MANSION of SIAMI

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Siami's Mansion

Siami's Palace Emarat Siami
Building at Behshahr
Shown within Iran
Location	Gorji-Mahalleh, Behshahr
Region	Mazandaran Province
Coordinates	36°40′41″N 53°26′52″E ⧼validator-fatal-error⧽
Type	Building
Length	15 m
Width	12 m
Area	360 m2
Height	15 m
History
Builder	Haj Esmail Siami
Material	Brick and Sarooj
Founded	in Qajar Era (more than 120 years ago)
Periods	Qajar

Siami's Mansion or so-called Palace is related to Qajar's Era. This Mansion is located on Gorji-Mahalleh Village in Behshahr County. This Building is registered as Iran National Heritage No. 5407 at 16 March 2002. The Building is located at South-East of Miandeh-Neighborhood on hillside of south heights around the village. A Hoseinieh has been built at north of this mansion later. This mansion was 120 years old at the time of registration.

The Architecture of the Mansion

The building consists of two parts. A building with a combination of Iranian and Georgian architecture and an Iranian garden-courtyard. The surrounding walls of mansion were originally built with a special design and architecture, but after the death of Haj Ismail and the division of the garden between his children, no traces of the original wall remained.

Mansion's Building

This mansion is built on two floors on the ground and one basement floor. It seems that this mansion was built with the inspiration of Georgian architecture. The architectural elements of this building have similarities with Safi Abad building and buildings in Farah Abad historical complex.

The roof of the building is covered with red clay. The upper floor is a rectangular room with 12 doors, on each side of which there are 3 doors with an arched arch. There is a wide balcony around this room. The north and west balconies overlook the village houses, and in the east of the house, you can see the gardens, and in the south, the hills full of sour pomegranate bushes can be seen. This floor was called spring sleep, and usually in spring and summer, the doors on both sides of the building were left open so that the natural flow of air along with the humidity of the roof tiles, would condition the air in the room. This floor was also used to receive guests. The lower floor was the residence of the family. It was possible to enter this part of the building, similar to the upper floor, by passing under 12 arched brick arches. In the basement, right in the middle of the building, there was a pond where water entered from the south atmosphere and the overflow of the pond could enter the pond on three sides of the pond. This pond kept the environment cool during the peak of summer heat, and it is said that its existence in the basement made the building stable in the face of earthquakes.

A terracotta roof is placed on the walls of the upper floor and 28 carved wooden columns are placed all around the balcony (7 columns across the building and 9 columns along the length). Fine wooden nets surround the terrace area.

The building is built with red and brown baked bricks. As the locals say, the mortar used in the building was apparently made from Saroj materials. It is said that a mortar basin was prepared and the family members would enter the basin whenever they left or returned or at different times of the day and would trample the mud so that it was well prepared for work. Clay, ash, lime, egg and soft straw or rice bran (as thermal and moisture insulation) and water are used in appropriate proportions in the preparation of mortar.

Garden-Yard

There is no detailed information about the initial design of the garden and its corridors. The garden of the mansion was covered with pomegranate, orange, orange trees and roses and geranium bushes. In the middle of the garden, there were paved walkways and streams of water that were beautifully paved with river pebbles. The pomegranates of the palace were different from other famous pomegranates in Behshahr and Kusan. It had a red skin and the pomegranate seeds were completely black.

