On برج آزادی (Torre Azadi): Emblema de la modernización del país

 Email from Deb of Deb/Tim/Isaac/Sam fame. -gw

Did you know that the Azadi Tower, the modern symbol of the city of Tehran, was designed by Mr Amanat, architect of the buildings on the Arc?
 
It was mentioned in this article:  http://www.iranpresswatch.org/2009/01/bahais-living-in-iran-with-no-human-rights/ 
 
It says in part:
“Khanjani and Misaqi rightly speak of a “cultural crime” since each year about 1,000 new applicants for university places are turned down and not allowed to study purely because of their beliefs. The students point out that Hossein Amanat, the architect of Tehran University, built before the Islamic Revolution, was a Baha’i. Amanat also built the Azadi Tower, the city’s landmark. Today, however, Iranian students who are Baha’is like Amanat are apparently no longer allowed to study at the very university that was designed by a Baha’i.”
 
Ironically, the tower was originally called the King Tower, they changed it to the “Freedom” Tower after the revolution.
 
I have never heard any Baha’i mention this amazing fact!  But I confirmed it on Mr Amanat’s site:
 
“Hossein Amanat has been practicing in Vancouver since 1980. Now a Canadian citizen, he was born in Iran in 1942, where he established his reputation after winning a nationwide competition as a young graduate, to design the Shahyad Freedom Monument in Tehran, which has since become a symbol of modern Iran.”
 
http://www.amanatarchitect.com/shahyad/shahyad.html
 
One reason this is so interesting is that the Azadi Tower is featured in Rick Steves’ new program on Iran that premiered on PBS on Monday night!  He also briefly mentions the Baha’is in another part of the program.  (Might make a good post on BV?!)

Message back to Deb: Get your own blog. Thank you for this. -gw

Photo and this description: “La Torre Azadi (برج آزادی, en persa, que significa «Torre de la Libertad») es el monumento más representativo de la ciudad de Teherán, en Irán. Emblema de la modernización del país, la Torre Azadi posee una truncada estructura, revelando desde cada ángulo un sentido distinto de escala y perspectiva. Dentro de la torre existe un pequeño museo arqueológico y un mirador que permite ver con amplitud la capital iraní y la famosa Plaza Azadi.

“Se construyó en el año 1971 para conmemorar el 2.500 aniversario del Imperio Persa, y está situado en una de las entradas de Teherán. Su inconfundible silueta y sus 45 metros de altura lo hace inconfundible; está rodeado por jardines. Es visible desde muchas zonas de la ciudad, en especial de noche, cuando está completamente iluminado. Desde la terraza superior se tiene una buena panorámica de la ciudad.”  Uploaded on December 13, 2008 by Inmigrante a media jornada on flickr, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic