Ancient Persia greets the traveler who got off the plane with the aromas of oriental spices. The eye of a tourist is delighted with magnificent ornaments on the walls of ancient palaces and handmade carpets, ancient cities, half-buried with sand history, and unique natural landscapes, in which uninhabited deserts, emerald green oases and boundless expanses of the gray Caspian Sea are intertwined. The answer to the question of what to see in Iran is as endless as the Arabic script, the medieval script of which adorns the walls of Iranian palaces and the domes of its mosques.
TOP 15 sights of Iran
Naqsh-e Jahan
The largest square in the city of Isfahan deserves a place on the lists of the World Heritage of Humanity. Its name is translated from Persian as "Decoration of the World". The construction of buildings on Naqsh-e Jahan began at the end of the 16th century, when the capital of the Safavid state was moved to Isfahan.
At Naqsh-e Jahan Square you will find:
- Six-storey palace of Ali Gapu of the XVI century, the height of which is 48 meters.
- The Imam Mosque is the largest in the city and one of the largest in the world. It was erected at the beginning of the 17th century. The height of the main dome is 52 meters, the interior is decorated with mosaics. The acoustic effects in the premises of the mosque are especially interesting.
- Isfahan bazaar, which appeared during the Seljuk dynasty.
The square is located in the historical district of Gulbahar.
Golestan
The Marble Palace in Tehran is often called the Rose Palace by residents of the Iranian capital. It was built in the middle of the 16th century for the ruler Tahmasp I, and then served as the residence of many shahs of Iran.
The palace complex includes two dozen buildings, including the Diamond Hall, the Museum of Photography, portrait and art galleries and the Marble Throne Hall. The museum expositions of the palace offer to get acquainted with the collections of ceramics, weapons, musical instruments, clothes and tapestries. The halls are decorated with frescoes and mirrors, marble and wood carvings, inlays and gold.
To get there: st. Metro Panzdah-e-Khordad St.
Ticket price: 4 euros.
Saadabad
The Saadabad palace complex was built for the Qajar dynasty in the very last years of their reign. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the residence served to Shah Reza Pahlavi. The modern purpose of the palace is a museum exposition housed in the pavilions of Saadabad.
In the palace you will find the most interesting collections of museums of water, fine arts, military affairs. The interest of visitors is invariably attracted by the design of the interiors of the palace. The craftsmen used stucco molding, painting on walls and ceilings, crystal and marble. The handmade carpets and huge chandeliers are especially impressive.
Persepolis
The ancient capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persepolis is glorified by poets and artists, and its ruins are quite worthy to top the lists of the most famous sights of the entire Middle East.
Persepolis was built in the 6th-5th centuries BC and existed for just over 200 years.
The main monuments are the palace of Apadana Darius, the Hall of Columns, Tachara or the residential palace, the harem of Xerxes and the tomb of Darius.
To get there: sightseeing bus from Tehran or taxi from Shiraz.
Milad
The highest building in Iran, from where you can look at the capital from a bird's eye view, was built at the end of the 20th century. The Milad TV Tower is 435 meters high, and the viewing platforms are located in the “head” located at an altitude of 315 meters. In the capsule, you will find a panoramic restaurant that revolves according to tradition. The total area of the premises located on 12 floors of the "head" of the tower is 12 thousand square meters. m. This is an absolute world record among buildings of this type.
Ticket price: 10 euros.
Mausoleum of Imam Reza
The architectural complex in Mashhad is a center not only for tourism, but also for pilgrimage. Annually about 15 millionpeople visit the tomb of a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, a famous scholar of the Koran and an interpreter of Muslim law, who lived in the 8th-9th centuries.
The building was built in the 13th century on the site of the first tomb of Imam Reza.
Eram
You will find real Persian gardens, described in the tales of Scheherazade, in Shiraz. In the 18th century, the Eram Garden was laid here, which is now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site:
- The total area of the garden is over 110 thousand square meters. m.
- The 30-room main pavilion of the garden is decorated with tiles with lines of works by the Persian poet Shirazi.
- The exquisite arches on the north side are paved with mosaics of bricks and glazed blocks.
The garden has over 300 varieties of roses, many fruit trees and thousands of flowering plants.
The best time to walk in the Eram Garden is April, when most of the trees are in bloom.
