iran

Aali Ghapoo

Ali Ghapo or Aali Ghapoo is a grand palace in Isfahan, Iran. It is located on the western side of the Naghsh-i Jahan Square opposite to Sheikh lotf allah mosque, and had been originally designed as a vast portal. It is forty-eight meters high and there are seven floors, each accessible by a difficult spiral staircase. In the sixth floor music room, deep circular niches are found in the walls, having not only aesthetic value, but also acoustic.

The name Ali Ghapo, Turkish for "high gate", was given to this place as it was right at the entrance to the Safavid palaces which stretched from the Maidan Naqsh-i-Jahan to the ? Boulevard. The building, another wonderful Safavid edifice, was built by decree of Shah Abbas the Great in the early seventeenth century. It was here that the great monarch used to entertain noble visitors, and foreign ambassadors. Shah Abbas, here for the first time celebrated the Now-ruz (New Year's Day) of 1006 AH / 1597 A.D.
A large and massive rectangular structure, is 48 meters high and has six floors, fronted with a wide terrace whose ceiling is inlaid and supported by wooden columns.