Unesco World Heritage Designated Tour
Iran is a land of amazing diversity offering a holiday with a difference. Discover a range of cultural, historical and active experiences
Day 1: Arrive in Tehran
Day2: Tehran
Day 3: Tehran –Zanjan
Day 4: Ardebil
Day 5: Tabriz-Esfanjan-Kandovan-Tabriz
Day 6: Tabriz-Takab
Day 7: Takab- Kermanshah
Day 8: Kermanshah
Day 9: Shoosh
Day 10: Isfahan
Day 11: Isfahan
Day 12: Isfahan-Yazd
Day 13: Yazd
Day 14: Shiraz & Excursion to Pasargadae
Day 15: Shiraz
Day 16: Shiraz
Day 17: Shiraz-Tehran
Day 18: Departure
The detailed itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Tehran [Tehran]
Day2: Tehran [Tehran]
Later in the day, Chalk up a local experience by rolling toward the north of Tehran to a mountainous area called Darband, via Valiasr street (longest street in Tehran),trek and have an early dinner at the mountainous restaurant, O/N Tehran.
Carpet Museum, (founded in 1976, exhibits a variety of Persian carpets from all over Iran, dating from 18th century to present. The museum was designed by the last Queen of Iran, Farah Diba Pahlavi).
Archeological Museum: A must see in Tehran. Collection includes: pottery, ceramics, stone figures and carvings from 5th & 4th millennium BC. Four tablets inscribed in cuneiform, Darius I inscription, carved staircase, tiles from Apadana Palace, and salt man are some of the highlights.
Glassware and ceramic museum, (The premises that have been turned into museum where glass and clay works are on display were built about 90 years ago and is a combination of the traditional Iranian style and the European architecture of the 19th century
The collection of glass and clay works that are on display at the museum is among the rare collection in Iran it comprise clay pots dating back the 4th millennium B.C. up to the present time as well as glass works from 1rst millennium B.C. up to the contemporary era .European glass works belonging to the 18th and 19th centuries are also part of the collection).
National Jewels Museum, (The treasury of Iranian national-royal-jewels accommodates the world`s most precious jewelry collection. The treasury has an interesting history, going back centuries. The decorations of the building include brickworks of the exterior .
Day 3: Tehran –Zanjan [Tehran] [Zanjan ]
Soltanieh Dome: was constructed in the years 704-712 AH. The dome is an octagonal structure made of mud brick and decorated with ornamental tiles using the unique architectural techniques of the Mongol Il-Khanid era. Irans Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) restored the brick buildings exterior with azure tiles made in traditional kilns over a four-year period.
Day 4: Ardebil [Ardabil ]
NOTES:
Sheikh Safieddin Ardebili: mausoleum is one of the most beautiful historical and Islamic structures and is regarded as one of the most important ancient structures of the country. The structure was built up in 735 Lunar Hejira by Sheikh Sadreddin Mousa, son of Sheikh Safi and was respected especially during the Safavid dynasty by the kings. The complex is composed of a group of stunning architectural structures
Day 5: Tabriz-Esfanjan-Kandovan-Tabriz [East Azerbaijan]
Kandovan Village :(also spelled Candovan) is a tourist village in the province of East Azarbaijan, near Osku and Tabriz .Its fame is due to its troglodyte dwellings. Some of the houses are at least 700 years old and are still inhabited. Kandovan is also known for its scenic beauty. A popular resort, it offers hotels and restaurants to serve tourists. Its mineral water is also popular with visitors and is believed to be a cure for kidney disease.
El Goli Park: it was used as a water resource for agricultural purposes. It was used as a summer palace during the Qajar dynasty (when Tabriz was the official residence of Prince of Iran). It contains a palace that is surrounded by a great square water pool almost 12 meters deep. During 2nd Pahlavi.
Day 6:Tabrik-Takab [East Azerbaijan]
Kaboud (Blue) Mosque: A famous historic mosque which was constructed in 1465 upon the order of Jahan Shah.
