What is "gholhak"

Gholhak (also Qolhak) is a neighbourhood in Northern Tehran,a part of Shemiran, located between Zargandeh/ Elahiyeh to the west and Ekhtiarieh/Dolat to the east and is served by Shariati St., which in the old times was known as "Shemiran Road" and later with the construction of highways, "Old Shemiran Road".Previously during the Qajar era,it had a rural structure and was considered as a suburb of Tehran. This area are also houses the Gholhak Metro Station which opened on May 19th, 2009.

Its ownership was granted by Mohammad Shah Qajar to the British government, while the neighbouring Zargandeh was given to the Russian empire, and the rural people of the area were considered British subjects, exempt from the Iranian rule.

The British built an extensive 200,000 square meter complex, Gholhak Garden, comprising an ambassadorial residence, office space and a chapel, to be used during the summer, when the court moved to Shemiran.

The ownership by the British came to an end during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi and later on Shemiran was incorporated into the city of Tehran, however the complex continued to serve as a summer residence and currently is the year round residence of the British ambassador. A war memorial in the honor of British soldiers and those of the British empire is built inside the campus and the British Council, together with the British School of Tehran are also located there.