Built in 1971 to mark 2,500 years since the Per­sian Empire, the Aza­di Tow­er is now Tehran’s most icon­ic land­mark. Over 8,000 white mar­ble blocks from Esfa­han make up the 45-metre high tow­er. The archi­tect, Hos­sein Amanat, used his­tor­i­cal events as inspi­ra­tion for the design. The main arch­way com­bines the arch of the pre-Islam­ic ruins at Cte­siphon with the point­ed arch­es of the Islam­ic peri­od, encap­su­lat­ing a mil­len­nia of Per­sian his­to­ry.