A luxurious show-off or an epic mistake. Alone again at last
Imperial Majesty King
of Kings Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran: Stood before the simple stone tomb of Cyrus
the Great and called out to the spirit of Cyrus the Great the ancient conqueror
who created the Persian Empire.
“O Cyrus, great King, King of Kings, Achaemenian King,
King of the land of Iran,” he cried, “I, the Shahanshah of Iran, offer thee
salutations from myself and from my nation.”
The festivities were opened on 12 October 1971, when the
Shah and the Shahbanu paid homage to Cyrus the Great at his mausoleum at
Pasargadae.
The 2,500 year
celebration of the Persian Empire consisted of an elaborate set of festivities
that took place on 12-16 October 1971 on the occasion of the 2,500th
anniversary of the founding of the Iranian monarchy (Persian Empire) by Cyrus
the Great.
The intent of the celebration was to demonstrate Iran's
long history and to showcase its contemporary advancements under Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran.
This is the story of the most exclusive and
expensive party the world has ever seen.
The Most Expensive, exclusive and
luxurious Party of History which Mohammad Raza Shah Pahlavi of Iran had arranged
in 1971, in celebration of the 2500th birth year of the Persian dynasty, lasted
for three days.
Cost of this most Luxurious, Expensive
Arabian nights party.
If you’re looking to
replicate the Shah’s extravagant Arabian nights party, be sure you have a wide
open desert at your disposal and some serious money on hand.
The 2,500th
Anniversary of the Peacock Throne is speculated to be the most expensive party
in history. The Shah of Iran spent $90 million on the bash in 1971, which today
is equal to over $516 million.
A luxurious Expensive, Show-0ff 0r An Epic
Mistake
The whole three days
and nights were enjoyed by VIPs, and the whole world was witnessed about the
grand party, through media coverage. Overall, it was an amazing, Dreamlike, and
unique experience for everyone.
All guests were
covered, with their glorious outfits women dressed in royal dresses and jewels.
Not only the luxurious tents, but also set many entertainments, clubs,
hairdressing Salons, and Makeup Salons for guests with hundreds of designers
and makeup-artists were also present at the site. Everything was pre-planned
and praised by guests.
The Shah's tent
The Shah's tent was the most sumptuous. Its blue and gold
rubber-treated canvas was stamped with roses. Its pinnacle, capped by a mock
mediaeval ruff, was 12 meters from the floor. The royal family's bathrooms had
marble taps, gold fittings and woven rattan wallpapers. The windows were
bullet-proof and - as local anti-monarchist soldiers have found - still are.
The Shah was in full
military uniform; His chest covered with medals. The Empress wore a green‐and‐white silk ball gown,
although it was only 11 o'clock in the morning, and long white gloves. Some of
the emeralds in her 10‐pound crown were the size of golf balls. Her
diamonds were only slightly smaller. 
Decoration of Most
Expensive and
Luxurious Party in History
The Shah imported
trees, and several species of plants, planted in that area. Approximately 15000
trees and also with several equal numbers of flowers planted there. If that, a
large number of green lives planted, they required tons of water for them to
grow.
As already, Iran was
suffering from water shortage, and planting in a desert was an insane idea. The
separate garden was created with especially with several species of roses and
tall cypresses by George Truffaut (The famous florist from Versailles).
The whole deserted
area got poisonous creatures like snakes, Scorpios, and spiders, whose one
sting is enough to kill anybody. To remove this hurdle, they sprayed creature
killing chemicals up to 30km and gathered the creatures from there. They found
several species of reptiles and sent them for research institutions for
research.
To populate that particular area, the emperor of Iran
imported 50,000 songbirds from Europe, 20,000 sparrows from Spain, and released
them towards his newly created forest. Mostly, those bought birds died after a
few days because of the hot temperature and lack of water. The area was
deserted, so that place was reached at forty degrees centigrade at noon, while
a drop below zero degrees at night.
The separate golf
course in the desert developed with bunkers, greens, and fairways. For
embellishment or decoration, Shah hired world-class professionals; all were
from the renowned European companies. To build the royal tent city, he hired
the most popular Jansen Company from Paris.
The Jansen company
built the air-conditioned luxury suite for guests and turned them in
traditional Persian cloth to flourish its outer look like a tent. The interior
of the tent was furnished, with modern décor; each tent contains two bedrooms
with a sitting area and two bathrooms, a separate kitchen with a cook and other
services available all the time.
