December 2018
All to know about Mount Damavand
GENERAL INFO ABOUT MOUNT DAMAVAND Mount Damavand (5671m, 18606 ft) is famous as the roof of Iran. Being located in the central Alborz chain, Damavand is the highest peak in Iran, the highest volcano in Asia, the second prominent peak in Asia after mount Everest, and the highest cone-shaped mount in the world. Tehran (69km), [...]
Iran: A different place
Iran: A different place (REFLECTIONS OF A VISIT TO IRAN) It was scary. Nothing prepares you for Tehran traffic. My fear was palpable as our taxi driver came within centimeters of yet another car. I instinctively pulled my arm away from the open car window but the adjacent [...]
Takht-e Soleyman
To visit Takht-e Soleyman, look into the World Heritage Tour. The archaeological site of Takht-e Soleyman, a World Heritage Site, in north-western Iran, is situated in a valley set in a volcanic mountain region. The site includes the principal Zoroastrian sanctuary partly rebuilt in the Ilkhanid (Mongol) period (13th century) as well as a [...]
Persian Gardens
To visit the Persian Gardens, look into the World Heritage Tour. The property includes nine gardens in as many provinces. They exemplify the diversity of Persian garden designs that evolved and adapted to different climate conditions while retaining principles that have their roots in the times of Cyrus the Great, 6th century BC. Always [...]
Tabriz Bazaar
To visit Tabriz Historic Bazaar, a World Heritage Site, look into the World Heritage Tour. Tabriz has been a place of cultural exchange since antiquity and its historic bazaar complex is one of the most important commercial centres on the Silk Road. Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex consists of a series of interconnected, covered, brick [...]
Soltaniyeh Dome
To visit Soltaniyeh, a World Heritage Site, look into the World Heritage Tour. The mausoleum of Oljaytu was constructed in 1302–12 in the city of Soltaniyeh, the capital of the Ilkhanid dynasty, which was founded by the Mongols. Situated in the province of Zanjan, Soltaniyeh is one of the outstanding examples of the achievements [...]
Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System
To visit Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System, look into the World Heritage Tour. Shushtar, Historical Hydraulic System, inscribed as a masterpiece of creative genius, can be traced back to Darius the Great in the 5th century B.C. It involved the creation of two main diversion canals on the river Kârun one of which, Gargar canal, [...]
Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System
To visit Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System, look into the World Heritage Tour. Shushtar, Historical Hydraulic System, inscribed as a masterpiece of creative genius, can be traced back to Darius the Great in the 5th century B.C. It involved the creation of two main diversion canals on the river Kârun one of which, Gargar canal, [...]
Sheikh Safi al din Khaneghah
To visit Sheikh Safi addin Khanegah, look into the World Heritage Tour. Built between the beginning of the 16th century and the end of the 18th century, this place of spiritual retreat in the Sufi tradition uses Iranian traditional architectural forms to maximize use of available space to accommodate a variety of functions (including [...]
Shahr-e Sukhteh
To visit Shahr-e Sukhteh, look into the World Heritage Tour. Shahr-e Sukhteh, a World Heritage Site, meaning ‘Burnt City’, is located at the junction of Bronze Age trade routes crossing the Iranian plateau. The remains of the mudbrick city represent the emergence of the first complex societies in eastern Iran. Founded around 3200 BC, [...]
Persepolis
To visit the World Heritage Site of Persepolis, look into the World Heritage Tour. Founded by Darius I in 518 B.C., Persepolis was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire. It was built on an immense half-artificial, half-natural terrace, where the king of kings created an impressive palace complex inspired by Mesopotamian models. The importance [...]
Pasargadae
To visit Pasargadae, look into the World Heritage Tour. Pasargadae was the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus II the Great, in Pars, homeland of the Persians, in the 6th century BC. Its palaces, gardens and the mausoleum of Cyrus are outstanding examples of the first phase of royal Achaemenid [...]
Isfahan Jame Mosque
To visit Masjed-e Jame of Isfahan, look into the World Heritage Tour. Located in the historic centre of Isfahan, the Masjed-e Jame (Friday mosque) can be seen as a stunning illustration of the evolution of mosque architecture over twelve centuries, starting in ad 841. It is the oldest preserved edifice of its type in [...]
