Tehran

Tehran:
 Why Go?
With its relatively short history, ugly mask of concrete, sometimes choking smog and manic streets fl owing hot with machines, many travellers and no small number of Tehranis will tell you there’s no reason to hang around in the capital. But to take their advice is to miss out. For while Esfahan or Persepolis has a convincing case for being the soul of Iran, Tehran is indisputably its big, ugly, chaotic and dynamic beating heart. Packed onto the lower slopes of the Alborz Mountains, this is Iran’s most secular and liberal city and it attracts students from across the country. Expect relatively bold fashion statements, a range of ethnic and international restaurants, chic cafes and plenty of art galleries. And while Tehran lacks history, it makes up for it with impressive museums. But to get inside the real Tehran you need to get beyond the museums and into the cafes and teahouses and onto the walking trails. That’s where you’ll connect with Tehranis.

when to go?
 The best time to visit Tehran is during the two-week No Ruz (Iranian New Year) holiday from March 21. Given more than 60% of Tehranis come from somewhere else and head for home for the holiday, the usual traffi  c chaos is replaced by relative calm. During April and May and September to early November the weather is relatively mild. Summer is hot and can be very humid, and while winter isn’t as cold as some places, air pollution tends to be at its worst during December and January.

  Apart from 11th-century AD records suggesting the village produced high-quality pomegranates, little was written about  Tehran until the 13th century. In his book Mo’jamol Boldan, writer Yaqoot Hamavi described Tehran as a village of Rey, then the major urban centre in the region, where ‘rebellious inhabitants’ lived in underground dwellings. In 1220 the Mongols sacked Rey as they swept across Persia (see p 275 ), executing thousands in the process. Most who escaped wound up in Tehran and the future capital’s fi rst population explosion turned the village into a prosperous trading centre. In the mid-16th century Tehran’s natural setting, many trees, clear rivers and good hunting brought it to the attention of the early Safavid king, T ahmasp I. Under his patronage, gardens were laid out, brick houses and caravanserais built and the town fortifi ed by a wall with 114 towers. As Tehran continued to grow under later Safavid kings, European visitors wrote of the town’s many enchanting vineyards and gardens. Threatened by the encroaching Qajars, regent  Karim Khan Zand moved his army from Shiraz to Tehran in 1758. At the same time he refortifi ed the city and began constructing a royal residence. Perhaps he had intended to move his capital here, but when Qajar chieftain Mohammed Hasan Khan was killed and his young son Agha Mohammed Khan taken hostage, Karim Khan decided the threat was over and abandoned the unfi nished palace to return to Shiraz. But things didn’t work out quite as Karim Khan would have liked. By 1795 he was long dead and his one-time prisoner, Agha Mohammed Khan, was shah. The new shah declared this dusty town of 15,000 his capital. As the centre of Qajar Persia, Tehran steadily expanded. By 1900 it had grown to 250,000 people, and in the 20th century it became one of the most populous cities on earth. Iran’s capital has fomented and hosted two revolutions, two coups d’état and much intrigue. As the setting for the CIA’s fi rst coup in 1953 (p 46 ), it had a profound impact on post-WWII world politics. And as pronouncements from Tehran have been the driving force behind the growth of radical Islam since 1979, that infl uence has not waned. Today it is fascinating to walk in the footsteps of that modern history: you can see the 
White Palace at Sa’d Abad (p 49 ), where the last shah hosted the CIA’s Kermit Roosevelt as they plotted the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh; walk past the former US embassy now called the US Den of Espionage (p 47 ); gaze up at Azadi Tower (p 54 ), where hundreds of thousands of people gathered to mark the 1979 revolution and, more recently, to protest against the regime the revolution delivered; or visit the haunting Behesht-e Zahra cemetery (p 71 ), where the faces of soldiers who died in the Iran-Iraq War stare out from endless fields of glass boxes

