Museums of Afif-Abad Garden in Shiraz

Inscribed in the list of Iran’s national heritage in 1972, this garden, which is located in a street with the same name, houses one of the largest military museums in West Asia, and military equipment including old cannons are on display in it. The total area of the garden is 127 thousand square meters. This garden also has a collection of Iran’s historical works in military fields and narrates a part of the history of this land.

About the Afif-Abad Garden

Located over an area of 127 thousand sq. meters, this garden which was founded during the Safavid era (16th century CE), was the recreation place for Iranian kings and rulers. Yaqub Khan Zulqadr, who was the ruler of Fars during the time of the Safavid king Shah Abbas I, had built a strong castle in a part of this garden, which was destroyed after the Safavid era (18th century) and the garden was more or less deserted.

During the Qajar era (19th century), a person named Ali Khan Qavamul-Molk bought the Afif-Abad Garden and started to restore it. He built a large two-story mansion in the middle of the garden, in which the Military Museum and Ebrat Museum have been founded by the Islamic Republic of Iran Army.

Ali Khan Qavamul-Molk had bought the Limak aqueduct from the Qomsheh Palace area to irrigate the garden. After Ali Khan’s death, the garden was inherited by his niece, Afifeh Khanum, who made many changes in the garden, following which the garden became known as “Afif-Abad”.

After the Pahlavi dynasty came to power, this garden was gifted to Farah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s wife in 1960, and in 1991 the second military museum of Iran was established in it.

Different Parts of the Afif-Abad Garden

The royal palace, a bathhouse, a traditional coffee house, and Bagh-e Irani comprise different parts of Afif-Abad Garden. The entrance of this garden is located in the north and four columns decorated with plasterworks can be seen at the entrance. The stucco moldings of the entrance capitals were inspired by the designs of the Achaemenid period in Persepolis. The entrance is connected to the main space of the garden through a corridor. There are some rooms on both sides of this corridor, where the workers lived.

Royal Palace

The main part of the garden building was dedicated to its royal palace, which is located in the center of the garden. It is possible to enter this mansion from its north. A staircase leads the visitors of this mansion to a covered hall. A chariot can be seen in front of the staircase by which the funeral of Reza Khan, the first king of the Pahlavi dynasty was conducted. A war cannon can also be seen in this part, which was used during the reign of Fath Ali Shah Qajar.

The main building of this palace, which now houses the two museums comprises a long hall, which has four tall columns and a roof covered with wood and decorated with oil paintings. The coronation scene of one of the Sassanid kings can be seen on the front of the mansion. The building has two floors and has a total of nearly 30 rooms.

Museums of Afif-Abad Garden

The first floor of the building is known as the military museum, where war tools and weapons from different eras are on display to visitors. Some objects of the museum, such as rifles belonging to the kings of Iran (Fath Ali Shah, Naseruddin Shah, Reza Shah, and Mohammad Reza Shah) and the weapons of the Jungle Movement fighters and Rais Ali Delvari’s machine gun, are among the tools displayed in this museum.

Another museum in the Afif-Abad Garden museum complex is named Ebrat Museum. This museum is located on the second floor of the building, which has a long corridor, on both sides of which conference, dressing, living, study, and reception rooms can be seen. A large hall has been built in the middle of the corridor of this floor the walls of which are decorated with plaster and inlaid works, and its wooden ceiling is decorated with beautiful patterns of flowers and bushes. Farah Pahlavi’s personal piano is also on display in this museum.

Valuable military objects such as the weapons of Iranian kings and war commanders and fighters are on display in the Military Museum of Afif-Abad Garden