Gonbad-e Qabus
To visit Gonbad-e Qabus, a world heritage site, look into the World Heritage Tour. The 53 m high tomb built in ad 1006 for Qabus Ibn Voshmgir, Ziyarid ruler and literati, near the ruins of the ancient city of Jorjan in north-east Iran, bears testimony to the cultural exchange between Central Asian nomads and [...]
Golestan Palace
To visit Golestan Palace, look into the World Heritage Tour. The lavish Golestan Palace, a world heritage site, is a masterpiece of the Qajar era, embodying the successful integration of earlier Persian crafts and architecture with Western influences. The walled Palace, one of the oldest groups of buildings in Teheran, became the seat of [...]
Bisotun in Kermanshah
To visit Bisotun, look into the World Heritage Tour. Bisotun, a world heritage site, is located along the ancient trade route linking the Iranian high plateau with Mesopotamia and features remains from the prehistoric times to the Median, Achaemenid, Sassanian, and Ilkhanid periods. The principal monument of this archaeological site is the bas-relief and [...]
Bam Citadel or Arg-e Bam
To visit Bam Citadel (Arg-e Bam), look into the World Heritage Tour. Bam is situated in a desert environment on the southern edge of the Iranian high plateau. The origins of Bam can be traced back to the Achaemenid period (6th to 4th centuries BC). Its heyday was from the 7th to 11th centuries, [...]
Armenian Monastic Ensembles
To visit Armenian Monastic Ensembles, look into the World Heritage Tour. The Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran, a world heritage site, in the north-west of the country, consists of three monastic ensembles of the Armenian Christian faith: St Thaddeus and St Stepanos and the Chapel of Dzordzor. These edifices - the oldest of which, [...]
Iranians
Locals in Iran and Anthropology of IranTravel is all about meeting new people, learning about new cultures and trying new things. Of course, if you're spending any time in a foreign country, you're bound to have plenty of experiences with all three of these. But you may find that some places are better [...]
Chogha Zanbil Iran
To visit Chogha Zanbil Iran, look into the World Heritage Tour. The ruins of the holy city of the Kingdom of Elam, surrounded by three huge concentric walls, are found at Chogha Zanbil. Founded c. 1250 B.C., the city remained unfinished after it was invaded by Ashurbanipal, as shown by the thousands of [...]
Naghshe Jahan Square Isfahan
To visit Naghshe Jahan Square, Isfahan, look into the World Heritage Tour. Built by Shah Abbas I the Great at the beginning of the 17th century, and bordered on all sides by monumental buildings linked by a series of two-storeyed arcades, the site is known for the Royal Mosque, the Mosque of Sheykh Lotfollah, the [...]
Sabalan Mountain
Sabalan (4,811 m) an inactive volcano is located in Meshkinshahr, west of Ardabil in NW Iran. It can be easily observed while traveling on the road to Sarein. Sabalan is the third highest mountain and after Damavand is the second highest volcano in Iran. Dating back to millions of years ago, Sabalan is [...]
Iranian (Asiatic) Cheetah
The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) also known as the Iranian cheetah is a critically endangered animal. It can only be found in Iran which lives mainly in the vast central desert (Dasht-e Kavir) in fragmented pieces of remaining suitable habitat. They most live in five sanctuaries: Kavir National Park, Khar Touran National [...]
Travel to Iran in Ramadan
Ramadan is a test of faith as the Muslims believe. It is an occasion to remember the poor and cleaning the soul and body. So, no food, no drinks, no smoking are allowed from sunrise to sunset. It can be an interesting view into Islamic culture especially for the traveler. On the other [...]
Attar Neishabouri
"Faridodin Mohammad ibn Ibrahim Attar Neishabouri" was born in about 1119 AD in Kadkan, a village near Neishabour and from his early youth he began to study. While he was busy in his shop, selling medicine, he began to compile his two works, "Elahi-nameh" and "Mosibat-nameh". The collection of 1885 tales in his [...]