Iran's Attractions

Gilan Attractions One of the most important recent discoveries in this valley has been that of the second to first millennium B.C.royal necropolis of Marlik, dug by professor Ezzatollah Negahban for the Iranian Archaeological Service in 1961 and 1962. (other important sites here include Zainab Bijar, Dura Bijar,Pileh Qaleh and, close to Marlik, Jazim Kul.) .....

Tehran Attractions The Golestan (Rose Garden) Palace is one of most visited places in Tehran, which was the Qajars' royal residence. Its garden is an oasis of coolness and silence in the heart of the city. The main building, architecturally unpretentious, houses a museum with objects from the Qajar period in the overloaded and pompous style of last century. ....

Shiraz Attractions Pasargad is located about 77 km away from Persepolis. It was built by Cyrus the Great. Among the interesting sites at Pasargad is a stone platform 80 m. long and 18 m. wide. It is believed to have been the foundation of a palace. Close by are the ruins of a building called the Prison of Solomon which was probably a fire temple. ....

Mashhad Attractions Imam Reza Shrine The magnificent holy shrine of Imam Reza and the historical and artistic complex attached to it including the courtyards, porticoes and porches, the Goharshad Mosque as well as its rich museum and library are the most significant sights to be seen by any visitor and pilgrim....

Tabriz Attractions Ark-e Tabriz in Persian (also called Masjid-e Alishah, Arg-e Alishah) is the impressive remainder of a great and imposing building in the town. The Arg, a huge and crumbling brick citadel, is a notable landmark that was built in the early 14th century on the site of a massive mosque which collapsed over 500 years ago, and which must been one of the largest ever constructed. .....

Qazvin Attractions From Qazvin one can reach the Assassin (formerly Dailamite stronghold of Alamut and the shortest time in which the trip can comfortably be made is two days and a night. Alamut (Eagle Nest) is only one of many Assassin strongholds in the Alborz and other mountain ranges of Iran and recent intensive studies include those by a Japanese team, led by professor .....

Mazandaran Attractions Kolbadi House. The restored 125-year-old Kolbadi House is reminiscent of an 18th-century khan’s palace. Thick walls kept the lower floor warm in winter while the light, bright upper floor could be opened to through drafts for hot summers. Its windows made of wood-framed puzzles of multicoloured glass are supposed to protect the house from mosquitoes........

Hamadan Attractions The Tomb of Esther and Mordecai: These are the tombs of two Jewish people whose names appear in the Old Testament. The building is made with bricks and stone on the graveyard of Khashayarshah's wife (Esther) and her uncle (Mordecai). There are antique wooden boxes and manuscripts of the Old Testament inside the building. ......

Kermanshah Attractions Behistun inscription is considered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Behistun Inscription (also Bisitun or Bisutun, Modern Persian: بیستون ; Old Persian: Bagastana, meaning "the god's place or land") is a multi-lingual inscription located on Mount Behistun.....

Khuzestan Attractions Choqa Zanbil: The seat of the Elamite Empire, this ziggurat is a magnificent five-story temple that is one of the greatest ancient monuments in the Middle-East today. The monolith, with its labyrinthine walls made of thousands of large bricks with Elamite inscription, manifest the sheer antiquity of the shrine. The temple was religiously sacred and built in the honor of Inshushinak, the protector deity of the city of Susa......

Kashan Attractions Agha Bozorg Mosque. This mosque and theological school (Madreseh Agha Bozorg) is located in the center of Kashan. The mosque consisted of two large "eivan", one in front of the "mehrab" and the other by the entrance. The courtyard has a second court in the middle which comprised of a garden with trees and a fountain. Surrounding the courtyard are arcades.

Isfahan Attractions Naqsh-e Jahan Square (Imam Square). Before Isfahan was selected as Capital by the Safavid dynasty, a square called Naqsh-e Jahan (Image of the world) existed in the vicinity of Imam square. During the reign of Shah Abbas the Great, this square was enlarged to almost its present dimensions and the most famous historic buildings of Isfahan were constructed around this square. This square has an area of 89,600 m2......

