It was once a symbol of U.S. supremacy before becoming a prison cell for 52 Americans for 444 days. Now, the former embassy in Tehran is a chilling museum complete with a skeletal Statue of Liberty and ghostly waxworks. Every year, Iran commemorates the  anniversary of the 1979 Iranian revolution with its Ten Days of Dawn celebrations. On the final day, mass rallies and anti-western protests take place and the country's president addresses his people in Tehran's Freedom Square. The embassy garnered worldwide attention in November 1979 when revolutionary students stormed in and took dozens of U.S. staff hostage - the story which inspired the film Argo, starring Ben Affleck. Australian photographer Brook Mitchell, 36, who lives in Bali, embarked on a trip to Iran and captured these incredible pictures of the celebrations and the macabre museum. Ghoulish: A mural of the Statue of Liberty on the wall of the former U.S. embassy in Tehran, where 52 hostages were held for 444 days . Bizarre: Wax figures supposedly represent former U.S. embassy staff inside the so called 'Glassy Room for Secret Negotiations' in Tehran . Liberty: A statue at the entrance to the former U.S. embassy in Tehran, which the Iranian government dubbed the 'U.S. Den of Espionage' A display depicting the storming of the former U.S. embassy in 1979. Thousands of protesters pressed around the compound, responding to a call by the country's new leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, to attack U.S. and Israeli interests . The rooms where secret state missions were planned have been covered in graffiti. But apart from the most minor of cosmetic changes, the building that caused a global diplomatic crisis is frozen in time - and looks almost identical to its portrayal in the Oscar-winning Ben Affleck movie Argo. In 1979, thousands of  protesters pressed around the compound, responding to a call by the country's new leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, to attack U.S. and Israeli interests. Of the 90 people in the compound, six Americans managed to escape the building and flee to other embassies. Other non-U.S. citizens captured when the embassy was seized were released, but 66 were captured, including three at the Foreign Ministry, and held hostage for 444 days. 'Glassy Room for Top Secret Negotiations' in which former embassy staff are said to have conversed in total privacy from the outside world . Stark: A woman walks into the former U.S. embassy in downtown Tehran, Iran in 2013. The building is now somewhat of a museum complete with waxwork figures . Art as protest: An Iranian Journalist climbs the stairs inside the former US embassy in downtown Tehran in 2013. Painted on the walls are anti-American murals . In 1979, thousands of protesters pressed around the compound, responding to a call by the country's new leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, to attack U.S. and Israeli interests . Dramatic: Iranian students climb over the wall of the U.S. embassy in Tehran just before the hostage crisis, in which 52 Americans were held hostages for 444 days in 1979 . The students paraded the blindfolded hostages for the cameras to humiliate the ‘Great Satan’ that Washington had become in the eyes of the Iranian revolutionary leaders. They demanded that the Shah of Iran be expelled from the U.S., where he had been taken for cancer treatment after he was overthrown. Freeing the hostages became a priority for the administration of U.S. President Jimmy Carter - but nothing could be done apart from enforcing ineffective economic sanctions. Mr Carter pledged to preserve the lives of the hostages and conducted intense diplomacy to secure their release. But his failure ultimately contributed to his losing the presidency to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Paraded: One of the hostages, blindfolded and with his hands bound, is displayed to crowds outside the US Embassy in 1979. On the day of President Ronald Reagan's inauguration, January 20 1981, the hostages were set free . Starring role: Ben Affleck starred as a CIA agent in the film Argo, about the crisis which won the Oscar for Best Picture at the Academy Awards . The embassy garnered worldwide attention in November 1979 when revolutionary students stormed in and took dozens of U.S. staff hostage - the story which inspired the film Argo, starring Ben Affleck . Two weeks into the crisis, Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the release of 13 female and black hostages, mostly clerical staff and members of the marine guard who guard US embassies around the world. Another hostage, vice consul Richard Queen, was released in July 1980 after falling ill with multiple sclerosis. But the remaining 52 were deprived of their freedom for 444 days. In February 1980, Iran issued a new set of demands for the hostages' freedom. It called for the Shah to be handed over to face trial in Tehran, as well as other diplomatic gestures, such as a U.S. apology for its actions. The hostages were finally set free on January 20 1981. A Bandari woman in the Panjshambe Bazaar. The bright masks are unique to this part of Iran - a cultural adronment rather than a religious one . The Ten Days of Dawn celebration saw mass rallies and many children were involved in this government propaganda-driven event . A father and his young daughter in Yazd, celebrating the 36th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. Every year, Iran commemorates the anniversary  with its Ten Days of Dawn celebrations . A crowd gathers as this strongman theatrically struggles to break free of chains in Minab, Southern Iran . Yet Mr Mitchell, who embarked on an enlightening trip, said: 'After visiting some of the most remote and supposedly conservative parts of the country, areas that very few outsiders see, I cannot equate the term 'axis of evil' with my experiences, at least when it comes to the people I met. 