Consequently, Mahshad is a great city for a better understanding of the architectural improvement of Iran at different centuries and under the influence of Islamic art. Among different monuments, Malek House is one of the most famous and well-known ones, particularly because of its special architecture and decoration elements.

Know more about the historical Malek House in Mashhad
History of Iran has been always a source of interest for tourists of all around the world. The combination of Art, religion and conceptual patterns in the architecture of many historical buildings captures the attention of millions of tourists who visit this country from all around the world, every year. Each old city in Iran has its own characteristics and according to the fact that kings at different eras have chosen different cities as the capital of their dynasty, adds to this variation in art and overall shape of cities. Among different historical cities of Iran, Mashhad is a unique destination due to its history which has been entangled with religion, resulting in presence of touristic spots such as Imam Reza holy shrine, Tomb of Nader Shah and Malek house. 

Due to the presence of Imam Reza holy shrine, which is cherished by Muslims and particularly Shia of all around the world, Mashhad always has been counted as an important city of Iran. The richness of this city mostly relies on religious tourists who travel to this city for visiting the Holy Shrine. As a matter of fact, this city has been formed and developed through centuries. At each epoch of history, kings and emperors have paid special attention to this city. Consequently, Mahshad is a great city for a better understanding of the architectural improvement of Iran at different centuries and under the influence of Islamic art. Among different monuments, Malek House is one of the most famous and well-known ones, particularly because of its special architecture and decoration elements.

What do we know about the Malek House?
Malek House is located in the eastern part of Imam Khomeini Square in Mashhad. It's not a long time that this monument is listed as a National Iranian Art item. The Malek House is now known as the Tourist house of Mashhad. This historical house has been built in the late years of the Qajar Empire. This monument is known as the most precious and important historical houses of Mashhad, too. 

Haj Hossein Malek, who is also known as one of the richest man of Iran in the last century, was the owner of the beautiful and special Malek House. He was born in a wealthy family and during his life, he was in charge of Astan Quds Razavi’s real states. He is also known as a good and smart businessman. 
The Malek House has been constructed more than 100 years ago with an overall size of 600 square meters. The architecture of this House is of particular interest since an artistic combination of Iranian methods and European elements have been employed in its architecture. The overall shape of the house is identical to what is known as Iranian architecture, but the main plans of the building have been designed based on modern European architecture. 

The architectural importance of the Malek House
Qajar Empire marks the beginning of modernism in Iran. This can be particularly noticed in art, architecture, and literature of Iran which dates back to those days. As a matter of fact, faces of cities also have been changed as buildings transformed into more modern and European style structures. In this regard, buildings which have been built during the Qajar Empire mark this transformation in different ways, and Malek House is not an exception. As mentioned earlier, this house belongs to a period of history when cities tried to keep their traditional faces which resembles Iranian art and architecture, but the interior design and plans of buildings found the modern European style more practical and suitable for needs of modern life. 

As a consequence of such general transformation in architectural trends, the Malek House is marked as officially the first historical house of Mashhad having a private historical bathroom and shower inside the house. This historical section of the Malek House which has been discovered recently is significantly important. On one hand, the idea of building a bathroom inside houses is a rather modern trend which has been imported to the traditional Iranian architecture, mostly under the influence of general transformations; while on the other hand, it supports the fact that its original owners used to be wealthy people of their time. In the last decades, having private showers and bathrooms inside houses was not very common and only a few rich families could afford this facility inside their houses. Since Malek house belongs to a rich family of the time, having such private facilities is not surprising. This beautiful historical bathroom is 127 meters big and is established in the corner of the inner garden. It has been designed with special Islamic decoration elements and has several different sections within.  
The Malek house used to be bigger than what is left today. In fact, what is known as Malek House today is only the outer part of the original two-floor building. The main big living room with a wooden ceiling and a beautiful chimney, which has been decorated with Stucco, is placed in the central parts of the building. Most parts of the Malek House is decorated with wood carvings which add to its beauty and value. 

The Malek house is now used as an art and cultural center, serving people with different classes and courses mostly based on Iranian art such as Pottery, Vitreous enamel, Embroidery.

Mashhad is a huge historical city which has been developed through ages, and that adds to its value in different ways. Historical monuments, each of which have been formed at different historical areas provides the opportunity for historians to have a better understanding of the transformation and development of cities in different periods of history. Among different historical houses and monuments, Malek House is a special one since it has been built at the beginning of a rather important phase in Iranian art and architectural history, which is the beginning of modernism. This house now is transformed into a touristic and artistic center which serves tourists and people with several facilities and classes. You can visit this beautiful and special historical house on your next Mashhad trip, to get more familiar with the old style of houses in this big ever developing city.