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T E H R A N |
Bahman Jalali, 2008
Translated by Kamran Malek |
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Tehran is
the largest city in Iran and one of the largest metropolitan areas
in the world.
To understand how a tiny village at the foot of the Alborz mountains
became such a gigantic sprawl, one has first to acquaint oneself
with the many upheavals it has undergone since Agha Mohammad Khan,
the ruthless founder of the Qajar dynasty, chose it as his capital.
The following is a very brief account of the three main periods of
change in the city’s complex history. |
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Tehran under the Qajars
Tehran becomes the capital of Iran |
In
1794, Agha-Mohammad-Khan established Tehran as his capital or Dar-al-Khalafa
[Seat of Government], a title the city bore until the fall of the Qajars a
century and a half later.
Under his successor, Fath-Ali-Shah, Tehran enjoyed a period of prosperity as
the population grew. The city’s continued prosperity during the long and
stable reign of Nassereddin-Shah manifested itself in every aspect of city
life, but especially in its architecture and public works. |
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The Nasseri Epoch |
Tehran boomed under Nassereddin-Shah, and its spectacular growth continued
unabated until the end of the Qajar period.
At this time, Tehran had a number of distinct neighbourhoods: the Arg, the
Chaal-Meydan, the Sangelaj, the Bazaar, and many others within and around
its city walls.
The Gulistan Palace complex, the Negaristan building, the Ghasr e Qajar, the
structures and the parks at Laleh-Zar, the Sepahsaalaar mosque and madrisah,
the Dar-ol-Fonoun (or polytechnic), the palace and park in Saltanat-Abad,
and the Meydan-i Mashq [Parade Grounds] are among the major architectural
achievements of the Nasseri Era.
Nassereddin-Shah made several famously consequential trips to Europe. So
impressed was he by what he saw, that he was determined to make his capital
the rival of Paris and London.
Unfortunately, his vision was limited to architectural elegance based on
Western models, and he failed to consider—let alone implement—many of the
social and infrastructural policies that formed the basis of what he
perceived as European advancement. For example, while opulent and beautiful
buildings such as the striking Dowlat, Qazvin, and Bagh-i Melli Gates, could
and were constructed, Tehran went without proper roads for modern vehicles
and lacked a sewage system.
This is not to say that efforts were not made to improve the city’s
infrastructure. Under Nassereddin-Shah, Tehran acquired electric power and a
railroad connecting Tehran to the Shah Abdol-Azim shrine. The Imperial Bank
of Persia, too, opened its doors for business along with a number of
telegraph companies. |
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The Muzzaffari Era |
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Although the period between the ascension of Muzzaffareddin-Shah (Nassereddin’s
Crown Prince and successor) and the Constitutional Revolution of 1905 was a
politically dynamic era for the citizens of Tehran, it was not a time of
progress and growth for the city itself. Tehran’s growth under the Qajars,
while rapid and impressive, had been almost entirely unregulated, and
was seldom based on an understanding of social and demographic realities.
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The
Pahlavi Era |
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Reza-Shah
With the fall of the Qajars and the rise of Reza-Khan in the
aftermath of a coup in 1920, the country and her
capital—Tehran—entered a new historical phase with an entirely
different outlook: an age crackling with dynamism and energy.
Under Reza, who was now the Shah and all-powerful head of state,
every facet of Iranian life underwent change in the name of
modernization and progress.
In the 1920s, though officially a neutral country, Iran had to take
sides in a world of intense international conflict and polarization.
For various reasons, the new regime’s emphasis on the greatness of
its ancient Persian and Aryan heritage translated into general
sympathy for the rising Reich. That the pro-German policies of
Reza-Shah’s government meant the presence and participation of
German advisors, engineers, and planners in every aspect of the
drive to progress is immediately obvious from the era’s
architectural legacy.
New stylistic tendencies in architecture and modern attitudes to
urban planning transformed the physical appearance of the city,
which now had a growing population of 880,000.
