TEHRAN – Kakh-e Morvarid (Pearl Palace), once a summer royal residence in Karaj, Alborz province, is being prepared to open its doors to visitors in the near future, the provincial tourism chief has said.

The palace will be open to tourists after being fully restored and cleaned, Fereydun Mohammadi said on Thursday.

Recreational spaces of the palace are also supposed to be renovated to serve orphans and homeless children, the official added.

Also known as Shams Palace, the monument was constructed from 1966 to 1968 under the administration of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, by American architect William Wesley Peters as a residence for Princess Shams Pahlavi, elder sister of Mohammadreza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran.

The expense of building this palace which is located in the popular region of Mehrshahr, which is famous for its pleasant climate, summed up to one million dollars at the time.

The palace covers an area of one hundred and eleven hectares. The structure of the building is made from cement and the sky; it looks like a flounder fish that is holding a pearl. All architectural spaces are built under a spiral roof with various skylights in the shape of pearl beads. The northern corner of the palace and the outer area of its lake has been designed and built in the shape of flounder fins.

The small lake of the palace surrounds the structure from three sides. The lake has been built deep enough for boating. The palace includes various spaces such as halls, offices, a movie theater, a pool, a snooker club, a rare bird sanctuary, and bedrooms. One of the most important parts of the palace is the Sadaf (oyster) room, which has various decorations and is made in a spiral shape.

The historical place was inscribed on the National Heritage list in 2002.

Alborz province is surrounded by Mazandaran, Tehran, Markazi, and Qazvin provinces. Its name is driven by the Alborz Mountains. A significant part of the mountains is located in the northern part of the province.

Historical resources and documents, as well as archeological studies, indicate that Alborz has a rich culture dating back to prehistoric times.

ABU/MG