Day 7: Takab-kermanshah [West Azerbaijan] [Kermanshah ]
Takht-e Soleiman: The originally fortified site, which is located on a crater rim, was recognized as a World Heritage Site in July 2003. The citadel includes the remains of a Zoroastrian fire temple built during the Sassanid period and partially rebuilt during the Ilkhanid period.
Day 8: Kermanashah [Kermanshah ]
Bistoun Rock Reliefs: UNESCO WORLD WIDE HERITAGE, A multi-lingual inscription located on Mount Behistun in the Kermanshah Province of Iran, near the city of Kermanshah in western Iran, authored by Darius the Great.
Tagh-e-Bostan: a series of large rock relief from the era of Sassanid Empire of Persia, the Iranian dynasty which ruled western Asia from 226 to 650 AD. It is located in the heart of the Zagros Mountains, where it has endured almost 1,700 years of wind and rain. The carvings are some of the finest and best-preserved examples of Persian sculpture under the Sassanid
Day 9: Shoosh [Khūzestān ]
Choghazanbil Ziggurat: an ancient Elamite complex built about 1250 BC, and one of the few existent ziggurats outside of Mesopotamia which became the first Iranian site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Archaeological excavations undertaken between 1951 and 1962 revealed the site again, and the ziggurat is considered to be the best preserved example in the world.
Shoosh Castel :is located in the ruins of the ancient city of Susa (Shoush) in the Khuzestan Province of Iran. It was constructed by French archaeologist Jean-Marie Jacques de Morgan in the late 1890s, as a secure base for archaeological exploration and excavation. The Castle is similar to medieval monuments in France. The structure was built by local craftsmen with bricks taken from two other archaeological sites, the Achaemenid Darius/Dariush castle and the Elamite Choqazanbil ziggurat. It is built atop a hill (tell) which may contain other relics of past times. It is an example of the pre-scientific era of archaeology, when explorers mutilated or destroyed sites in the process of examining them.
Apadana Palace: In the year 521 BC “Daryush “, king of Hakahmaneshian, chose shush as his winter capital.There he built a beautiful palace called “Apadana “. It’s pillars, which are 15 meters high, although damaged during ages, still exist gloriously .
Daniel`s tomb:A domed shrine on the banks of the Karkheh river in Susa, Khuzestan, is, according to tradition, the tomb of the prophet Daniel.
Day 10: Isfahan [Isfahan]
At night get local and visit the world -wide famous bridges of Isfahan over “Zayandeh-Rood” river called sio se pol (33 bridges), where you can drink your afternoon cup of tea in an old traditional tea-house, O/N Isfahan.
Sio se pol-33 bridges: one of the eleven bridges of Isfahan highly ranked as being one of the most famous examples of Safavid bridge design. It consists of two rows of 33 arches. There is a larger base plank at the start of the bridge where the Zayandeh River flows under it, supporting a tea house.
Day 11:Isfahan [Isfahan]
Chehel sotun (40 pillars): An enchanting pavilion in the middle of a park at the far end of a long pool, built by Shah Abbas II to be used for his entertainment and receptions, The name, meaning Forty Columns in Persian, was inspired by the twenty slender wooden columns supporting the entrance pavilion, which, when reflected in the waters of the fountain, are said to appear to be forty.
Hasht Behest (8 paradises): dates back to the time of Shah Suleiman and is located in the middle of the Hasht Behesht Garden. The palace was the kings residence. A two story palace, with several rooms and cubicles. Its beautiful exterior is decorated with bricks and tiles. The palaces surroundings have been changed into a public park.
Naghshe Jahan square: an important historical site and one of UNESCOs World Heritage Sites and the second biggest square in the world. It is 160 meters wide by 508 meters long, an area of 89,600 m2. The square is surrounded by buildings from the Safavid era.
Ali Qapu Palace: A grand palace in Isfahan was built by decree of Shah Abbas the Great in the early seventeenth century. It was here that the great monarch used to entertain noble visitors, and foreign ambassadors. Shah Abbas, here for the first time celebrated the Now – ruz /New Years Day/)
Imam Mosque: UNESCO World Heritage Site (Built during the Safavids period, it is an excellent example of Islamic architecture of Iran, and regarded as the masterpiece of Persian Architecture and one of the everlasting masterpieces of architecture in Iran and all over the world. Its construction began in 1611, and its splendor is mainly due to the beauty of its seven-color mosaic tiles and calligraphic inscriptions.
