From Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Soraya’s trip to India to Naser al-Din Shah’s carriage ride on the shores of the Caspian Sea — really, by the seaside with all this royal pomp and ceremony?

Thursday, May 22, 2025  Read time1 min

Saed News: Continue with us to see 3 never-before-seen images left as a legacy from Iran during the Qajar and Pahlavi eras.

From Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Soraya’s trip to India to Naser al-Din Shah’s carriage ride on the shores of the Caspian Sea — really, by the seaside with all this royal pomp and ceremony?

According to the History Service of Saed News, below you will see a rarely seen image of Soraya Esfandiary and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi during their trip to India in the year 1334 (1955-1956).

A rare image of Naser al-Din Shah’s carriage ride along the shores of the Caspian Sea presents a fascinating account of royal lifestyle and travels during the Qajar era; a journey into history with a unique grandeur and distinctive atmosphere. The photo below, taken in the year 1254 in the Iranian calendar (1875-1876), shows Naser al-Din Shah Qajar riding a carriage on the Caspian Sea coast; one of his attendants is holding an umbrella over the Shah’s head.

A lesser-known image from Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s school years at the boarding school “Le Rosey” in Switzerland offers a fresh opportunity to revisit a less seen chapter of his life; a period lasting from 1931 to 1936 that had a lasting impact on the political and cultural formation of Iran’s last Shah.