Food for celebration
At that time, the
Maxims based in Paris (Maxims de Paris) was the best restaurant in the world. Shah
signed a deal with Maxims. That deal got attention from the whole world and
expected that the party would have delicious cuisines.
Ten days before the
party, Maxims shift their whole crew (chefs, waiters, staff, types of
equipment, and other workers) to Persepolis. It was estimated that 18 tons of
food accumulated, including millions of eggs, 2700 kg of beef, and 1280kg fowl
with other extraordinary food items. The Max Blouet, who was known as the
legendary hotelier, joins, to supervise the banquet. Initially, the menu kept
secret, but later it got leaked to media.
Reaching a venue
(Persepolis) was challenging and required demanding logistics. To transport
goods, the emperor ordered the built airfield in Shiraz some 50 km away from
the Persepolis (Venue), and the highway was route connecting these two sites.
From this track, all the imported goods, materials, and needed supplies reached
the venue (Persepolis).
Security Arrangements
The Emperor
was facing, tough resentment and anger of people unpleasant maybe happen at the
venue. It was a big tough challenge to prevail security because it was already
acts of violence sighted at that time. Many threats were facing from the
activists, opponents, and Guerrillas (The opponent independent group) that can
wreck the party.
Emperor Shah deployed his secret police
along with troops, estimated around 65000 for the hundred guests.
There were security
checkpoints every few meters. One of the greatest threats they were facing at
that time was the poisoning of food so, that’s why they built a tightly secure
banquet hall where no one allows access, that area except some workers.
Chefs and waiters got checked twice or thrice to enter
the banquet hall. The special servers got hired from Switzerland. Also, he
tightly packed the Iran border, and guests were the only allowed entering or
leaving the place. The whole city was raided at the suspicious by police, and
many arrested. Schools and Universities were closed at that time.
Royal Guests at the Grand Banquet included
the Shah and Empress Farah (wearing the Noor-Ul-Ain Tiara),
The presidents from
Africa, Senegal, Dahomey, Zaire, and Mauritania arrived on time. President of
Yugoslavia and Romania had arrived with their wives; Governor-General of Canada
and Australia were also spotted at the sight.
China sent their
ambassador, Poland’s deputy Chairman was also were the attendees of the royal
party.
Imagine how everyone
was sparkling in their outfits, many other Emperors, Prince, Princess have all
joined the party. The Emperor of Denmark, the Royal couple (King and Queen) of
Denmark, Belgium, Nepal, Denmark, Belgium, and Greece. King of Jordan, Norway,
and Lesotho have arrived. Sultan of Oman and Emir of Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait,
and Abu Dhabi reached.
Princess and princess
of Afghanistan, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Monaco, France, Sweden, Spain, Italy,
Japan and Morocco, Jordan, Thailand, and Malaysia were all gathered in one
place.
Queen of Britain
didn’t attend the party, but on her behalf, her husband Philip of Edinburg and
Daughter Anne have arrived at Persepolis.
Many other western countries didn’t attain that gathering
because Iran’s Emperor was considered as a dictator. Around 250 Limousines were
ordered by Emperor to transport the guests from Shiraz to Persepolis.
There was no
organized seating plan; upon their arrival and under an utterly relaxed mood,
the guests took their places to watch the stunning display. Below, two details
of the same picture.
Overall it was a luxurious party the
world had ever witness. Each day of the party was a surprise and worthy of
royal guests. On October 16, 1971, the guests start returning to their
homeland. Some of the guests were impressed by the party, while others feel
jealous. Emperor of Shah proved his royalty and gain reputation among guests
and in the whole world.
Emperor of Iran’s party was not appreciated by his people
and among abroad citizens.
Shah
was ones again pointed out as a money Squanderer and Show-off person. The
circumstances got complex and everyone in his land was starts revolt. Ayatollah
Khomeini, who was the leader of the Iranian revolution, was exiled from Iran.
Ayatollah
Khomeini stated that “In many of our cities and most of our villages there is
no doctor or medicine, there is no sign of school, bathroom and drinking water.
Children are hungry-no food-but this tyrannical regime spends millions of
dollars on various shameful festivities, most catastrophic of all. The 2500th
anniversary of the founding of the monarchy.”
Iran law forbid
alcohol consumption and all citizens of Iran were shocked by hearing the amount
of alcohol consumed, scandalous low-cut dresses during the celebration, and
absence of the Iranian public at the ceremony.
The attitude of
Iran’s Emperor was considered as “Imperial Arrogance” and highly defamed by his
acts and decisions.
