Hasht Behesht Palace - Isfahan
Hasht Behesht Garden is a palace in Isfahan built by Safavid of Iran in 1669. The word Hasht Behesht means ” Eight Paradise” and it is set beautifully in the Baghe Bulbul (The Nightingale Garden). This palace ( pavilion) was built under Shah Sulaiman after the construction of the Chehel Sotun, the resemblance in both buildings can be seen. The plan of this structure is simple with the central pavilion surrounded by eight rooms on two levels (four on each level).
It has an open plan in order to allow more breeze in the summer months for cooling effects, its is an octagonal in shape and has two stories. The original palace was decorated with beautiful gilded mosaics, mirror work, plaster work, and various kinds of floral paintings on plaster.
It is believed that Zele Sultan, who lived in this palace covered the building with stucco thus hiding or destroying the work done by Safavid earlier. In order to use the layers of plasters, old decorations were destroyed and the beauty of this palace was lost forever. Later on, some of the layers which were added by Zele Sultan were removed and old decorations were revealed.
One of the major renovation work was carried out in 1977 to restore this building. The area around the Hasht Behesht is a public park and it has plenty of shady trees. The park has many open spaces with long straight walkways surrounded by greenery