New streets and avenues were laid out and huge buildings were
constructed to house the ever-expanding bureaucracy. The greatest
achievement of the era, the new national railway network, needed a
suitably impressive hub in the capital, so a band new central
terminal was erected in the new national style. The 18.5 km long
Pahlavi Avenue connected the station to Tajrish square in the
foothills of the giant mountains at Tehran’s northern end.
Reza-Shah’s modernizing leviathan did not look too kindly on his
Qajar predecessors and destroyed much of their handiwork in the name
of progress. Among the victims: the city’s 12 beautiful gates, and
the great domed amphitheatre of the Tekiye ye Dowlat. |
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Mohammad
Reza Shah |
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The Allies invaded Iran in 1941 for a number of political and
strategic considerations, but mainly to supply the Russians with
badly-needed material to hold off the advancing German armies on the
Eastern Front. They occupied the country, forced the Shah off the
throne, sent him into exile and set up his young son as the new
monarch.
Mohammad-Reza-Shah ruled Iran for 37 eventful years which culminated
in the tumultuous upheavals that led to the Islamic Revolution of
1979.
The early years of the new regime were, to put it mildly, turbulent.
However, another coup in 1954 was followed by a period of political
and economic stability during which oil prices rose to $30 a barrel
and a tremendous amount of capital poured into the country.
Unfortunately, the money was not well spent, chiefly because of
unresolved social and political tensions, Cold War intrigues,
corruption, and a lack of planning. The country was short of experts
and professionals in several spheres, and lacked a properly trained
workforce to take full advantage of its fiscal fortunes.
This resulted in uneven growth and economic disparity between the
country’s 60,000 plus rural communities and the major urban centres,
and Tehran in particular.
The rural population migrated to the capital in huge numbers and the
city’s population mushroomed. More automobiles poured onto more and
more highways, new buildings and office towers sprang up, and new
neighbourhoods appeared almost overnight all around the city.
In the throes of such a violent and unanticipated transformation,
Tehran could not but lost much of its architectural character. It
became a city with an identity crisis of immense proportions. |
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Tehran
after the Revolution |
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The Pahlavi era came to an abrupt end with the Islamic Revolution of
1979. Then, as the nation was trying to come to terms with such a
momentous event, the bloody 8-year Iran-Iraq War flared up with
enormous consequences for Tehran.
The flood of refugees from war-torn areas affected every social and
physical aspect of the city, and post-war recovery only served to
further exacerbate the urban chaos and transform the city beyond all
recognition.
This is no longer a quaint, cosy little town of well-appointed
buildings and tree-lined avenues with the majestic snow-covered
Tochal peak as its backdrop.
Tehran is a city of millions; a hodgepodge of countless tall
buildings drawing stylistic inspiration from every corner of the
globe.
Between two and two and a half million cars and one and a half
million motorcycles circulate in city. The 18 million inter-city
trips they make per day have overwhelmed city managers and brought
about critical levels of air pollution and urban commotion.
Even if one could muster the energy to remember the beautiful
mountains, they would be hard to make out beyond the veil of smog
which hangs ominously over the city.
Careless fuel consumption, a dispiriting traffic problem and a
citizenry unwilling to conform to—or unaware of—civic regulations,
make Tehran a torturous place to live in.
The influx of immigrants in search of jobs and better economic
opportunities—legal or otherwise—has only intensified the problems,
and inflation and property values continue to soar to incredible
heights.
Tehran is a city of many—hidden—layers: a good deal goes on in the
city behind closed doors, and ‘underground’.
Underground wedding ceremonies, underground concerts, underground
parties, underground exhibitions, underground fashion shows,
underground everything.
This is not an easy city to live in. After all, decent living
conditions and comfort have rarely been major considerations in the
piecemeal and intermittent efforts that have been made down the
years to plan its growth.
Yet, like many other metropolitan areas in the world, Tehran exerts
a strange and powerful hold on those who dare endure the pain of
living in a giant city; a hold which makes it hard to live anywhere
less challenging. |
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