Must-see attractions in Iran

  • Chahar Padeshah Mosque

    Iran

    Rumoured as the resting place of four Gilani kings, the mosque is famous for its carved wooden doors, which have been moved to Tehran’s National Museum…

  • Military Museum

    Tehran

    At the Sa'd Abad Museum Complex and set inside and around a palace that belonged to the shah’s nephew Shahram, this museum contains a wide range of…

  • Masjed-e Jameh

    Iran

    Built around a quadrangle in the bustling (but not dome-covered) bazaar, this attractive 15th-century mosque has blue-tiled portals, sections of…

  • Moshir Divan

    Iran

    This iconic Qajar mansion, one of several historic buildings in town that are undergoing excruciatingly slow renovations, hides seven courtyards behind…

  • Toghoral Tower

    Iran

    This 12th-century brick tower rises up 20m and was originally topped by a conical dome that has long since collapsed. The tower, surrounded by a small…

  • Caravanserai

    Iran

    The ruins of a crumbling Mongol-era caravanserai lie directly opposite Farhad Tarash, some 200m on from the main Bisotun inscriptions.

  • Hazrat Museum

    Iran

    Inside a historic bathhouse, fronted with charmingly naive Qajar-era picture tiles, this museum displays 3000-year-old pottery from the archaeological…

  • Allah Akbar Gorge Lookout

    Shiraz

    The 30-minute climb to the summit of this hill is rewarded by fine views across the city. It is probably best to stick to daylight hours for a visit as…

  • Bazar-e Vakil (North)

    Shiraz

    The northern spur of its famous neighbour, Bazar-e Vakil, across Karim Khan-e Zand Blvd, this Qajar-era bazaar is fringed with shops along Zand Blvd…

  • Kuchuk Khan Horseman Statue

    Iran

    The horseman statue facing down Sa'di St mall from Shohoda Sq depicts Kuchuk Khan, the Jangali leader of ‘Soviet Iran’.

  • Masjed-e Sardar

    Iran

    The architecturally fanciful Sardar Mosque has a Qajar-style tri-lobed cornice, a beautifully brick-vaulted interior and a blocky clock-tower minaret…

  • Kuchuk Khan Mausoleum

    Iran

    A steady flow of well-wishers visits Kuchuk Khan's tomb (Manzariyeh St), sheltered by a contemporary brick gazebo with an intricate wooden roof. The tomb…

  • Jameh Mosque

    Iran

    Sari's original main mosque is an unusual courtyard structure with Mazanderani tiled roofs. From some external angles it looks more like an old Italian…

  • Covered Bazaar

    Iran

    The extensive, much-restored covered bazaar slopes up from Modarres St. With a couple of dilapidated old caravanserai courtyards at the western end, it's…

  • Armenian Evangelical Church

    Iran

    Squatter and slightly older than St Stephanos Gregorian church next door, the Armenian Evangelical Church was built in 1886 and now serves as a museum of…

  • Ali Qapu

    Iran

    The massive Ali Qapu was originally a 16th-century gateway to the royal precinct, a kind of forbidden inner city. Today it’s a police post, so don’t take…

  • Marashi House

    Iran

    In a back alley on a hill, this beautifully restored Qajar house has impressive views of Shushtar's ancient hydraulic system.

  • St Stephanos Gregorian Church

    Iran

    A church dedicated to Armenian saints Stephen and Gregory has existed on this site since the 1600s, though this latest incarnation dates from the early…

  • Shahrchay Dam

    Iran

    A popular local weekend excursion is to this dam 19km west of the centre, followed by chay at one of the riverside teahouses in Band (9km from Orumiyeh).

  • Darvaza-e Arg

    Iran

    Spiked with blue-tiled baby minarets, Darvaza-e Arg is Semnan’s dinky but iconic Qajar-era city gate, with appealing tile murals adorning the northern…

  • Rasul-Ullah Mosque

    Iran

    Grandly tiled, the mosque's dome and minaret appear best at dawn and dusk, when they're framed by the giant revolutionary 'organ-pipes' monument of…

  • Amineh Khatun Shrine

    Iran

    Dedicated to the daughter of the sixth Shia Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq, this colourfully domed 14th-century shrine has a fine blue conical spire and Kufic…

  • Chalapi Oghli Mausoleum

    Iran

    This unadorned Ilkhanid Mongol–period brick shrine to Sufi mystic Sheikh Boraq is surrounded by the courtyard of a khanqah (dervish monastery).

  • Bazar-e Nou

    Shiraz

    On the north side of Karim Khan-e Zand Blvd, this Qajar-era bazaar caters largely to local shopping needs but makes for an interesting stroll nonetheless.

  • Borj-e Qorban

    Iran

    In a back alley surrounded by apartment blocks sits this 13th-century classic 12-sided, pyramid-roofed tomb tower that was once used to defend the city.

  • Imam Hassan Mosque

    Iran

    The beautiful dome of this enormous, symmetrical mosque provides a fine counterpoint to the more organic shrine complex at the other end of Astane Sq.

  • Kolah Farangi

    Iran

    This historic, octagonal late-Qajar mansion sits in a neglected garden accessed through the unmarked grey gates of a clinic just north of Chahara Sq.

  • Javer Castle

    Iran

    Little remains of the actual castle other than some crumbling stone walls following the ridgeline south from the road, but the views are amazing.

  • Masjid-e Jameh

    Iran

    Situated halfway between the bazaar and the bus terminal, the partly 9th-century Jameh Mosque has a blunt, gently leaning brick-and-tile minaret.

  • Jameh Mosque (Masjed-e Jameh)

    Iran

    The Mongol Ilkhanid Congregational (Friday) Mosque was once a truly gigantic brick edifice. It's built on the site of a Sassanian fire temple.

  • Mir Baha-e Din Bridge

    Iran

    This attractive three-arched Qajar bridge over the Zanjan Rud river is visible west of the road to Bijar, southwest of the railway station.

  • Bazar-e Bozorg

    Qeshm Island

    The extensive bazaar off the main drag is at its most active in the morning. It includes a fruit and vegetable area and a fish market.

  • Imamzadeh-ye Hossein

    Iran

    Worth a look is the Qajar-era Imamzadeh-ye Hossein, tucked behind Hotel Yass in a little courtyard with an ancient mulberry tree.

  • Masjed-e Jameh

    Iran

    The main congregational mosque, near the bazaar, has beautiful Yazd-style twin minarets.

  • Mirza Ali Akbar Mosque

    Iran

    The attractively brick-vaulted Mirza Ali Akbar Mosque has a blue Kufic-tiled exterior frieze and a lighthouse-style minaret.

  • Civic Hall

    Iran

    Dominating Enqelab Sq and looking great under floodlights, this 1932 European-style city hall should not be photographed.

  • Haji Fakr Mosque

    Iran

    Stroll the back alleys to find the handsome little Haji Fakr Mosque with its squat, Bukharan-style pepper-mill minaret.

  • Sheikh Allama Shushtari Shrine

    Iran

    This shrine entombs 20th-century religious scholar Mohammad Taqi 'Allama' Shushtari, one of Shushtar's favourite sons.

  • Gonbad-e Arqala

    Iran

    An attractive, domed stone building, Gonbad-e Arqala houses a fine collection of gravestones and pre-Islamic totems.

  • Anthroplogy Museum

    Iran

    Lifelike wax dummies in traditional Ardabil costume inhabit this restored Ilkhanid (Mongol)–era hammam.

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