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Teheran's Freedom Tower

Teheran's Freedom Tower

The vast monument built for the Shah, but now a centrepiece for protests in Iran.

Witness History · BBC World Service

March 16, 20229m 1s

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Show Notes

A vast new monument was opened to the public in Tehran in early 1972. It was called Shahyad and was dedicated to centuries of Iranian royalty. After the Islamic revolution of 1979 the monument's name changed to the Azadi or Freedom Tower, but it has remained a centrepiece for public events and demonstrations in the city. In 2016, Rozita Riazati spoke to Hossein Amanat, the young architect hired to design it.

PHOTO: The Azadi tower in 2016 (Getty Images)