In 1976, Iran Air organized a Persian vacation for none other than Elizabeth Taylor. The trip was shot by Iranian-American photographer Firooz Zahedi—friend to Taylor and cousin of her then-boyfriend Ardeshir Zahedi, the Iranian Ambassador to the US. This was three years before the (US-facilitated) Iranian Revolution and the installment of a theocratic constitution, so these photos were taken during the ultra-cosmopolitan years of pre-revolutionary Iranian chicness. Nonetheless, Taylor looks gorgeous in both modern and ancient settings, including Persepolis, Shiraz and Isfahan

There are references to more conservative Iranian religious traditions in the shoot. In a scene outside of a Mosque, you can see Liz in a chador, which would have been expected of a woman going to worship, but was at the time generally eschewed as daily wear (outside of small villages) in favor of “Western” clothing. On the opposite end of the spectrum we see Taylor above, costumed in tribal garments, posed as an Odalisque (female slave or concubine), at the Tehran Hilton Hotel. Now of course, there would be backlash against the cultural appropriation of such a photo, but you can’t deny the captivating beauty of the shoot’s staging, or of Taylor herself.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Via Los Angeles County Museum of Art