks of stone. The shape of each of them was calculated by a computer programmed to include all the instructions for the building work. It was designed by Hossein Amanat, a young Iranian architect. The inauguration took place on October 16th 1971.
The museum: One entered the basement of the tower directly underneath the main vault. The black walls, the sober and pure lines, the proportions of the whole building created an intentionally austere atmosphere. Heavy doors opened onto a kind of crypt where lighting was subdued. The lighting there seemed to issue from showcases here and there which each contained a unique object. Gold and enamel pieces, painted potteries, marble, the warm shades of the miniatures and of the varnished paintings glittered like stars among