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Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
On the western side of Park-e Laleh, the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is in a striking concrete modernist building constructed during the shah’s rush to build modern landmarks in the 1970s. Progressive Queen Farah Diba was the driving force behind the museum (her cousin Kamran
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Omar Khayyam Tomb Complex
Neishabur’s main attraction remains Khayyam’s Tomb. Its present form is a distinctive 1970s modernist affair with diamond-shaped lozenges of calligraphic tiling (Khayyam’s words, naturally) set in a curved, airy net of criss-crossed marble. Don’t be surprised to find random Iranian
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Khorshid Palace
Kalat’s foremost sight is Nader Shah’s Khorshid Palace, 700m beyond the savari terminus. It’s not really a palace at all but a distinctively fluted circular tomb-tower, on an octagonal base set in beautifully manicured lawns. The name Khorshid (literally ‘sun’) refers to one of Nad
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Naqsh
Naqsh-e Jahan means ‘pattern of the world’, and it’s a world that owes much to the vision of Shah Abbas the Great. Begun in 1602 as the centrepiece of Abbas’ new capital, the square was designed as home to the finest jewels of the Safavid empire – the incomparable Masjed-e Shah, th
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The Bazaars
The city’s ancient trading district is home to several bazaars dating from different periods. The finest and most famous of these is the Bazar-e Vakil , a cruciform structure commissioned by Karim Khan as part of his plan to make Shiraz into a great trading centre. The wide vaulted
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Naranjestan & Khan
A huge courtyard planted with rows of palm and orange trees, the Bagh-e Naranjestan is the setting for the opulently decorated Naranjastan-e Qavam pavilion, built for the wealthy and powerful Mohammad Ali Khan Qavam al-Molk between 1879 and 1886 as the buruni (public reception area
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Khan
Legend has it that when Sayyed Jafar Natanzi, a carpet merchant known as Borujerdi, met with fellow carpet merchant Sayyed Jafar Tabatabei to discuss taking his daughter’s hand in marriage, Mr Tabatabei set one condition: his daughter must be able to live in a home at least as love
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Zayandeh River Bridges
There are few better ways to spend an afternoon than strolling along the Zayandeh River, crossing back and forth on the historic bridges. Such a stroll is especially pleasant at sunset and in the early evening when most of the bridges are illuminated. In total, 11 bridges (six are
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Niyavaran Palace
Up the hill beyond a garden cafe is the remarkable Niyavaran Palace.Built between 1958 and 1968 the palace has a decidedly ‘60s look – clean-lined functionality on the outside contrasting with opulent, European-royal style furniture and enormous, intricately woven carpets inside. H
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Ancient Shush
Entered from YaZahra Sq on Khomeini Blvd, the archaeological site occupies the whole southern flank of modern Shush. To the right as you enter, the landscape is entirely dominated by the, sadly closed to the public, Chateau de Morgan . On the site of an Elamite acropolis, this cren
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Esther & Mordecai Tomb
This vaguely Tolkeinesque, 14th-century tomb tower was once Iran’s most important Jewish pilgrimage site. These days visitors are few and far between and some of the Hebrew inscriptions have been repainted so often by those who evidently couldn’t understand them, that they have bec
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Bazaar
Kashan’s historic bazaar is one of the best in Iran. Busy but not hectic, traditional but with a wide variety of goods, large enough to surprise but not to get lost in, it’s a great place to wander for a couple of hours, especially in the late afternoon. The multidomed roof of the
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Sahebqaranieh
With tickets in hand we recommend going first to Sahebqaranieh, which was built during the Qajar period and used as Nasser-al Din Shah’s harem before later being transformed into Mohammad Reza Shah’s office. It contains a fine collection of paintings and other furnishings, includin
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Tochal Telecabin
Popular Tochal Telecabin runs 7.5km up Mt Tochal (3957m) to the fourth-highest ski field on earth where you’ll find snow for between six and eight months a year. The telecabin is busy on Fridays when the slopes are packed with well-off young Tehranis here as much for the socialisin
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Ghal’e
Some 750m to the north of the harbour is the famous Portuguese Sea Fort, probably the most impressive and ambitious colonial fortress built in Iran. Centuries of neglect have seen much of the original structure crumble into the sea, but the thick, muscular-looking walls and rusting
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Jami Mausoleum
Torbat-e Jam’s highly impressive must-see sight is the beautiful Jami mausoleum complex . Here, 10 religious buildings intertwine around the grave of 12th-century Sunni mystic and poet Sheikh Ahmad Jami. His tombstone rests under a very old pistachio tree, above which soars a parti
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Aramgah
Iranians have a saying that every home must have two things: first the Quran, then a collection of the works of Hafez. And in reality, many would reverse that order. Hafez the poet is an Iranian folk hero – loved, revered and as popular as many a modern pop star. Almost every Irani
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Haram
Imam Reza’s Holy Shrine is enveloped in a series of sacred precincts collectively known as the Haram-e Razavi, or Haram for short. This magical city-within-a-city sprouts dazzling clusters of domes and minarets in blue and pure gold behind vast fountain-cooled courtyards and magni
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Tomb of Daniel
As in a typical imamzadeh , Muslim pilgrims crowd the glittery interior of the Tomb of Daniel, kissing the zarih grate around a green-draped grave slab. Here this behaviour is particularly intriguing given that Daniel has at best tangential relevance to Islam. In fact, he’s a semi-
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Darakeh & Darband
On a sunny or smoggy day few things could be nicer than fleeing the traffic fumes for the foothills of the Alborz Mountains and the walking trails of Darakeh and Darband. The trails pass waterfalls and cross streams as they head up into the hills. They are crowded on Thursday after
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