 Sights 
 Tehran is vast and many neighbourhoods are never visited by other Tehranis, let alone foreign travellers. Most sights and hotels are found either side of Valiasr Ave, the 17kmlong street that runs from Tehran train station in the south to Tajrish in the foothills of the Alborz Mountains. As you move around, the huge social and economic gaps between northern and southern Tehran are plain to see. The south is older, poorer, more congested and generally less appealing. However, as it was the centre of the city until the mid-20th century, the area south of Jomhuri-ye Eslami Ave is home to many of Tehran’s best museums, including the National Museum of Iran and the glittering National Jewels Museum, as well as the Golestan Palace complex and Tehran Bazar. A little north of here is the area loosely referred to as central Tehran, on the edge of which is Park-e Laleh – home to the Carpet Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Most locals think of anywhere north of Valiasr Sq as northern Tehran. Much of this area was semirural until about 1970, but frenetic expansion has spread apartment buildings further into the Alborz foothills, engulfi ng the last shah’s opulent Sa’d-Abad and Niyavaran palaces in the process. Most streets have signs in English but getting lost is still easy. It’s worth remembering the Alborz Mountains are known locally as the North Star of Tehran because they are, yes, in the north. And as the whole city slopes down from these mountains, if you’re walking uphill that usually means you’re going north. For more detailed maps of Tehran and elsewhere in Iran, head to government mapmakers Gita Shenasi

 TEHRAN IN… 
Two Days
 W ith two days, start early in the  Tehran Bazar watching the hustling, bustling and haggling in the country’s biggest market. Stop in Imam Khomeini Mosque at prayer time to quietly watch Islam in action, then walk up to Park-e Shahr for some head space and lunch at the Sofre Khane Sonnati Sangalag. Spend the afternoon looking at the ancient wonders of the National Museum of Iran, then take a shuttle taxi down to Rah Ahan Sq and the Azari Traditional Teahouse for some well-earned chay (tea) and dizi (stew). On day two, check out the Golestan Palace, then after a coff ee with the paper at Cafe Naderi, head down for the 2pm viewing of the National Jewels Museum. Round the day out with coff ee and alternative cuisine at the Gandhi Shopping Centre in north Tehran. 
Four Days 
F ollow the two-day plan, then head north to check out the Sa’d Abad Museum Complex, have lunch in Darband and hike across the side of the mountain to Park-e Jamshidiyeh. Use your last day to take in the relaxed Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art and Park-e Laleh, perhaps take in an art gallery to meet young Tehranis and chill out in the House of the Artists in vibrant ‘Artists’ Park’.

CENTRAL & SOUTHERN TEHRAN
Tehran Bazar :
(Map p 40 ; main entrance 15 Khordad Ave; mPanzdah-e  Khordad; h7am-5pm Sat-Wed, 7am-noon Thu) The maze of bustling alleys and the bazaris (shopkeepers) that fi ll them make a fascinating, if somewhat daunting, place to explore. Traders have been hawking their wares on this site for nearly 1000 years, but most of what you see today is less than 200 years old and is no architectural jewel. The bazaris are a conservative bunch (see p 62 ) and there will be far more chadors than bleached hair here. The bazaar’s covered stores line more than 10km of lanes and there are several entrances, but it’s worth using the main entrance, in a square opposite Bank Melli. The warren of people and goods is a city within a city and includes guesthouses, banks, a church, a fi re station and several mosques, most notably the big, busy but relatively unadorned  Imam Khomeini Mosque (Map p 40 ), which is a good place to quietly watch Islam in action. Most lanes specialise in a particular commodity: copper, paper, gold, spices and carpets, among others. You’ll also fi nd tobacconists, shoemakers, tailors, broadcloth sellers, bookbinders, fl ag sellers, haberdashers, saddlers, tinsmiths, knife-makers and carpenters. The carpet, nut and spice bazaars might be the most photogenic, but the lane of stores selling fake designer labels (literally labels, not clothes) also catches the eye. 

In our experience there are two ways to visit the bazaar, a place that cartographers seem never to have fully conquered. One is to simply wander the labyrinth of streets and alleys, taking whichever direction you fancy and just going with the fl ow. You’ll almost certainly get lost but will soon enough be found by a helpful local; remember to walk uphill to the main exit. The other is to allow yourself to be befriended by one of the carpet salesmen. Tell them what sections of the bazaar you’d like to see (the gold bazaar, spices bazaar, the mosque etc), and they will lead you. When you’re done, they will expect you to visit their carpet shop, drink some tea and view a few rugs – which in itself is quite fun (carpet prices here are probably the best in Iran). Try and visit in the morning, when business is brisk but not yet frantic, as it becomes at lunchtime when the chance of being run over by a piece of fast-moving haulage equipment is high.