Constructor of the Building

Mirza Mahmood, the first owner of the mansion

The creator of this work, Haj Muhammad Ismail Khan, son of Haj Muhammad Ali Khan, son of Haj Ramzan Khan (Ramzan Panjah Bashi), son of Haj Akbar Khan, son of Haj Asgharbeik, one of the descendants of Igor, who during the invasion of Shah Abbas the Great Safavid, forced migration from the present-day Republic of Abkhazia in present-day Georgia to the city of Ashraf [Bahshahr] were given. After the death of Haj Mohammad Ismail Khan, this building was handed over to his second son Karbalai Mirza Mahmoud Khan, who was the head of the village, but after some time, his younger brother - Haj Mohammad Javad, lived in the palace for the affairs of the village of Gorji Mahalleh. After Haj Mohammad Javad, their only child and only son, Haj Mohammad Taghi settled in this mansion. The late Haj Mohammad Taghi was a well-known religious poet in the region. The Siami family and other authentic Georgian families living in this village, who were Georgian nobles from all over the current territory of Georgia, came to this village as prisoners of war after the conquest of that land during the time of Shah Abbas I of Safavid Iran. It is narrated that the Georgians of Behshahr were the architects of Safi Abad, Farah Abad and Ashraf Gardens. If this news is true, their children built this mansion with Georgian-Iranian architectural style after they finished construction of Safavid buildings. Because the Georgians were brave and fearless warriors, they engaged in the job of guarding the border of northern Iran to protect and prevent the invasion of Turkmens and Uzbeks and Qajars.

Maintaining of the Heritage

It is mentioned that during the lifetime of Haj Ismail Khan, much attention was paid to the preservation of the work and this garden-building was beautiful and large. All around the terrace was full of beautiful candelabra vases and it gave a special freshness to the atmosphere of the building. Every year they repaired the roof of the building and moved the pottery. Paving stones were inspected and re-tightened, and the garden was cared for with sensitivity. To the extent that this mansion was also called Haj Ismail Khan Palace. After him, however, the situation changed. The garden was divided between his children and the physical plan of the mansion was changed. Many buildings were built around the mansion for the children to live in, and separating walls were drawn between them. Little by little, the residents paid less attention to the maintenance of the mansion. In 1380, when the building was registered as a national monument, despite little attention to the building and its more than a hundred years of life, the building was still habitable and the family of Haj Mohammad Taghi lived in it. In recent years, a skilled potter named Seyed Manafi (father of former national team footballer and club coach Mr. Seyed Javad Manafi) was responsible for the restoration and especially the clay roof of the building before the registration of the work. Behshahr Municipality also cooperates with the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the province with periodic inspections in the maintenance of the historical monuments of the city.

Features of the mansion

The features by which this building has been registered as a national work are more related to the architecture and materials used in it, which have resulted in the strength and durability of the work.

1. Sustainable architecture - providing heat and cold inside the building with the help of natural elements and processes
   • Maintaining the proper temperature of the environment and the building by using the open space around the building and with the help of wide walls
   • Reducing the summer temperature with the help of a clay roof (absorbing moisture at night and gradually evaporating it in the sun during the day)
   • The possibility of natural air flow in the north-south and west-east directions from near the floor of the room to near the ceiling due to the presence of many doors and a high ceiling.
   • Creating the coolness of the lower floor with the help of the basement pool and the pleasant air of the upper floor with the flowers in the terrace
   • Sufficient light thanks to the high ceiling and the right direction of the doors, the color of the rooms
   • Providing all the necessary spaces for the comfort of the residents and the semi-open environment of the terrace
   • The use of nature-friendly materials in the building
2. Beauty, proportion and symmetry
   • Using attractive elements and curves and elegance in connections
   • Appropriate design of the garden
   • The design of the building fits the building environment
   • 360 degree view and view of mountain, village and garden as well as sunrise and sunset
   • Using wood, brick, pottery with pleasant designs and colors
   • observance of Elegance in construction

Some of these features have been reviewed in academic articles and thesis.

An article on the review of the native architecture of the Siami's mansion, a gift from the Georgians in the Qajar period.
An ancient survey of historical houses in Behshahr city, Qajar era

See also

• Iran National Heritage List
• Behshahr#tourism
• Gorji Mahalleh, Mazandaran
• Iranian Georgians
• Georgian architecture
• Georgian language and Georgian alphabet

External links

• Ministry of Cultural heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts (MCTH)
• natural and historical List of national Heritages of Mazandaran province (Fa)
• Iranshahrpedia encyclopedia

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