1961 Sahab City Plan or Map of Tehran, Iran

This is a 1961 Abbas Sahab city plan or map of central Tehran, Iran. It is one of the few obtainable maps of Tehran published in Tehran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

A Closer Look

The map is primarily in English, although some streets are also labeled in Farsi. Locations identified include the Sahab Geographical and Drafting Institute, Air Force Headquarters, the Doshan-Tappeh Airport, Pahlavi Hospital, and the U.S. and Soviet Embassies, among many others. Numbers in red circles mark 218 other locations, including bookshops, travel agencies, hotels, museums, banks, government ministries and departments, and embassies. These correspond with indexes along the left and right borders.

Pre-Revolution Tehran

Tehran in the 1960s was a bustling cosmopolitan city. The population surged as citizens from rural areas migrated to the urban center in search of better opportunities. This influx led to an expansion of the city's infrastructure, including new roads, buildings, and public transportation. The 1960s also marked a period of cultural awakening, with a broad emergence of new artists, writers, and musicians, as well as an increasing interest in Western lifestyles. However, contrary political tensions were also rising, which culminated in the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the rise of the Islamist ultra-right.

Publication History and Census

This map was created and published by Abbas Sahab in 1961. Nine examples are cataloged in OCLC: Ohio State University, the University of Chicago, the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, California State University, Sacramento, the National Library of Scotland, the University of Oxford, the Bibliotheek Universiteit van Amsterdam, the Universiteitsbibliotheek Leiden, and the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg. Scarce on the market.