The total estimated
amount counted $635 million. But according to Emperor, the amount was not
large, and the celebration reason was to gather donations for the construction
of schools and other required buildings. Emperor of Iran lost all the trust and
support of his people.
End of Throne (End of Pahlavi Dynasty)
Opposition parties
and citizen starts a revolution and gathered against Shah. After three years of
continuous defaming, Shah apologized to his public for bad decisions,
corruption, and cruelty. But it was too late for him. Shah was exiled in Egypt
and died after one year.
Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran as a leader, Iran
became the Islamic Republic and continues to this day. After falling of
dynasty, Iran saw unprecedented growth in the economy, education, and
industrialization. Iran had an economic growth rate equals to that of Turkey,
Taiwan, and South Korea.
On September 8, 1978,
the shah’s security force fired on a large group of demonstrators, killing
hundreds and wounding thousands. Two months later, thousands took to the
streets of Tehran, rioting and destroying symbols of westernization, such as
banks and liquor stores.
And King of Kings Raza Shah Pahlavi was
running land to land No land where to die.
Khomeini called for the shah’s
immediate overthrow, and on December 11 a group of soldiers mutinied and
attacked the shah’s security officers. With that, his regime collapsed and the
shah fled.
11th February 1977, the Shah’s reign was
over. The revolutionaries had won. The Iranian monarchy was formally abolished,
and Iran was declared an Islamic Republic led by Khomeini, who took over the
reins of power.
The fabled riches of the Shah of
Iran. Fabled? Yes, fabled because so far no one except the deposed Shah knows
exactly how much money he took with him when he left Iran on Jan. 16, 1979.
Revolutionary government in Iran ordered the arrest (and
later execution) of the Shah and the Shahbanu. The Shah and his family had
already fled into exile to Egypt on 16th January 1979, as Egyptian President
Anwar El Sadat and First Lady Jehan Al Sadat were personal friends.
However, Iran started
pressing for extradition. Over the next 14 months, to keep trouble at bay, one
by one country around the world shut their doors on the royal family. After
Egypt, the Pahlavis stayed briefly in Morocco as guests of King Hassan II.
It was estimated that the Shah had a
personal fortune of $1 billion. Despite this wealth, the family had nowhere to
go.
The Pahlavi’s headed
to the Caribbean, where they were granted temporary refuge in the Bahamas on
Paradise Island, which the Empress recalled as the “darkest days in her life.
The Shah tried to buy the island for $425
million, but his offer was rejected. Next stop was South America.
Mexico issued them a
short visa and they moved into a rented villa in Cuernavaca near Mexico City.
The stress took a toll and the Shah’s long-term illness of non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system, rapidly got worse.
They got permission to seek medical treatment in the U.S.
Iranis became incensed with the U.S. government for harboring the Shah and they
attacked the American Embassy in Tehran.
The bungled attempt
by the U.S. to rescue the Americans Embassy staff and citizens that were held
hostage for 444 days became known as the Iran hostage crisis. Again, the Shah
and his family became a liability to the host nation and were asked to leave.
This time, they headed to Contadora Island, Panama.
Learning that,
succumbing to Irani pressure, the Panamanian Government wanted to arrest the
Shah and extradite him to Iran, Farah pleaded with Jehan Al Sadat to let them
return to Egypt.
Mohammad Raza Shah Pahlavi died ,
alone in a land away from IRAN
With the Shah engaged
in a life-and-death struggle with cancer, the US Government wanted him to leave
the country. Former queen Farah Pahlavi in desperation contacted Jehan Sadat,
wife of the President of Egypt for help.
In the face of dire
threats from Iran and opposition from domestic extremists, President Sadat
bravely extended an invitation to them to come to Egypt. He personally welcomed
the bedraggled royal family at the airport and lodged them at the stately
Koubbeh Palace.
On the night of July
26, 1980, the Shah’s condition deteriorated and he slipped into a coma.
Flandrin and Fagniez diagnosed a massive internal hemorrhage and resuscitation
was started.
It was Ramadan;
consequently, the Egyptian physicians had left to break their fast. They were
all called back. The Queen was in chock, and wanted Flandrin to make a call to
Alexandria in order to let their children know about the Shah’s deterioration
and return to Cairo. The Shah received eleven units of blood and regained
consciousness.
For a
few hours he could talk with his family and friends. At 9.45 am on the morning
on July 27, 1980.
‘Bas Naam Rahega Allah Ka’
The End
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