Ali Qapu

Ali Qāpu عالیقاپو|the high door on 5 floors on the Meydān-e shāh (" is a palate; Place roi") with Esfahan, in Iran. It was built at the 17th century, opposite the Mosquée of Sheikh Lutfallah.

Description

The name of the palate refers in the passing arches which passes in the center of the building and which was used to connect the place to the space formerly occupied by the palate Safavide. This passage is flanked of two stages with smaller parts, surmounted by an opened gantry, called tālār , with the roof supported by eighteen wood columns, and of a fountain in the tālār . Behind the passage arches and the gantry rises a square building with 3 principal stages and an arched door connected to the door allowing the passage on the place, a part of reception on the level of the tālār and a series of smaller parts in top, decorated moqarnas. At the same time the passage arches and the part of central reception are flanked of two stages of smaller parts, the whole creating a structure on five floors.

The building has seven stages today, and is 48 m high. On the sixth floor a " is; room of musique" , decorated with complex circular niches having a decorative function as much as acoustics. The eighteen columns of the tālār are decorated with mirror and the ceiling of wood decorated with marquetry.

The walls of the palate are richly decorated with murals of Reza-e 'Abbasi, painter of court of Shāh Abbās Ier, and of its pupils; representing mainly floral and animal reasons (birds) and some human representations.

The doors and delicately worked windows of the palate almost all were destroyed during time, except a window located on the third floor. The palate was restored under the reign of Shah Soltan Hossein, the last sovereign safavide; and then knew strong damage during the course reigns of Afghan who had invaded the country. Under the reign of Nasseredin Shah Qajar (1848 - 1896), paintings were covered with ceramics squares carrying of the inscriptions.

The general organization of the building suggests its function: the underpass was used as gate towards the palates safavides than the west of the meydan (" the place") in direction of the chāhār bāgh (" boulevard of the four jardins"), whereas the stages were used for royal receptions and other entertainments. Besides Chardin describes a reception to which it assisted on July 16th, 1672 since a seat of the tālār : the monarch and his guests attended plays of Polo, demonstrations of shooting and combat of wild animals; while drinking coolings. Horse-races took place also on the place.

History of the palate

The history of the palate is much less clear than its function.

Recent restorations of Ali Qāpu showed that the palate was built in several stages. The first part of to be built building seems to have been the part on five floors power station. It is probable that this part did not exist in 1593, when Shāh Abbās went up on the roof of a Madrasa to attend an operation of its infantry. The construction of the square building seems to have followed the choice of Esfahan like new capital of the safavides, which involved the need for an official site of reception. It is probable that only the central square building dates from the reign of Abbās Ier. Pietro Della Valle (1586-1652), at the time of its Persian voyage in in 1617, makes a description of a reception without mentioning tālār ; on the other hand, it describes the many small parts opening on a larger part as well as the narrow staircase to reach them, which corresponds to the plan of the square building.

According to Honarfar, literary and historical evidence would make it possible to date erection from the tālār in 1643-1644 during the reign of Abbās II. Its substructure contains a way of passage in alignment with the stores located in the interior wall of the meydān .

The dating even of the name of Ali Qāpu is dubious. In its list of buildings raised by Abbās Ier, Eskandar Beg lists the dargāh-e panj tabaqe (" Gate with five étages") without epithet distinctive. Della Valle calls it the Palais of the King . Chardin, which resides at Esfahan in 1666-1667 and 1672-1673, tells that people call it Hali Kapi or Porte of Haly or the high door . It seems possible that the term Ali Qāpu was used only after the addition of the tālār , in 1643-1644.

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