Iran
Most motorists whizz by, oblivious of the two large, sturdy caravanserais stranded between the carriageways of the Mashhad Expressway, 42km east of Semnan. Especially impressive is the more easterly of the two, which is more ancient and unusual for being built of stone. The other is a more typical Safavid affair.
If you're driving eastbound, it's rather hard to spot the rough access lane that takes you across the highway's central area of no-man's-land
23.4 MILES
Semnan's cross-shaped covered-bazaar marks the old heart of the city. While far less extensive than the great bazaars of Kerman or Tabriz, there is plenty…
23.43 MILES
The extraordinarily high, if austere, west iwan of the Masjed-e Jameh dates from a 1424 rebuild, rising above a bare-brick octagonal prayer hall. But the…
23.39 MILES
Founded under Fath Ali Shah in the 1820s, this mosque is a large courtyard affair with four iwans at the cardinal points – the higher east and west ones…
23.45 MILES
Fronted with splendid blue tiling and filled with dazzling mirror-mosaics, this mostly contemporary imamzadeh just off the bazaar entombs Yahya bin Musa…
23.42 MILES
Inside a historic bathhouse, fronted with charmingly naive Qajar-era picture tiles, this museum displays 3000-year-old pottery from the archaeological…
23.31 MILES
Spiked with blue-tiled baby minarets, Darvaza-e Arg is Semnan’s dinky but iconic Qajar-era city gate, with appealing tile murals adorning the northern…
23.14 MILES
A steep stairway near Mashahir Sq leads down into what was once a water cistern, though it's now blocked off. Behind, what appears to be a fortress tower…
23.14 MILES
A steep stairway near Mashahir Sq leads down into what was once a water cistern, though it's now blocked off. Behind, what appears to be a fortress tower…
23.31 MILES
Spiked with blue-tiled baby minarets, Darvaza-e Arg is Semnan’s dinky but iconic Qajar-era city gate, with appealing tile murals adorning the northern…
23.39 MILES
Founded under Fath Ali Shah in the 1820s, this mosque is a large courtyard affair with four iwans at the cardinal points – the higher east and west ones…
23.4 MILES
Semnan's cross-shaped covered-bazaar marks the old heart of the city. While far less extensive than the great bazaars of Kerman or Tabriz, there is plenty…
23.42 MILES
Inside a historic bathhouse, fronted with charmingly naive Qajar-era picture tiles, this museum displays 3000-year-old pottery from the archaeological…
23.43 MILES
The extraordinarily high, if austere, west iwan of the Masjed-e Jameh dates from a 1424 rebuild, rising above a bare-brick octagonal prayer hall. But the…
23.45 MILES
Fronted with splendid blue tiling and filled with dazzling mirror-mosaics, this mostly contemporary imamzadeh just off the bazaar entombs Yahya bin Musa…