Things to do in Iran
-
Kharanaq-Chak Chak-Meybod loop
Most hotels can arrange tours but using an independent guide can be more rewarding. Most can lead tours to almost anywhere in Yazd province, and further, and have been recommended. The most common tour is the Kharanaq-Chak Chak-Meybod loop, which is impossible on public transport. Other options include camel tours and desert walks. Old city tours are also popular. Silk Road Travel also run these tours.
reviewed
-
A
Kerman National Library
The Kerman National Library modestly bills itself as the ‘greatest informatic research center in the country’, but it’s the architecture – a forest of columns supporting vaulted ceilings – that is the real attraction. Built in 1929, the style is a harmonious variation on late-Qajar-era design that was purpose built as, wait for it, a textile factory!
reviewed
-
Araz Adventure Tours
This helpful outdoor tourism agency has been recommended by readers. It offers a wide range of mountaineering, climbing, horse- and camel-trekking, plus cultural tours. Director and experienced climber Mohsen Aghajani speaks English. One reader who climbed Mt Damavand with Araz wrote that ‘even the cook had made it within 45 minutes of the Mt Everest summit’. Most equipment is provided.
reviewed
-
B
Jameh Mosque
The well-preserved Jameh Mosque is entered from both Shohada Sq and the bazaar. Its four lofty iwans (rectangular halls opening onto a courtyard) and shimmering blue tiles date from 1349 but were extensively modernised during the Safavid period and later. Interestingly, this mosque has no minaret. Instead there is a squat clock tower atop the main entrance (off Shohada Sq).
reviewed
-
C
Qeysarieh Tea Shop
Sitting at the outdoor tables, sipping tea (IR5000 per person) and puffing qalyan (IR10,000), is the perfect way to soak up this beautiful ‘half of the world’, especially when the colours and moods of the square change in the late afternoon. And despite its position, the Qeysarieh Tea Shop is often pretty quiet. The tea shop is up a steep staircase to the left of the Qeysarieh Portal.
reviewed
-
Church of St Stephanos
Jolfa’s main tourist drawcard is the very attractive Armenian Church of St Stephanos. The earliest surviving part of the building is 14th century. However, St Bartholomew first founded a church on the site around AD 62, a single generation after Christ. The well-preserved exterior reliefs include Armenian crosses, saints and angels. The bell tower is under reconstruction.
reviewed
-
Chelokababi Tavakol
This would be the backpacker meeting place, if there were any backpackers. Excellent value Iranian food is served in an atmospheric once-grand old bathhouse that’s slightly gone-to-seed. Charming owner Ali Rahban looks somewhat like Dudley Moore, speaks good English and can rustle up eggplant delights for vegetarians. Head downstairs through white-framed doors with coloured glass panels.
reviewed
-
D
Pars Museum
Bagh-e Nazar and the octagonal Pars Museum at its centre are other notable Zand-era additions. It's possible to walk around the garden and view the delightfully decorated pavilion where Karim Khan received foreign dignitaries. The interior is stunning, with the stalactite ceiling a particular highlight. Exhibits include Karim Khan Zand's sword and indeed, his grave. Photography is not allowed.
reviewed
-
E
Bagh-e Nazar
Bagh-e Nazar at its centre is a notable Zand-era additions. It’s possible to walk around the garden and view the delightfully decorated pavilion where Karim Khan received foreign dignitaries. The interior is stunning, with the stalactite ceiling a particular highlight. Exhibits include Karim Khan Zand’s sword and indeed, his grave. Photography is not allowed.
reviewed
-
F
Kourosh
Kourosh wins no prizes for décor but offers numerous typical Gilani dishes including dill-rich bagilah qotoq, zeitun parvarden (olives in walnut paste) and garlic mast. On a good day the mirza ghasemi (mashed eggplant, squash, garlic, tomato and egg, served with bread or rice) can be superb but the fesenjun (chicken with walnuts) is rather tart.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Homa
Combining the atmosphere of a teahouse with the calm elegance of an upmarket restaurant, Homa has embroidered tablecloths and blue-brick dining niches ranged around a gently trickling fountain. Though not a patch on homemade equivalents, the semi-sweet fesenjun (IR30,000) is ideally complemented by their acidic dugh (churned sour milk or yogurt mixed with water).
reviewed
-
Mil-e Gonbad
Mil-e Gonbad is utterly magnificent. Soaring, 55m tall on 12m-deep foundations, this astonishing tower has the cross-section of a 10-pointed star, and looks like a buttressed brick spaceship. It was built in 1006 for poet-artist-prince Qabus ibn Vashmgir but is so remarkably well preserved that one can scarcely believe it’s 100, let alone 1000 years old.
