Smiling Tower

A panoramic view of the Azadi Tower

Tehran, Iran · 2011 · Conceptual, 3 of 6

Original file 1920 × 1492 px · 707 KB

01 The photograph

Smiling Tower, Tehran

Place: Tehran, Iran
Year: 2011
Gallery: Conceptual 3 / 6
Photograph: Mohammadreza Domiri Ganji
Original file: 1920 × 1492 px · JPEG

Licence this image Order a print

Prints, and licences for editorial, exhibition and commercial use — how it works. Each request is answered personally.

Mohammadreza Domiri GanjiTehranConceptual — 3 / 6

02 The monument

The Azadi Tower, Tehran

The Azadi Tower (Borj-e Azadi), formerly known as the Shahyad Tower, is a modern monument built during the second Pahlavi reign. It has since become the main icon of the capital, Tehran, and remained so even after the Milad Tower was built in 2009.

The tower was designed and built in 1971 to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire. Its architecture combines elements of the ancient Persian architecture of the Sassanid and Achaemenid eras with post-Islamic Iranian architecture (especially the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque).

Today, different parts of the tower are used for various cultural and artistic purposes.

03 In his words

The tower is smiling

This panoramic view shows the Azadi Tower (the Tower of Freedom) in Tehran, Iran — and as you can see, the tower is smiling.

I like this tower for its unique architecture. I have always tried to choose subjects that are symbolic, so that I may project their greatness through photography; the Azadi Tower is a perfect example. In this instance I used a fisheye lens to give the tower a unique effect; the presence of the clouds also helped.

Mohammadreza Domiri Ganji