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Upon entering the palace I was mesmerised by the paintings covering the walls, some dating back to the 17th century (a royal reception held by Shah Tahmasp for the exiled Moghal ruler Humayun and another depicting Shah Abbas I entertaining the ruler of Bukhara) whilst most of the others are said to date back to the 19th century (one portraying Nader Shah, the Afghan general who seized control in 1735 in a typical battle mode in India; another of Shah Ismail I attacking the Ottoman Janissaries during the Battle of Chaldiran, Eastern Turkey and still two others, one depicting Shah Abbas II receiving an Asian ruler and the other one with Ismail II on hennaed horse fighting the Uzbeks).
Because one was not allowed to use the flash I had a certain difficulty in accurately photographing some of the paintings, though I tried to photograph as much as I could taking into account the fact that this once reception hall covers most traditional miniature painting styles. I concentrated on details, whether they were of apparel or scene sequences. I fell in love with the whole ensemble but particularly the miniature paintings in which the movement could be almost felt.
Underneath the big painted panels there were some early 17th century miniature paintings depicting couples enjoying the pleasures of wine and music.
I could have stayed in this Palace room for endless hours ... and felt that the time we were given to admire such artistic beauty wasn't enough. I didn't even have time to walk around the palace so as to look at the paintings covering the side walls.
As we walked out of the gardens we were able to buy our first postcards at a kiosk belonging to the palace, which had some really nice ones.
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