TEHRAN – Private landlord of Mollabashi (Motamedi) house in the city of Isfahan is to turn the centuries-old mansion into a boutique hotel, Mehr reported on Saturday.

The mansion is a superb example of traditional Iranian architecture in terms of lavish interior design as it features richly colored tiles, stucco decoration, mirrored walls, extravagantly embellished ceilings and stained glass windows throughout. 

Visitors to the house recommend others to tour it in the middle of the day if interested to witness the dancing colors of the light!
Mollabashi house, which is inscribed on the National Cultural Heritage list, according to its owner, has passed three historical periods of Safavids, Zand and Qajar dynasties, the report said. 

“Foundation of the house is historical (original) but its decorations are completely new,” Salar Motamedi, son of the landlord told Mehr.
“We decided to turn it into a boutique hotel because too much commuting may cause harm to the building, therefore we could not accommodate many people,” he noted.  

“For this reason, we planned to provide only nine rooms for tourists. We will not have beds in these rooms and each room will be appropriate for two to six peoples.”

A view of the atmospheric Mollabashi (Motamedi) house, Isfahan, central Iran. 

Why some call the house a must-see

The mansion is, in fact, a fascinating example of traditional Iranian houses, meaning that they really lived in it and lived close to the lives of ordinary people of their time. Therefore, Mollabashi’s house can take you in time travel. 

The house is divided into two parts: the living spaces and service spaces. In living spaces, you may be faced with warm and intimate, high energy and high lighting, and in the service spaces, there are rooms for rest and business, in which space is more closed, more serious and less decorated. 

The gorgeous interior design of entrance with mogharnas tiles, a polygonal room with a water pond in the middle for use in the summer, a rectangular big room with a mirrored and fresco walls designed to host, celebrate & reception of special guests are only a few of the unique attractions of this beautiful historic house.

Exterior courtyard

When you step in the exterior courtyard, which is, in fact, a cozy little garden with well-manicured trees, there is also a staircase leading you to the upper floor where the porch is located. 

A beautiful room is located at the end of the courtyard, with windows facing the street, which is beautifully decorated, it gives you the first picture from Mollabashi’s house. In this room, all the objects and tools will smell the past, and if you look at it in the evening, sunlight shines through the glass on the entire room.

Tabestan-Neshin (Summer- alcove)

From the courtyard or adjoining corridor, which is fully decorated, you can reach the summer alcove of the home, which is a memorial to the Zand period. Of course, this part is also completely refurbished, and maybe sometimes it seems that they are very beginner and bad on it. 

Inner courtyard

What may you expect from a historic home is here! This part completely preserved its historical space, and the nine doors and the five doors with that old woods gave a strange glory to space. Only one side of this mansion does not attract you in the first stage, and it seems just a wall is simple, but when you look at the same angle, it’s full of beautifully colored paintings to add to the color of the building. 

A view of the Mollabashi (Motamedi) house

Why it’s great wandering about Isfahan?

Isfahan has long been nicknamed as Nesf-e-Jahan which is translated into “half the world”; meaning seeing it is relevant to see the whole world. In its heyday, it was also one of the largest cities in the region with a population of nearly one million. 

The cool blue tiles of Isfahan's Islamic buildings and the city's majestic bridges contrast perfectly with the encircling hot, dry Iranian countryside.

It is filled with many architectural wonders such as unmatched Islamic buildings, bazaars, museums, Persian gardens and tree-lined boulevards. It's a city for walking, getting lost in its mazing bazaars, dozing in beautiful gardens, and meeting people. 

AFM/MG