Ali Qapu Palace

Ali Qapu Palace rises on the western side of Isfahan's royal square as a tall Safavid pavilion that once served as the seat of government and a grandstand for the shah. Its most famous feature is an elevated columned terrace from which rulers watched polo and public ceremonies on the maidan below. The upper floors hold a celebrated music room whose plaster walls are pierced with vessel-shaped niches carved for acoustics and display. Frescoes and inlaid ceilings survive across its chambers from the seventeenth century.