Shahzadeh Garden

Shahzadeh Garden, which literally means “Prince’s Garden”, is a Persian garden located in Iran, six kilometers south of the village of Mahan, southeast of Kerman, in the province of the same name. It forms an oasis in the middle of the desert and illustrates the model of the Persian takht garden, created in a particularly arid semi-desert climate, using innovative irrigation methods. It is also remarkable for the functional and aesthetic use of water.

History and construction of The Shahzadeh Garden

The 5.5-hectare garden was laid out around 1850 under the Qajar prince Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar Sardari Iravani and later expanded around 1873 under Abdul Hamid Mirza and completed after his death by the governor of Kerman in the 1890s. The palace pavilion in the center of the garden served as the prince’s summer residence. In 1991 the property was completely renovated on the occasion of a memorial service in honor of Khaje Kermani. Today parts of the castle are used as a restaurant.

The rectangular garden is surrounded by a wall and consists of several terraces with water basins and pavilions. A central watercourse with fountains leads to the castle, whereby the natural slope of the ground is used for its operation. Shazadeh Garden, along with other Iranian gardens, was registered in UNESCO World Heritage in 2011.

Geography

Shahzadeh Garden is located in a wide plain, north-west/south-east orientation, bordered to the south by the Jupar mountain range and to the north by Mount Polvar, and crossed by the important Iranian road 84, which links Kerman to Bam and beyond in Pakistan. These mountain ranges form a natural water reservoir and rivers descend into the plain, including the Tigran Qanat, which feeds Shahzadeh’s garden. The semi-arid climate of the region offers a desert landscape, which contrasts particularly with the garden. Mount Pulvar separates the valley from Dasht-e Lut, one of the main Iranian deserts. The garden is relatively isolated from the houses and the main towns.