reviewed
-
G
Bogheh-ye Sayyed Roknaddin
The beautiful blue-tiled dome of the Bogheh-ye Sayyed Roknaddin, the tomb of local Islamic notable Sayyed Roknaddin Mohammed Qazi, is visible from any elevated point in the city. Built 700 years ago, the dome is notable but the deteriorating interior stucco and other decoration remains impressive. The door is often closed but a knock should bring the caretaker.
reviewed
-
Farid Coffee Shop
You can usually find simple, cheap food along the Bushehr waterfront, particularly near the seafront building housing the Farid Coffee Shop, where the view is better than the coffee. This is a great area for people-watching, especially on Thursday or Friday evenings when the whole of Bushehr seems to be promenading along the esplanade with the cool sea breezes.
reviewed
-
H
Khan-e Lari
The 150-year-old Khan-e Lari is one of the best-preserved Qajar-era houses in Yazd. The badgirs, traditional doors, stained-glass windows, elegant archways and alcoves mark it out as one of the city’s grandest homes. The merchant family who built it have long gone, and it’s now home to architecture students and cultural heritage officers.
reviewed
-
Ateshkadeh
Zoroastrians come from around the world to see this Ateshkadeh, often referred to as the Zoroastrian Fire Temple, said to have been burning since about AD 470. Visible through a window from the entrance hall, the flame was transferred to Ardakan in 1174, then to Yazd in 1474 and to its present site in 1940. Above the entrance you can see the Fravahar symbol.
reviewed
-
I
Jameh Mosque
The magnificent Jameh Mosque dominates the old city. Its tiled entrance portal is one of the tallest in Iran, flanked by two magnificent 48m-high minarets and adorned with an inscription from the 15th century. The exquisite mosaics on the dome and mihrab , and the tiles above the main western entrance to the courtyard are particularly stunning.
reviewed
-
J
Khan-e Borujerdi
Legend has it that when Sayyed Jafar Natanzi, a merchant known as Borujerdi, met Sayyed Jafar Tabatabei to discuss taking his daughter’s hand in marriage, Agha Tabatabei set one condition: his daughter must be able to live in a home at least as lovely as his own. The result – finished some 18 years later – was the Khan-e Borujerdi.
reviewed
-
K
Hammam-e Vakil
After years as one of the most popular traditional restaurants in Iran, the Hammam-e Vakil was closed because the kitchen was damaging this classic old building. Shame. In early 2008 it reopened as a modest carpet museum, but its future remained uncertain. If it is open in some form, it’s worth popping in for a look at the classic old bathhouse.
reviewed
-
L
Sofreh Khane Ayyaran
This subterranean chaykhaneh makes an attractive escape from the fumes of Ferdosi Sq, though prices are aimed at tour groups (ie, high). However, the large Iranian menu has some hard-to-find dishes and a couple that you might not expect in your standard Tehran basement, such as ‘Submissive: IR25,000’. Apparently it’s eggplant, master.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
M
Park-e Shahr
If you're staying in southern Tehran and need a break from the traffic, head straight for Park-e Shahr where you can go ice skating (when it's cold enough), take a boat trip on the tiny lake (in summer) and enjoy tea or qalyan (water pipe) at the laid-back Sofre Khane Sonnati Sangalag year-round. It's also a great place to just sit and watch Tehranis relaxing.
reviewed
-
Shahzadeh-ye Ibrahim
The delightful Shahzadeh-ye Ibrahim shrine was built in 1894 and boasts European-style painted ceilings, colourful tiles, tall minarets and a pretty courtyard. The conical, tiled roof is distinctive to this area and chances are you’ll have seen it on posters long before you arrive. It’s clearly visible from the main road to Fin.
reviewed
-
N
Iran Ebrat Museum
There is nothing subtle about the Iran Ebrat Museum, a one-time prison of the shah’s brutal secret police that now exhibits that brutality with an equal measure of pro-revolution propaganda. The prison is an incongruously attractive building, with wings radiating from a circular centre. But what went on here was not attractive at all.
reviewed
-
O
Tezatre Shahr
The huge, circular Tezatre Shahr is Tehran’s biggest and most impressive theatre and the place you’re most likely to see Iranian stage actors at work – performing in Farsi, of course. The booking staff speak English so call them to find out what’s coming up. Performances are normally at 6.30pm or 7.30pm and cost about IR25,000.
reviewed
-
P
Sadaf Hotel
The Sadaf Hotel’s restaurant is especially recommended between June and October when you can eat on the rooftop. The food, including steak with mushroom sauce (IR30,000), and the usual range of tasty kababs, is consistently good and complements the rooftop views (when you stand up) across the Old City. It opens indoors during the rest of the year.
reviewed