'Travelling through Iran as an outsider was an unforgettable, immersive experience. 'Open, curious hospitality was the norm. Despite being proud of their country and history, the people were largely ashamed of their government. 'There's rebellion going on all the time; it's just for the most part it's happening behind closed doors. 'My favourite image is probably one of the lady in the striking red mask staring down the camera. After having some breakfast together she was happy for me to take her picture, and she had a really lovely way about her. 'It was the second morning of the trip and I was kind of reassured that it was all going to work out after that.' Hormuz island, Persian Gulf. 'Travelling through Iran as an outsider was an unforgettable, immersive experience,' Mitchell explained . The Iranian flag flies in the  town centre of the city of Yazd. Officials estimated around 20,000 people attended the celebrations . He added that in many areas there was a  sense of desperation at the current state of the economy, with many young adults unsure of their future. 'I was frequently asked about the current migration laws back in Australia, and what I thought of the government. This was usually followed up with an invitation to share some tea,' he said. 'Even at mass anti-Western rallies I was welcomed with smiles and curiosity, which was a surreal experience in itself.' The photographer travelled along the ethnically diverse Persian Gulf coast region, which is rarely visited by outsiders, and spent time on Qeshm and Hormuz islands, the former the site of recent military exercises from where missiles were fired from the coast to destroy a mock U.S. carrier. Mitchell says a highlight for him was a visit to the Panjshambe Bazaar, a weekly market in the desert town of Minab, which draws some of the most remote and ethnically diverse groups in Iran to sell their wares. Remains of the chapel at the Portuguese fort on Hormuz Island. Many battlements were constructed in southern Iran after the Portuguese viceroy Alfonso de Albuquerque attacked in 1507 . An elderly man relaxes in the quiet surrounds of Park Laleh in central Tehran during Iran's Ten Days of Dawn celebrations . A father and his daughter attend a rally. The man said that his daughter had coloured in the drawing of the Iranian flag she was holdin . Women and children attend a rally. The Ten Days of Dawn appeals to a sense of nostalgia, national pride and Islamic unity . Smoking tobacco from a waterpipe is now banned for women throughout Iran in public places, but it remains popular with the vendors at the weekly Panjshambe Bazaar, in Minab . A young girl in a helps her parents with the business trading livestock in the Panjshambe Bazaar, Minab . The Khaju Bridge and banks, in Isfahan, are a popular meeting place for local families . The stirking ruins of Hazareh Castle in Bibi Minoo, overlooking Minab, in Hormozgan province . A group of school children visit  the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Isfahan. Rays of light illuminate the intricate tile work of the building . 'In the Gulf region many Bandari - literally meaning 'people of the port' in Persian, women wear distinctive masks made of metal which are covered with fabric, the colour and style depending on the woman's ethnic group and town,' Mr Mitchell added. 'This is a stark contrast to the black tent like outfits seen in the rest of the country. 'There was little in the way of tourist infrastructure for outsiders for much of the trip, which made daily organisation pretty challenging.' During the trip Mitchell visited the Persian Gulf Coast and Islands: Bandar Abbas, Hormuz, Qeshm and Minab and travelled to the desert cities of Yazd and Shiraz, Tehran, including  the ancient Zoroastrian centre of Chak Chak, Ruins at Persepolis and the city of Isfahan. The intricately decorated Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan (left) and a vendor at the Panjshambe Bazaar in Minab (right) In a city of nearly one million, only around 20,000 showed up for the rally, and  dispersed after just a few hours, the photographer said . 'Down with Israel': The sight of children holding placards such as these was a confronting element to the protest, the photographer said . Men and boys training in a traditional gym for the Iranian martial art of Zurkhaneh. The practice dates back more than 800 years . Working on a traditional Lenge at low tide, Bandar Abbas. Mitchell, 36,  travelled around the Iran during February . Protesters at a rally on Febuary 11th for the 36th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, in Yazd .
Former U.S. embassy in Tehran is a chilling museum complete with skeletal Statue of Liberty and ghostly waxworks . Embassy garnered worldwide attention in November 1979 when revolutionary students took dozens of staff hostage . Story  inspired the film Argo, starring Ben Affleck, and the building looks almost identical to portrayal in the movie . Every year, Iran commemorates anniversary of the 1979 Iranian revolution with its Ten Days of Dawn celebrations . On the final day, mass rallies and anti-western protests take place and the country's president addresses his people . Photographer Brook Mitchell, 36, travelled to Iran and captured pictures of 'celebrations' and the macabre museum .