Sheikh-Lotfollah Mosque: One of the architectural masterpieces of Safavid Iranian architecture, standing on the eastern side of Naghsh-e- Jahan Square, It was built by Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty. The building functioned as a prayer hall and lecture hall
Day 12: Isfahan-Yazd [Isfahan] [Yazd]
Vank Cathedral: of the first churches to be established in the citys Jolfa district by Armenian immigrants settled by Shah Abbas I after the Ottoman War of 1603-1605
Jamee Mosque: A grand, congregational mosque. The mosque is the result of continual construction, reconstruction, additions and renovations on the site from around 771 to the end of the 20th century.
Day 13: Yazd [Yazd]
Alexander prison: A 15th-century domed school is known as Alexanders Prison because of a reference to this apparently dastardly place in a Hafez poem. The deep well in the middle of its courtyard was in fact built by Alexander the Great and used as a dungeon.
Fire Temple: one the most important fire temples in the world. Zoroastrians from all over the world come here to see the sacred fire that has been burning without interruption for 1500 years
Tower of silence: A circular, raised structure used by Zoroastrians for exposure of the dead. The towers were built atop hills or low mountains in desert locations distant from population centers.
Dolat Abad Garden: a garden plus a traditional Persian architectural device in the middle used for many centuries to create natural ventilation in buildings. It is not known who first invented the wind catcher.
Water Museum: The official inauguration of the water museum coincided with the first international symposium on qanat. The unique instruments exposed to exhibition at this place are detailing water transactions, various deeds of endowment, traditional water distribution policy and different ancient utensils concerning keeping and transmission of water. These instruments have gradually been collected by authorities since 1992. The place had once been a market. The house dates back to 100 years ago and there were two qanat streams running under it one of which is still active.
Day 14: Shiraz & Pasargadae [Fārs ]
Day 15:Shiraz [Fārs ]
Naghsh-e-Rostam , Where you will see 4 tombs in the mountain of Darius I, Artaxerxes I, Xerxes I, and Darius II Eight stone carvings from Sassanians dynasty below the Achaemenians tombs showing conquests of kings; believed was created to celebrate the victory of Sassanians king, over the Romanian invader
Naghsh-e-Rajab, a beautiful stone carved from Sassanians dynasty (224-651 A.D.), at your leisure in the morning.
Mausoleum of poet Hafez: An 8th-century Persian lyric poet. His collected works (Divan) are to be found in the homes of most Iranians, who learn his poems by heart and use them as proverbs and sayings to this day and have influenced post-Fourteenth Century Persian writing more than anything else has.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe a famous German poet says: Suddenly I came face to face with the celestial perfume of the East and invigorating breeze of Eternity that was being blown from the plains and the wastelands of Persia, and I came to know an extraordinary man whose personality completely fascinated me. He calls him “Saint Hafez” and “celestial Friend”. Goethe was acquainted with Iranian Literature and time.
Mausoleum of poet Saadi: 7th century one of the major Persian poets of the medieval period. He is recognized not only for the quality of his writing, but also for the depth of his social thoughts.
Day 16: Shiraz [Fārs ]
Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque: A traditional mosque in Shiraz, left from the Qajar Dynasty, in 1876 Which extensively uses colored glass in its façade which creates an great amount of beauty.
Zand complex: An old bath house, mosque and bazaar dated back to 17th century.
Holly Shrine of Shah-e-Cheraq: A funerary monument and mosque in Shiraz.
Day 17: Shiraz-Tehran [Fārs ] [Tehran]
Saad Abad Palace: a palace built by the Pahlavi dynasty of Iran. After the Iranian Revolution, the complex became a museum. However, the current presidential palace is located adjacent to the Saad Abad compound.
Day 18: Departure [Tehran]
A morning flight allows for hometown connections.
Note: The first & last day of programs, depends on your flight time so, the necessary changes will be made accordingly.
The End
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