The Aerial Reconnaissance Challenge used to be a fairly regular thing here on the blog. I’d post an aerial image and challenge you to identify it. It dwindled, though, and I think this will be only the second one so far this year even I’m still positively glowing after the last one we did in July.
When I originally saw this image, I immediately thought, “Hey, that’s an aerial shot and it will probably be hard for most of us to identify.” So bring on the challenge.
Sorry, viewing the image name won’t provide any clues, you sneaky, sneaky people. But I am willing to provide a couple of hints.
The structure is 50m tall. It is constructed out of 8,000 blocks of white marble stone, the shape of each were calculated by a computer. Construction was completed in 1971.
Can you identify the location shown? Give it your best shot. When you are ready to give up, you can find the answer after the jump.
The structure is named Azadi Tower. Azadi means “freedom” in English. It is located in Azadi Square in Tehran, the capital city of Iran, and marks the entrance to the city.
Says Wikipedia:
Built in 1971 in commemoration of the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire, this “Gateway into Iran” was named the Shahyad Tower, meaning “Kings’ Memorial”, but was dubbed Azadi (Freedom) after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Originally intended to remind coming generations of the achievements of modern Iran under the Pahlavi dynasty, it has become a symbol of the country’s revival. It is 50 meters (148 ft) tall and completely clad in cut marble.
Source: Wikipedia – Azadi Tower
Were any of you able to get this one? No fibbing now.
Shouts from the Abyss 
I didn’t even know it existed, so yes, yes I knew what it was. No, no my guess was not “somewhere in France.” At first glance, yeah, it does kind of look like it belongs in France! 🙂
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I’d never seen or heard of it before. It looks like a very interesting sculpture to me.
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I had no shot. I always drive into Tehran from the other direction.
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Not all of my challenges can be fair. Tough break, kid.
It was such an interesting photo I figured it would make a good post.
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Wow…that’s a lot of green space! I wonder how much water they need to keep it so fresh and green? Mr. Brabeck-Letmathe must be salivating to send them a bill. 😉
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Good point! I bet they need lots of pure, clear water.
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I did guess that it was somewhere in the Middle-East due to the scale and the style, but I didn’t know exactly what or where it is. Impressive!
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Nice. You did better than I did. 🙂
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