Located on the west side of Naqshe-e Jahan Square, Ali Qapu Palace in Isfahan that was famous as the tallest building in the capital of Safavid dynasty for centuries, attracts the attention of every visitor to its eye-catching designs and miniature art. The palace has five entrances and the most important one is called Ali Qapu. Other doors are Chahar Howz in the north, Shahi Entrance overlooking the city gate in the west, Harem (the entrance for the women), and finally the so called Matbakh (the Kitchen) entrance. The construction of this mansion has been completed in 5 architectural stages during the successors of Shah Abbas I, especially Shah Abbas II and Shah Suleiman ad it lasted for 70 to100 years. Even the existed inscriptions with nasta'liq script remained from Shah Sultan Hussein period indicate that the decoration of the third floor was added or restored during the time of this last Safavid king. Ali Qapu Palace is a three-story building and each floor is divided into two other ones, so there are actually six floors. Due to the fact that the roof overlooks the whole city, it is considered as one floor, and that’s why it is believed that Ali Qapu is a seven-story building. One interesting thing about this palace is that the number of the stories look different from exterior view, for instance, the palace seems to have two floors from the eastern side, five floors from the western side, and seven floors through the stairs. The mansion features an Iwan with beautiful column and a small pool in the middle. After passing through the entrance, you will see an elegant dome above your head. Each floor has its own unique decorations. Delicate paintings of flowers, plants, animals, geometric shapes and poultry cover all over the interior walls. In the last four years, due to the destructive danger that threatened Ali Qapu Palace, repairs were carried out by Iranian and foreign specialists.
