Afif Abad Garden

The historical and extremely beautiful Afif Abad Garden has become one of the main goals of tourists in Shiraz today and watching it is one of the first priorities of many travelers. In this article Persiana Travel and Tourism Agency will have a tour to Afif Abad Garden to help you get acquainted with its history, architecture, etc.

About Afif Abad Garden

Afif Abad Garden is one of the oldest gardens of Shiraz, which was built during the Safavid period and has been one of the main promenades of Persian kings since then. Afif Abad Garden was bought by Mirza Ali Khan Ghavam al-Mulk during the Qajar period. After buying Afif Abad Garden, Mirza Ali Khan renovated it and built a large two-story mansion in the middle of the garden. The mansion is still standing in the garden of Afif Abad and has been converted by the Army of the Islamic Republic into two museums of military weapons on the first floor and the Museum of Ebrat on the second floor.

The total area of ​​Afif Abad Garden is about 127 thousand square meters. The story of the name of Afif Abad Garden is that in the late Qajar period, this garden fell into the hands of Afifa Khanum, niece of Mirza Ali Khan Ghavam al-Mulk, because this person played a great role in its restoration and expansion and made this garden prosperous among the people of this garden. Since then, the name of Afif Abad Garden became famous. There are several reasons for visiting Afif Abad Garden in Shiraz.

Apart from the unique beauty of this garden, perhaps one of the most important reasons to visit the Afif Abad Garden is to be able to see the Middle East Weapons Museum in this garden. A very large and spectacular museum that belongs to the army and it is home to very valuable artifacts. It is interesting to know that Afif Abad Garden of Shiraz is mentioned as the best place to get acquainted with the art of Iranian floristry and enjoy this pure art.

History of Afif Abad Garden

Afif Abad Garden was one of the most important gardens in Shiraz and the seat of the kings of the time. Yaqub Khan Zolghadr; The ruler of Shiraz, during the reign of Shah Abbas Safavid, built strong forts in a part of the lands of Afif Abad Garden and used the stones of Jafarabad and Mosalla cemeteries to build this fort. After Safavid, this fort was destroyed and Afif Abad Garden lost its prosperity and development. In 1284 AH, by the order of “Mirza Ali Mohammad Khan Qavam al-Mulk”, the current garden mansion was built.

To irrigate the trees in Afif Abad Garden, he bought the Limak aqueduct, which was 15 km far from the garden in Qomsheh Palace. At the end of the last century, Afif Abad Garden was inherited by the niece of Ghavam al-Mulk, named “Afifa Khanum”, and since she made extensive improvements in Afif Abad Garden, the garden has been called “Afif Abad” ever since. The builder of current Afif Abad Garden is Mirza Ali Mohammad Khan Ghavam al-Mulk II in 1284 AH (1863 AD).

Afif Abad Garden was purchased from Farah Pahlavi in ​​1341 by the army. Afif Abad Garden was restored in 1348 under the supervision of the Cultural Heritage Organization and in 1370, at the same time as Army Day, it was reopened as “Military Museum No. 2” and Afif Abad Garden is now under the control of the ideological political organization of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Afif Abad garden was a perfect example of Iranian floriculture, which unfortunately today does not pay much attention to the floriculture and trees of the garden. Nevertheless, watching the soaring palm trees and all kinds of citrus trees in the large and beautiful Afif Abad Garden still makes you feel good.

Architecture of Afif Abad Garden

The entrance to Afif Abad Garden is made of wood and is located in the northern part of it. Behind the door, there is a corridor with guard rooms on either side. The entrance of Afif Abad Garden has 4 simple gypsum columns that are located in pairs on both sides and have been plastered based on the design of Persepolis capitals. In the forehead of the entrance door of Afif Abad Garden, the role of two lions can be seen, as if they were caught between their claws. After passing through the door, there is a vestibule whose roof is made of wood and arranged in regular geometric shapes. On the other side of Afif Abad Garden, on and in front of the vestibule, is the coronation assembly of the Sassanid king, which is located on a semicircular frame with colorful tiles.

The mansion of Afif Abad Garden is built on two floors and there are about 30 rooms and a hall. The first floor of the mansion has now been turned into a military museum, where weapons from different eras are on display for visitors in Afif Abad Garden. The museum’s assets of Afif Abad Garden range from the most basic weapons to the most advanced weapons of recent years, which can be appealing to any visitor. The second floor of this mansion in Afif Abad Garden, consists of a long corridor with beautiful and nested rooms on either side, and in the middle of this floor, there is a large and magnificent hall.

This floor is called the “Museum of Lessons” and includes conference rooms, changing rooms, living room, study, lounge and so on. The precious carpets on the floor of the rooms and Farah Pahlavi’s personal piano, which has been used in the celebration of the 2500th anniversary of the Achaemenid empire, are among the valuable objects of this museum in Afif Abad Garden.

Military Museum

With the coming to power of the Pahlavi government, Afif Abad Garden was given as a gift to Farah Pahlavi. Finally, in 1340, the army managed to buy 127,000 square meters of Afif Abad Garden during an auction. Afif Abad Garden is still in the possession of the army and is open to the public. It should be noted that the Military Museum of Afif Abad Garden was established in April 1991 by the Army of the Islamic Republic in the mansion of this garden to become the No. 2 military museum in the country.

Afif Abad Garden has also a historic bath and a traditional coffee house, which are worth to visit. In this museum of Afif Abad Garden, valuable weapons such as the rifles of Fath Ali Shah, Nasser al-Din Shah, Muzaffar al-Din Shah, Reza Shah and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the heads of Mirza Kuchak Khan Jangali’s comrades and the machine gun of Chief Ali Delvari can be seen. In front of the entrance stairs of the museum of Afif Abad Garden, a special funeral chariot of Reza Shah Pahlavi and Fath Ali Shah Qajar cannon can be seen.

Afif Abad Garden of Shiraz, which is also commonly known as Golshan Garden, is a jewel that gives a new shine to the city of Shiraz. This historical garden has become one of the most popular monuments of Shiraz today. If you want to see the beauty of Afif Abad Garden with your own eyes, check out Persiana Travel and Tourism Agency’s tours to Shiraz.