To get there: by metro to the station. "Namazi" or by bus. to the stop "Kabga".
Open from 8 am to 8 pm.
Ticket price: 5 euros.
Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque
The largest mosque in the city of Isfahan is a prime example of 17th century Persian architecture. It was built by the Safavid ruler Abbas Shah, and the mosque became the first structure in the new capital of the empire, moved to Isfahan.
The mosque is named after Sheikh Lotfollah, who served as its first imam. The grandiose structure with a 13-meter dome in diameter is famous for the abundance of patterned majolica - ceramic tiles made of fired clay, painted with glaze. Majolica decorates the interior of the mosque and its outer walls.
Bridge Pole-Haju
The oldest bridge, Pole-Haju, connected the banks of the Zayende Rud River in Isfahan in 1650. It is unmatched both in terms of the elegance of the architectural solution, and because of its special functionality. The bridge serves not only as a ferry, but also as a dam. It consists of two tiers and a pavilion for the ruler's rest was prudently built by the architects in its central part. The customer of the bridge was the then Shah Abbas II.
In numbers, the Pole-Haju looks very impressive: 24 arches, 133 meters in length and 12 in width, and 47 inlet and outlet channels are able to dam the river to irrigate the gardens laid out along the banks.
Cathedral of Holy Christ the Savior
It is also called the Vank Cathedral, and for the local Armenian diaspora, the temple is the main one in Isfahan.
The cathedral was built in the first half of the 17th century in order to settle differences in relations between the empire of Shah Abbas I and the Armenian community. The architecture clearly contains Muslim features, which is explained by the difficult historical twists and turns in the development of the city.
Noteworthy are polychrome frescoes, tiles and gilded carvings, but overall the interior looks rather austere. The library of the temple, which contains more than 700 copies of ancient manuscript books, is of value.
Arg-e Bam
The oldest adobe building and, moreover, the largest in the world is located on the Great Silk Road, which once ran through the Iranian city of Bam. The first buildings of the Bam fortress date back to the 7th century, when the Sassanid dynasty was engaged in the construction of the fortification. Turkic nomads and Mughals ceased to exist the fortress in the XII century, having subjected the surroundings of Bam to destructive raids.
The revival of the citadel was facilitated by Tamerlane, and today tourists can view several mausoleums of the 12th century, six-meter-high walls with a length of more than 1800 meters, 38 watch towers, a unique ancient building for making and storing ice.
To get there: by train from Tehran to Bam station.
Bazaar in Tabriz
The ancient covered market in Tabriz was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List for a reason. The complex consists of 28 mosques, several madrasahs, five baths and a huge number of stalls and pavilions. Standing on the Great Silk Road, Tabriz has been a trading city from time immemorial. In the bazaar you will find carpets and jewelry, precious spices and handmade clothing, leather accessories and carved wood furniture.
The Tabriz bazaar began work in the 16th century and, despite the emergence of modern shopping centers around it, retains its status as an economic center not only of the city, but of the entire province.
To get there: by train or car from Tehran (approx. 600 km).
Carpet Museum
The purpose of creating this museum exhibition in Tehran was the idea of the need to preserve the history of Iranian carpet weaving and to study its origins and traditions. In the Carpet Museum in Iran, you can look at the best and most valuable examples of carpet weaving dating back to the 9th century.
The museum's exhibits include 135 carpets named world masterpieces. For example, the work of a master from the time of the late Qajar empire, depicting the Persian commander Jangali.
There is a tea house and a souvenir shop in the museum building.
The ticket price is less than 1 euro.
Blue Mosque
The most beautiful Iranian mosque in Tabriz was built in 1465 by order of the ruler Jahan. It is called Blue because of the predominant color in the decoration - most of the tiles are made in various shades of blue.
Shah Jahan was buried on the territory of the mosque. His mausoleum is made of marble and is located in the southern part of the complex. The headstone is decorated with engraved quotes from the Koran.
Pars Museum
In the former palace of the Zend dynasty in Shiraz, built at the end of the 18th century, today there is a museum with a very interesting exposition. In the collection you will find three dozen handwritten samples of the Koran dating from the Middle Ages. The most famous is the 10th century Koran Hefdah Man. Both volumes of the handwritten book weigh 40 kg, and each of them consists of 500 sheets and is more than 25 cm thick.
