Tag: Historical Sites of Iran
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650-year-old Air-Conditioning in Iranian University
The AC still works. No one cares.I don’t think it’s possible for a thinking person to step onto the gorgeous courtyard of the 650-year-old Khargerd Ghiasieh School in northeast Iran and not feel both pity and amazement. Amazement for the beauty of its iwans and the technical engineering devised to use nothing but desert winds to cool down the school’s 32…
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Tour of Caspian Coast: City of Sari
The northernmost province of IranOn our road trip from Tehran to Mashhad, we passed through Sari, one of the largest cities in Iran’s Caspian Coast region.
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Iran’s Towers: “Lighthouses of the desert”
Iranians kept fires burning on these minarets to direct desert trafficAncient Persians, aware of the strategic value of the Silk Road to East-West commerce, built towers with fires on the top to direct travelers. Many of the towers survived the centuries despite earthquakes and the punishing weather.
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A tank is just right for Road Trip In Iran
Hunting for rocks and history on our last country stay in northeast IranIran is where you can stumble upon a ancient Zoroastrian lookout by accident – and find out it’s not even on the map, let alone protected. Do it in a tank-like 4WD, perfect vehicle for Iran’s dangerous roads.
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Too much history in Italy & Aching for Iran
As I overdosed on seeing too much history in too many museums in Italy, I remembered tourists in Iran complaining about seeing too many historical sites.
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“War is Senseless” – the message of Iran’s History
A visit of priceless structures spanning three millenniums and a lesson on our temporal predicamentsAn ancient wartime shelter tells us Iranians have survived the enemy for thousands of years. Regardless, war is senseless. Let’s set aside the fighting and live in peace, say locals in Sabzevar, Iran.
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Melancholy at Persepolis
Are we evolving or devolving one wonders after seeing Persepolis“Now you know why Iranians are so proud,” my wife told me after I visited Persepolis today. “This history is why they think they have everything and no one else – the Americans, the Europeans, no one else – compares to them.” I’m tempted to deduce just the opposite, that contemporary Iranians – who don’t…
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Trek to Babak Castle
A Visit to the Home of an Iranian Anti-Arab HeroThe vista from Babak Castle – the home of the 9th-century hero who resisted the hated Arab rulers of Iran – is mind-mindbogglingly beautiful. To get to see the view, though, requires plenty of stamina during the arduous two-hour trek up and down two mountains. Bābak Khorramdin is thought of as a combination of Robin Hood, guerrilla fighter and a symbol…
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Imāmzādeh Sāleh Mausoleum
Tajrish, Tehran, IranImāmzādeh Sāleh (Persian: امامزاده صالح) is a shrine and mosque in north Tehran, known as the burial place of the brother of Imam Reza. For the foreign tourist, the intricate tile-work outside and the interior mirror-work can be mesmerizing. For me, just sitting in the plaza or sahn in the front provides a fantastic break…
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Tajrish Bazaar in North Tehran
Great Place to People Watch and PhilosophizeFor tourists searching for a quick and free slice of traditional Iran there’s the Tajrish Traditional Bazaar (Bazar-e-Tajrish), in the heart of north Tehran, which is closer to the city’s top hotels than the more famous Grand Bazaar of Tehran in the city’s center. It’s size and variety is only a tiny slice of the…
