Chehel Sotoon Palace is one of the most beautiful historical buildings in Isfahan related to the Safavid era. The area of the Chehel Sotoon Palace is 2120 square meters, which is located in a garden with an area of 67,000 square meters. The construction of this palace began during the reign of Shah Abbas I and was completed during the reign of Shah Abbas II in 1057 lunar year.
The architecture of the Chehel Sotoon Palace is a combination of Chinese, Persian and French architecture.
The palace has a main porch 38 meters long, 17 meters wide and 14 meters high, which is built facing east. The columns of this porch are octagonal and made of sycamore and pine wood. This porch is connected to the Hall of Mirrors. The roof and body of the Hall of Mirrors, in addition to wooden frames, have delicate and elaborate mirrors. On either side of this hall are rooms that are currently used for seasonal exhibitions. These rooms have murals, some of which are considered masterpieces of painting. Most of these paintings were hidden under a layer of plaster during the reign of Zol-e-Sultan, which was excavated and restored with the help of experts and specialists.
Through the Hall of Mirrors, we enter the large and central hall of the Chehel Sotoon Palace, which is also known as the Kingdom Hall or Ashraf Hall. The central hall of the palace, which is dedicated to entertaining foreign guests and personalities from other countries, contains large murals depicting the historical events of different eras. This magnificent hall with its excellent gilded decorations and murals is one of the masterpieces of that era.
The paintings in the central hall describe the reception of Shah Abbas I and II and Shah Tahmaseb of the rulers of Turkestan and Homayoun Hindi, as well as the war of Shah Ismail I with the Uzbeks. The other two paintings depicting the Battle of Chaldoran during the reign of Shah Ismail I and the Battle of Karnal during the reign of Nader Shah Afshar were painted in the early Qajar period.
On either side of the central hall of the Chehel Sotoon Mansion are porches with paintings of ambassadors and Europeans who were in Isfahan at the time. These paintings were painted by two Dutch painters named Anjel and Lokar.
There are two large pools in front of and behind the Chehel Sotoon Palace. Stone and wall artifacts around these pools have been transferred from other palace or Safavid mansions to this place.
Garden and mansion of the magnificent Chehel Sotoon Palace, is located along Sepah Street in Isfahan.
Google map link of Chehel Sotoon Place
