Gorgan Tower

Iran


The three-legged giant folly of a tower that sits on Basij Sq like a child's fantasy spacecraft is actually a jerkily revolving restaurant-coffeeshop that spins once in 45 minutes (if you persuade the barista to set it moving). Upstairs there's also a ring of open-air seating. Grab a coffee (IR80,000) to take advantage of the free customer wi-fi.

It's a fun novelty if you're driving by but getting here is a pain without a car: you'll need to find the pedestrian access tunnel from the road that runs parallel to the Sari Hwy, a block north of Basij Sq.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Iran attractions

1. Imamzadeh Abdollah

1.97 MILES

The ever-expanding mausoleum complex of one of Imam Reza's many half-brothers contains dazzling mirror work and is fronted by a giant new ogive-arched…

2. Imamzadeh-ye Nur

2 MILES

This 12-sided brick tower dating from 1453 overlooks a pretty square in Gorgan’s most interesting area of old alleys. It's surprisingly modest given that…

3. Taqavi House

2.03 MILES

This magnificent complex of historic buildings houses the Golestan Miras cultural-tourist office. Ask to peep inside the ‘eight-wife’ harem building – it…

4. Gorgan Handicrafts Museum

2.14 MILES

This recently restored late-Qajar-era house with tiled roofing and gerehchini (wood-lattice multicoloured windows) contains a well-presented, if somewhat…

5. Masjed-e Jameh

2.18 MILES

Built around a quadrangle in the bustling (but not dome-covered) bazaar, this attractive 15th-century mosque has blue-tiled portals, sections of…

6. Gorgan Palace Museum

2.44 MILES

In the mid 20th-century the Pahlavis swept away a former Safavid precursor to build a two-storey palace that, apart from its two Corinthian columns, is an…

7. Nahar Khoran

6.87 MILES

Just beyond Gorgan's southern city limits, Nahor Khoran is an area of woodlands and gurgling streams offering an easy, clean-air escape from the city…

8. Ziyarat Village

10.7 MILES

In the last 15 years, unfettered building has smothered this once-pretty shepherds' village with the multistorey holiday homes of rich city dwellers, but…