The Azadi Tower in Tehran, Iran is a tall white marble tower that marks the entrance to the city. It was originally built in 1971 to commemorate 2,500 years of the Persian Empire but was later renamed Azadi, meaning "Freedom", after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The tower is located in Azadi Square in the center of Tehran. It is 50 meters tall and clad in over 8,000 cut marble stones. Inside there is a museum and audio-visual exhibits that can be reached by stairs or elevator. The tower remains an important symbol of Tehran.

1. http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/michaelasanda-2359661-tehran-azadi-tower/

2. Azadi Tower Tehran (previously known as the Shahyad Aryamehr
Memorial Tower) is the symbol of Tehran and marks the entrance
to the city. Azadi Tower is situated in the middle of Azadi Square.
Built in 1971 in commemoration of the 2,500th anniversary of the
Persian Empire, this "Gateway into Iran" was named the Shahyad
Tower but dubbed Azadi after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. It
was the symbol of the country's revival, and intended to remind
coming generations of the achievements of modern Iran under the
Pahlavi Dynasty. It is 50 meters tall and is completely clad in cut
marble, a striking national monument and audio-visual theatre
complex. Prior to the opening of Tehran’s new airport, it was the
first sight to welcome visitors to Tehran due to its proximity to
Mehrabad Airport.

4. The exterior is clad with more than 8000 cut stones, while inside you
can see architect Hossein Amanat’s complex structural engineering in
concrete. The park surrounding is a relative oasis compared with the
surrounding maelstrom of traffic. You can reach the top by stairs or lift,
and will probably be accompanied.

5. Azadi (Freedom) Tower, the gateway to Tehran designed in 1966 by a then 24 year old Hossein Amanat. As a practicing Bahai'i
Hossein was forced to flee Iran after the Islamist government labeled followers of the religion 'unprotected infidels'. He now lives
in Canada.

8. Azadi (Freedom)
Tower was the
scene of much
protest during the
1979 revolution
and remains a
focal point for
(pro government)
demonstrations
today.

10. Built to commemorate the 2500th anniversary of the Persian Empire (in
1971), a mix of ’60s modern architecture with traditional Iranian influences,
after being closed for years, the underground gallery, Quran museum,
cinema and, best of all, the viewing platform finally reopened in 2006.

15. Azadi (Freedom)
Tower and Alborz
Mountain

16. The Azadi Tower
literally the
Freedom or
Liberty Tower,
previously known
as the "Shahyad
Tower“ meaning
"King Memorial
Tower", is one of
the symbols of
Tehran City, the
capital of Iran,
and marks the
west entrance to
the city.

20. The Azadi cultural complex is located in Azadi square in an area of some 50,000
square meters. There is a museum and several fountains underneath the Tower.
Azadi Tower combines Sassanid and Islamic architecture styles. It is alleged that
Amanat also integrated a degree of Bahai symbolism in the design; there are
exactly nine stripes on each side of the tower and exactly nine windows on the tall
sides of the building, nine being an important number in the Bahai faith.

24. The main financing was provided by a
group of five hundred Iranian
industrialists. The inauguration took
place on October 16, 1971.

25. Built with white
marble stone
from the Isfahan
region, there are
eight thousand
blocks of stone.

26. The stones were
all located and
supplied by
Ghanbar Rahimi,
whose knowledge
of the quarries
was second to
none and who
was known as
"Soltan’e Sang’e
Iran".

27. The shape of
each of the
blocks was
calculated by a
computer
programmed to
include all the
instructions for
the building work.

29. The entrance of the tower is directly underneath the main vault and leads into
the basement. The pure, sober lines create an austere atmosphere. Heavy
doors open onto a kind of crypt where lighting is subdued and seems to issue
from the showcases placed here and there, each containing a unique object

32. There are about
fifty pieces
selected from
among the finest
and most
precious in Iran.
They are in
excellent
condition and
each represents
a particular
period in the
country's history.
The place of
honor is occupied
by a copy of
Cyrus's Cylinder.

34. Azadi Tower and
Alborz Mountain

36. The United Nations continues to promote the cylinder as "an ancient declaration of human rights.”

37. The translation of
this first Declaration
of Human Rights is
inscribed in golden
letters on the wall of
one of the galleries
leading to the
museum's audio-
visual department.

38. The Cyrus Cylinder was written in 538 BCE and explains Cyrus’s history
and the government he established. The Assyro-British archaeologist
Hormuzd Rassam discovered the Cyrus Cylinder in March 1879 during a
lengthy programme of excavations in Mesopotamia carried out for the
British Museum. (original in British Museum, London)

39. Square flag-stones, gold
sheeting, and terra cotta
tablets from Susa
covered with Cuneiform
characters of
astonishingly rigorous
geometry are the earliest
testimonies of Iran's
history.

40. Azadi Tower Museum

41. Azadi Tower Museum

42. Azadi Tower Museum

45. Text & Pictures: Internet, Panoramio
Copyright: All the images belong to their authors
Presentation: Sanda Foi oreanuş
www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda
Sound: Farid Farjad – Bazgashteh; Mahali