The Documentary and Experimental Film Center in Tehran dedicated a session on Sunday to screen and review a documentary on the history of one of the oldest streets in the capital, Nasser Khosrow, in downtown Tehran, and its residents through over 100 years, going back to days when it was not even a street.
Titled “House of Sun,” the movie is produced and directed by Mehdi Baqeri who spoke at the meeting about his work along with filmmaker Nasser Saffarian and film critic Pouria Jahanshad, ISNA reported.
Nasser Khosrow Street stretches from Imam Khomeini Square to Panzdah-e-Khordad Street. It was built in 1864 on an order by Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar (1831-1896) by filling the moat surrounding the king’s palace (Golestan).
The iconic roadway is lined with historical structures namely Dar ul-Funun, Shams ol-Emareh and Sara-ye Roshan Mansion.
Founded by Mirza Taghi Khan Farahani known as Amir Kabir, chief minister to Nasser al-Din Shah, in 1851, Dar ul-Funun (polytechnic house) was the first modern institution of higher learning in Iran.
The gothic-inspired building of Sara-ye Roshan was established in 1932 as one of the first commercial centers. The statues and designs used in the façade of the building cannot be seen elsewhere in Iran and are reminiscent of European architecture. However, Farvahar, emblem of Ahura Mazda (sole god and creator of Zoroastrianism) gives it a distinctly Persian ethos.
Shams ol-Emareh (Edifice of the Sun), a fusion of Persian and European architecture, is the most stunning structure of Golestan Palace, dominating both the eastern wing of the palace and Nasser Khosrow, the adjacent street.
The idea of building this 5-storey structure struck Nasser al-Din Shah before his first European tour and from pictorial images of European buildings. The monarch wanted a structure from which he could have a panoramic view of the city.