Kerman Attractions The Arg-e Bam (Persian: ارگ بم‎‎) was the largest adobe building in the world, located in Bam, a city in the Kermān Province of southeastern Iran. It is listed by UNESCO as part of the World Heritage Site "Bam and its Cultural Landscape". The origin of this enormous citadel on the Silk Road can be traced back to the Achaemenid period (6th to 4th centuries BC) and even beyond. The heyday of the citadel was from the 7th to 11th centuries, being at the crossroads of important trade routes and known for the production of silk and cotton garments.The entire building was a large fortress in whose heart the citadel itself was located, but because of the impressive look of the citadel, which forms the highest point, the entire fortress is named the Bam Citadel.......

Kish Attractions Kariz-e-Kish is an old subterranean aqueduct which includes a network of wells and underground tunnels. It is the secret in the heart of Kish and is unique to the world. It was used to provide potable water called “sweet water” for it’s citizens who lived on the island. It is 16 meters deep and has an 8 meter high ceiling covered by fossils, shelves and corals. The aqueducts are over 2,000 years old......

Damqan Attractions Tarikhnameh, the oldest mosque in Iran Tarikhaneh Mosque is in fact the oldest mosque in Iran belonging to the 1st century after arrival of Islam which still preserves its original shape. The prefix "Tari", a Turkish term, means God and "khaneh" means house so the word means the house of God. Tarikhaneh and Nayeen Mosque in Isfahan are the only mosques in the Islamic World which resemble the Medina Mosque. This mosque was built during the 8th century A.D. ....

Qeshm Attractions Perhaps the most unique attraction on Qeshm Island and the coasts of Persian Gulf for every domestic and foreign tourist is the floating mangrove forest. The forest goes underwater upon high tide and reemerges during low tide. Mangrove forest is made up of a tree called mangrove, which is called Timer in Sistan and Baluchestan, Toul in some southern parts of Iran, and Harra in Bandar Abbas. Arabs call it Shoura and Azam and its size varies from 3 meters to 6 meters. Its seed easily grows on the seabed. The seeds may also grow on the trunk of the parent tree before being detached from it to flow on the water. Mangrove forest displays high biodiversity and is a habitat for tropical birds. ....

Ardabil Attractions Tomb of Sheikh Safi-ad-din Ardabili. The sight was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Sheikh Safi, an eminent leader of an Islamic Sufi order established by the Safavids, was born in Ardabil. It was constructed between the beginning of the 16th century and the end of the 18th century. The Safavids valued the tomb-mosque form, and the tomb with its mausoleum and prayer hall is located at a right angle to the mosque. ...

Yazd Attractions Yazd’s architectural centrepiece, the Amir Chakhmaq complex is located in the heart of the city, in a square of the same name. The imposing three-storey façade flaunts a number of beautifully symmetrical iwans, which light up and glow after sunset. It is one of the largest hosseiniehs in the country (buildings used in the commemorative ceremonies for Imam Hossein’s death), and dates back to the 15th century, although it has undergone numerous renovations. The surrounding square has a number of good sweet and ice cream shops. ....

Lorestan Attractions Falak-ol-Aflak is one of the most impressive castles in Iran. It is situated on the top of a large hill with the same name within the city of Khorramabad, the regional capital of Lorestan province. This gigantic structure was built during the Sassanid era (226–651).Falak ol-Aflak castle is amongst the most important structures built during the Sassanid era. It has been known by a number of names since it was built over 1800 years ago. Recorded names have referred to it as Shapur-Khast or Sabr-Khast fortress, Dezbaz, Khorramabad castle, and ultimately the Falak ol-Aflak Castle.....

Qom Attractions Qums history centers round Islam. What is certain is that from the early years of the Arab invasion it was noted for the conversion of its inhabitants and for the preponderance of Shiites among them. If there is one place in Iran which can be called the cradle and center of Shiism, Qum is that place. No doubt it was on this account that when Hazrat-e Masumeh, the daughter of the seventh Imam and the sister of Imam Reza, fell ill in 816 at Saveh (100 km) it was to Qum that she was brought. There she died after 17 day and was buried; and her tomb, as was natural, became a revered place of pilgrimage. So it remains toDay, and Qum, after Mashhad, is the foremost Shiite shrine in the country.......