Esfahan - Iran, E¶fahån Ali Qapu (pronounced: ah-lee gah-pooh) firstly was only a pavilion marking the entrance to the vast royal residential quarter of the Safavid Isfahan which stretched from the Maidan Naqsh-i-Jahan to the Chahar Bagh Boulevard but was later on enlarged and upgraded to a place where the monarch used to entertain noble visitors and foreign ambassadors. The name is composed of two elements: "Ali", Arabic for exalted, and "Qapu" Ottoman for portal or royal threshold. The compound stands for "Exalted Porte". This name was chosen by the Safavids to rival the Ottomans' celebrated name for their court : Bab-i Ali, or the "Sublime Porte").
Uploaded: Apr, 19 2008 | Taken: Mar, 08 2008| Viewed: 0 times
| 4 votes Camera: Sony Ericsson | Model: W700i | Exposure 1/640s, ISO 100 | SW: R1CA021 prgCXC1250516_CHINA_CR 2.3
aufgehts - Jul, 29 2008 02:07am
Very interesting history. Do you know how old it is?
4 votes
