Islamic Museum

Top choice in Tehran


Next door to the National Museum, and part of the same complex, this museum offers a stunning collection of arts and antiquities from throughout the Islamic period, including calligraphy, carpets, ceramics, woodcarving, sculpture, miniatures, brickwork and textiles. The collection includes silks and stucco-work from Rey, portraits from the Mongol period, a collection of Sassanian coins, and gorgeous 14th-century wooden doors and windows.

Look also for the beautiful Paradise Door, a 14th-century lustre-painted mihrab (niche in a mosque indicating the direction of Mecca) from Qom, and a 19th-century inlaid door from Esfahan.