Azadi Tower turns 50 as a symbol of Iran’s paradoxes

Emblem of Tehran, the Azadi Tower turns 50 years old and has become a paradoxical symbol of Iran’s recent history and the scene of many of the great events that have shaken the Persian country in recent decades.

“The tower is the national symbol of Iran,” says the building’s director, Abas Azimí, in his office.

A symbol, however, full of paradoxes and contradictions due to the reason for its construction, the historical events it hosted, the fate of its architect and its current state.

Inaugurated on October 16, 1971 under the name of Shahyad (the king’s memorial), the tower was supposed to celebrate the Persian Empire and the monarchy, but it became one of the main points of protest during the revolution that brought the Islamists to power. in 1979.

Renamed Torre Azadi (freedom) in reference to the revolution, the place has also been the scene of protests against the Ayatollah regime, as happened in 2009 with the Green Movement against the reelection of former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

On quieter days, the tower is a meeting place for young people, families and couples to chat and walk.

Thus, on a festive afternoon, a group of modern-looking young people take “selfies” with the 45-meter white tower in the background, oblivious to anniversaries, paradoxes and history.

A little further on, some women chat in the shade of a tree, while a couple walks hand in hand through the wide square with gardens and fountains that occupies the building.

Celebration of the Persian Empire

Located in the west of the Iranian capital, the country’s last Shah, Mohamad Reza Pahlavi, ordered its construction to commemorate the 2,500 years of the Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great (529-559 BC).

In addition to the glorious Persian past, the building was also supposed to celebrate the modernity and future of Iran.

To choose an architect, the shah organized a competition in 1966 in which the then 24-year-old Hosein Amanat, a recent graduate from the University of Tehran, was the winner.

Amanat brought together the architecture of ancient Persia and the country’s Islamic identity to imagine an inverted “y” of concrete encased in white marble with blue trim.

But the architect of the Freedom Tower had to leave the country because he belonged to one of the most persecuted religious minorities in the country, the Baha’is, after the coming to power of Ayatollah Ruholá Khomeini.

The Baha’i faith proposes the synthesis of the teachings of all religions, something considered heresy by Muslims.

Since his departure in 1980 to settle in Canada, Amanat has not set foot in Iran again. However, he has built a successful career as an architect abroad, designing buildings such as the Bahai World Center in the Israeli city of Haifa.

Disrepair?

Today the tower is the center of national celebrations: Iranian missiles are displayed here every April on Army Day and in February the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution is commemorated.

Videos are projected on its white marble to celebrate religious holidays, Hemophilia Day or Autism Day. At Earth Hour it gets dark when its lights are turned off.

In addition, the tower houses a museum of works from different periods of the Iranian past.

But after 50 years standing the building has problems that Azimí attributes to the poor quality of the materials used in its construction.

“Seven years after its construction, damage began to appear on the tower due to the poor quality of the materials,” explains Azimí.

The official said that the restoration of the building is being studied, something that he hopes to carry out soon, although he did not give a date.

Amanat, however, in statements to the media has lamented the lack of maintenance of the iconic building, one of the symbols of the country.