Chehel Sotoun Palace

Since the advent of the first monarchies on the planet, charismatic rulers needed some suitable places for the sake of governing and indeed to impose their greatness; and CHEHEL SOTOUN (forty pillars) is one of them. Many scholars believe that the reason due to which this palace is named as such, is the reflection of the twenty pillars in the astonishing pool located inside this palace. Moreover, the number '40' in the Persian literature denotes 'so many' and this fact plays a role in naming the palace as such.

It was in Shah Abbas Safavid the first ruling period that the very first pillars of the whole palace were based, and during the ruling period of Shah Abbas Safavid ll, about 1646, that the building was completed and came to use. This building was first, a very small cabin, but afterwards in SHAH ABBAS SAFAVID the second ruling period, some verandas and paintings were added to it.

This palace is a great example of Iranians spirit of art and due to its extroverted architecture, the palace is being always distinguished from all other Iranian-made buildings. Moreover, the very reflection of the pillars into the pool's water makes the palace even more attractive.

All in all, we can say that the very structure of the Iranian-made gardens contains some slopes inside, the reason for which, is just to make the water rolling inside the garden and the streams. The pool to CHEHEL SOTOON is one of the most important parts of the garden which makes the whole building more attractive from many different angles and that's one of the many reasons why the palace is being registered in UNESCO and reflects the whole palace in a beautiful way.

Maybe you will find it amazing to know that there is another CHEHEL SOTOUN in QAZVIN (the name of a city in Iran) which makes the city somehow a unique one, but you should keep in mind that in comparison to Isfahan's CHEHEL SOTOUN that building is small.