Golestan Palace:
3311 3335-8; www.golestanpalace .ir; Ark Sq; individual tickets US$0.20-0.50 each; mPanzdah-e Khordad; h9am-4pm) In what was once the heart of Tehran is this monument to the glories and excesses of the Qajar rulers. Between Imam Khomeini Sq and the bazaar, the   Golestan Palace complex is made up of several grand buildings set around a carefully manicured garden. You must buy a separate ticket for each building.
Although there was a Safavid-era citadel on this site, it was Nasser al-Din Shah (r 1848–96), impressed by what he’d seen of European palaces, who built it into the ‘Palace of Flowers’ you see today. Originally it was much bigger, with inner and outer 

sections to encompass offi  ces, ministries and private living quarters, but several surrounding buildings were pulled down under the Pahlavis. The following description assumes you start your visit at the Ivan-e Takht-e Ma

mar, then continue in a clockwise direction around the courtyard. I van-e Takht-e Marmar AUDIENCE HALL From the ticket offi  ce, walk along the long pool to the Ivan-e Takht-e Marmar (Marble 
Throne Verandah), a mirrored, open-fronted audience hall dominated by a magnifi cent throne. The throne is supported by human fi gures and constructed from 65 pieces of yellow alabaster mined in Yazd. It was made in the early 1800s for Fath Ali Shah (r 1797–1834), a monarch who managed a staggering (and quite likely very tiring) 200odd wives and 170 off spring. This hall was used on ceremonial occasions, including the Napoleon-style self-coronation of R eza Shah in 1925. After leaving the Ivan-e Takht-e Marmar you’ll come to an opensided corner known as Khalvat-e Karim Khani (Karim Khan Nook), all that remains of a 1759 building that served as  Karim Khan Zand’s (r 1750–79) Tehran residence. But it was Nasser al-Din Shah who enjoyed this elevated terrace most, smoking qalyan (water pipe) and perhaps contemplating his next asset sale as qanat (underground chanel) water bubbled out of the marble fountain nearby. His marble tombstone now stands on the terrace. N egar Khane ART MUSEUM Continuing. you’ll come to the  Negar Khane (Art Gallery), which displays a fi ne collection of Qajar-era art. It was the brainchild of Nasser al-Din Shah, who had been particularly captivated by European museums. Especially interesting are the portraits of the shahs wearing the jewels and crowns you can see in the National Jewels Museum, and pictures of everyday life in 19th-century Iran by Kamal ol-Molk and Mehdi
 Talar-e Ayaheh MUSEUM After being closed for almost 30 years the dazzling  Talar-e Ayaheh (Hall of Mirrors) is now open to the public. Built between 1874 and 1877 the hall was dedicated to the Peacock Throne (see p 45 ) before it was moved to the National Jewels Museum. More recently it was used for the coronation of Mohammad  Reza Shah in 1967 (25 years after he came to power) and royal weddings. Today it and two adjoining halls house gifts including a large green malachite vase from Russia and 13 huge chandeliers. O ther Buildings HISTORIC BUILDINGS Further east is the  Howze Khaneh (Pool Room), named for the small pool and fountain in its centre. It houses a collection of paintings and sculptures of 19th-century European royalty – generously given to their Qajar counterparts by the same European monarchs. At the east end of the garden, the imposing Shams-Al Emarat (Edifi ce of the Sun) blends European and Persian architectural traditions. Born of Nasser al-Din Shah’s desire to have a palace that aff orded him a panoramic view of the city, it was designed by master architect Moayer al-Mamalek and built between 1865 and 1867. Inside, a sequence of mirrored and tiled rooms house a collection of photographs, together with 

