SAEDNEWS: After announcing that Qeytariyeh neighborhood is the city’s second greatest discovery, a unique excitement swept through the capital—a find revealing that civilization and life thrived on Qeytariyeh’s hills 3,000 years ago.
According to Saed News Society Service, Qeytarieh is a neighborhood in northern Tehran, located in District One of the city. Not long ago, it served as a hunting ground for Qajar kings. Later, the area became renowned for its gardens and agriculture, offering a pleasant summer retreat for the city’s elite. Qeytarieh is bordered by Saba Boulevard and Qeytarieh Park to the north, Jahantab Street to the south, Qeytarieh Street to the east, and Shariati Street to the west.
In the 1960s, the historical significance of Qeytarieh attracted public attention, establishing it as one of Tehran’s oldest human settlements. The discovery began when construction work on the Qeytarieh hills unearthed historical artifacts. Workers encountered objects belonging to 350 ancient Aryan graves, dating back 3,000 years. This remarkable finding indicated that Tehran and the Qeytarieh hills had been inhabited at least 3,500 years ago. The valuable items discovered alongside the human remains suggested that the inhabitants of this region believed in an afterlife.
During the Qajar era, Qeytarieh Village was a pleasant area along the route to the Sahebqaranieh Palace, frequently visited by Qajar nobles. Qeytarieh Park, one of the neighborhood’s most famous gardens, dates back to this period.
Tehran scholar Nasrollah Haddadi explains: “Part of Qeytarieh Park once belonged to Nik-Pi, a former mayor of Tehran who was executed after the revolution. He was the grandson of Zill-ol-Sultan and had purchased part of the garden and surrounding lands after becoming mayor, laying the foundation for Qeytarieh Park. Another portion of the garden belonged to Victoria Masoud, daughter of Akbar Mirza Saremdolleh, a prominent figure during the Qajar and early Pahlavi periods. She chose ‘Masoud’ as her surname. She was the eighth child of Zill-ol-Sultan, son of Naser al-Din Shah. Her first husband, Eftekhare Azam, the daughter of Mirza Ali Asghar Atabak, known as Amin-ol-Soltan, had a mansion built for her in the garden.”
Haddadi adds: “The statue of Amir Kabir is located in Qeytarieh Park, and some mistakenly believe the mansion belonged to him. In fact, the garden was built by Amin-ol-Soltan several years after Amir Kabir’s assassination. The mansion inside the garden belonged to Mirza Ali Asghar Atabak’s daughter, later inherited by her granddaughter, Victoria Masoud. In 1977, the mansion was transferred to Tehran Municipality by Gholamreza Nik-Pi.”
Historically, Qeytarieh Garden was considered a noble estate within the village.
With the onset of urban development during the Pahlavi II era, Qeytarieh became part of District One of Tehran, evolving into a modern neighborhood. Today, the area is divided into old and new sections. Located in the northern part of the city, it remains one of the capital’s most expensive districts—a modern neighborhood that preserves a history stretching back thousands of years.
