What it is
سهدری (seh-dari), literally three-doored, is the smaller cousin of the panj-dari (five-doored room) in traditional Persian houses. The wall facing the courtyard holds three carved wooden doors with glass panes, instead of five. The room is shorter, more intimate, and more common in middle-class houses where a full panj-dari would have been too ambitious.
How it relates to the panj-dari
The panj-dari and seh-dari are paired room types in Iranian domestic architecture. A typical wealthy house had one panj-dari for major events and one or more seh-dari rooms for daily reception, smaller gatherings, or seasonal use (a winter seh-dari facing south, a summer seh-dari facing north across the courtyard). In modest houses there was only a seh-dari and no panj-dari at all.
The interior logic is the same: shahneshin opposite the entrance, taqcheh niches along the short walls, floor cushions, a rug in the center. The seh-dari simply scales it down.
Where to see one
Kashan, Yazd, and Isfahan all preserve seh-dari rooms inside their historic house-museums. The Khan-e Abbasian complex in Kashan contains both a panj-dari and a seh-dari, which lets you compare the two at the same site. In Shiraz, the Qavam House (Khaneh-ye Qavam) and the Zinat ol-Molk house also display seh-dari rooms in good condition.
How to use the word
otaq-e zemestani-ye ma yek seh-dari kuchak ast.
Our winter room is a small three-doored chamber.
اتاق زمستانی ما یک سهدری کوچک است.
References
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