yet more furniture and vases gifted by European monarchs. Next door you’ll see four soaring  badgirs (windtowers, used for air-con; see p 175 ), rising above the recently restored Emarat-e Badgir, fi rst erected in the reign of Fath Ali Shah. The interior has typically ostentatious mirror work and is worth a quick look. In the basement the Aks Khaneh (Historic Photograph Gallery) exhibits a fascinating collection of photographs depicting Qajar court life; look particularly for the picture showing the inside of a Zoroastrian tower of silence, with bodies in varying states of decay, and the shot of ‘freaks and dwarfs’. Next up, the tiny Talar-e Almas (Diamond Hall) displays a range of decorative arts – especially 18th- and 19th-century French ceramics – in a room with red walls and a tiled fl oor. The attractive teahouse underneath might well be more appealing. After wandering back through the gardens you’ll come to the Ethnographical Museum near the main entrance, featuring a range of mannequins in traditional ethnic costumes.

 National Museum of Iran 
(  ﻣﻮﺯﻩ ﻣﻠﻲ ﺍﻳﺮﺍﻥ) ﻣﻮﺯﻩ ﺍﻳﺮﺍﻥ ﺑﺎﺳﺘﺎﻥ MUSEUM This modest  museum (Iran Bastan Museum; Map p 42 ; %6670 2061-6; www.nationalmuseum ofi ran.ir; Si Tir St; admission US$1; h9am-5pm TueSun; mImam Khomeini) is no Louvre, but it is chock-full of Iran’s rich history. Designed by French architect André Godard and completed in 1928, it’s one of the more attractive modern buildings in Tehran, blending Sassanian principles such as the grand iwanstyle entrance with art deco–style brickwork. Inside is a collection including ceramics, pottery, stone fi gures and carvings, mostly taken from excavations at Persepolis, Ismail Abad (near Qazvin), Shush, Rey and Turang Tappeh. Unfortunately, the presentation of these treasures is less than inspired and 

the lack of useful explanations particularly underwhelming (ask for an English ‘brochure’ when buying the ticket, you might get lucky). There is some English labelling, and English-speaking guides are available, though you’ll probably need to wait for one. Among the fi nds from Shush, there’s a stone capital of a winged lion, some delightful pitchers and vessels in animal shapes, and colourful glazed bricks decorated with double-winged mythical creatures. A copy of the diarite stele detailing the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, found at Shush in 1901, is also displayed – the original being in Paris. Exhibits from Persepolis include a magnifi cent human-headed capital; a cuneiform inscription proclaiming the might and godly affi  nity of Xerxes; and a striking frieze of glazed tiles from the central hall of the Apadana Palace. Also on display are a famous trilingual inscription from the time of  Darius I; a bull-headed capital and carved staircase; a statue of a sitting dog that looks 

 National Jewels Museum 
ﻣﻮﺯﻩ ﺟﻮﺍﻫﺮﺍﺕ ﻣﻠﯽ  MUSEUM (Map p 42 ; %6646 3785; Ferdosi St; admission US$2.50, c  hild under 12 not permitted; h2-4.30pm Sat-Tue). Owned by the Central Bank and accessed through its front doors, the cavernous vault that houses what is commonly known as the ‘Jewels Museum’ is probably Tehran’s biggest tourist drawcard. If you’ve already visited the art gallery at the Golestan Palace, you will have seen paintings and photos showing the incredible jewellery with which the Safavid and Qajar monarchs adorned themselves. Come here to gawp at the real things. Most of the collection dates back to Safavid times, when the shahs scoured Europe, India and the lands of the Ottoman Empire for booty with which to decorate their capital, Esfahan. But as the Safavid empire crumbled, the jewels became a high profi le spoil of war. When Mahmud Afghan invaded Iran in 1722, he plundered the treasury and sent its contents to India. On ascending the throne in 1736,  Nader Shah Afshar despatched courtiers to ask for the return of 
the jewels. When their powers of persuasion proved unequal to the task, he sent an army to prove that he was serious. To get the soldiers off  his back, Mohammed Shah of India was forced to hand over the Darya-ye Nur and Kuh-e Nur diamonds, a Peacock Throne (though not the one you’ll see here) and assorted other treasures. After Nader Shah’s murder in 1747, Ahmed Beg plundered the treasury and dispersed the jewels. The Kuh-e Nur, the world’s largest cut diamond, found its way into the sticky fi ngers of the colonial British and has been locked up in the Tower of London since. The Qajar and Pahlavi rulers enthusiastically added to the jewels collection, which grew to be so valuable that in the 1930s it was transferred to the National Bank of Iran (now the Central Bank of Iran) as a reserve for the national currency. You can pick up a guidebook (stocks permitting) at the shop as you enter, or take one of the regular and professional tours in English, French, German or Arabic – it’s included in the ticket price and worth waiting for as there are few descriptions in English. Make sure you don’t miss the Darya-ye Nur (Sea of Light), a pink diamond weighing 182 carats and said to be the largest 
uncut diamond in the world; the Peacock (Naderi) Throne outside the vault door (see p 45 ); the tall Kiani Crown made for Fath Ali Shah in 1797; the crowns worn by the last shah and his wife, Farah; and the incredible 34kg Globe of Jewels, made in 1869 using 51,366 precious stones – the seas are made from emeralds and the land from rubies except Iran, Britain and France, which are set in diamonds. Cameras, phones, bags and even this book must be left at reception. Be careful not to touch anything or you’ll set off  ear-piercing alarms.

