Hamam-e Vakil Chaykhaneh

Top choice in Southeastern Iran


Architecturally magnificent, this elegantly arched subterranean teahouse was built as a bathhouse in 1820. Live music – typically a singer accompanied by santur (dulcimer-like instrument) – plays throughout the day; meals are available from 1pm to 4pm. At other times, you can drink a variety of herbal or fruit teas or even smoke a qalyan (IR120,000). Note that there's a small admission fee (foreigner/Iranian IR30,000/10,000).

Dining specialities include kashke bademjan (mashed roast eggplant; IR100,000) and the Kermani speciality boz ghormeh (IR120,000), a similar dish but using mutton rather than aubergine.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Southeastern Iran attractions

1. Bazar-e Sartasari

0.1 MILES

Kerman’s magnificent 'Sartasari' ('end-to-end') Bazaar is one of the oldest and most memorable trading centres in Iran. Its main thoroughfare stretches…

2. Masjed-e Ganj Ali Khan

0.19 MILES

With an entrance hidden away in the northeastern corner of Ganj Ali Khan Sq, this tiny but lavishly decorated mosque was once the private place of worship…

3. Bazar-e Zargaran

0.2 MILES

The gold bazaar is tucked away to the northeast of Ganj Ali Khan Sq. In the middle of its countless jewellery shops is a small square where you'll come…

4. Masjed-e Jameh

0.2 MILES

The Masjed-e Jameh's four lofty iwans originally date from 1349, though there was extensive modernisation during the Safavid and later periods. Instead of…

5. Hammam Museum

0.22 MILES

This historic bathhouse is now a museum in which wax dummies illustrate the workings of a traditional hammam. Signage is a little garbled ('AD' dates…

6. Zurabkhane

0.23 MILES

A collection of ancient coins, displayed in a half-dark domed chamber, might be of interest to numismatists but at foreigner prices it seems overpriced …

7. Masjed-e Imam

0.23 MILES

The expansive Imam Mosque courtyard covers 6000sqm with tiled iwans (barrel-vaulted halls) on three sides. But it's the main southwest iwan that's the…

8. Coppersmiths' Workshop

0.25 MILES

Many of the copper pans that gleam so lustrously around the Bazar-e Mesgari Shomali are made in an old-fashioned smithy tucked away in one of the alleys…