Naranjistan Palace

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.