 US Den of Espionage
   ﻻﻧﻪ ﺟﺎﺳﻮﺳﯽ ﺁﻣﺮﻳﮑﺎ HISTORIC BUILDING (Map p 42 ; Taleqani Ave; mTaleqani; h1-10 Feb only) More than any o ther single building in Iran, the former US embassy in Tehran and the events emanating from it have had a dramatic and profound infl uence on the recent history of the country. From a bunker beneath the embassy building,  CIA operatives orchestrated a coup d’état in 1953 that brought down the government of Mohammad Mossadegh (see p 46 ). For the next 25 years, US support for and infl uence over  Mohammad  Reza Shah was implemented largely from this building. When the shah was fi nally pushed out, students who feared a repeat of the 1953 coup stormed the embassy and held 52 diplomats hostage for 444 days (see p 282 ). The rest – the birth of the Islamic Republic and the rise of fundamentalism throughout the region – is history. 

Today, the former embassy is known as the US Den of Espionage and is used by the Sepah militia, a hardline group dedicated to defending the revolution. The interior of the chancery is preserved as a museum, with exhibits including incriminating documents that were painstakingly pieced back together after being shredded as the embassy was being taken over. Unfortunately, it’s rarely open to the public – usually only from 1 to 10 February. Despite this, the embassy’s colourful history and more colourful murals along the front wall mean most travellers come for a look. The murals pronounce the evil of the ‘Great Satan’ (the USA) and Israel, including one in which the face of the Statue of Liberty is rendered as a skull. There’s no sign saying you can’t take pictures of these highly photogenic walls but be discreet. We’ve photographed the wall several times without trouble, but on one occasion we were briefl y apprehended before persuading our half-hearted captors that we were just dumb tourists. The  Shohada Museum (Martyrs’ Museum; Map p 42 ; cnr Taleqani Ave & Forsat St; h9am-4pm Sat-Thu; mTaleqani), diagonally opposite the US Den of Espionage, exhibits memorabilia and accompanying stories of martyrs from the Iran-Iraq War

 Carpet Museum Of Iran 
   ﻣﻮﺯﻩ ﻓﺮﺵ ﺍﻳﺮﺍﻥ MUSEUM (Map p 42 ; %8896 7707; http://carpetmuseum .ir; cnr Fatemi & Kargar Aves; admission US$0.50; h9am-5pm Tue-Sun) Just north of the Museum of Contemporary Art, the   Carpet Museum houses more than 100 pieces dating from the 17th century to the present day. It’s a great place to see the full range of regional patterns and styles found in Iran, plus a few unique carpets such as the Tree of Life with Kings and Notables. The permanent collection is downstairs while upstairs is for temporary exhibitions. The museum itself was designed by Queen Farah Diba and mixes classic ’70s style with carpet-inspired function – the exterior is meant to resemble threads on a loom, which cool down the main building by casting shadows on its walls. Flash photography is not allowed

Hostel :

in tehran there are some hostel :

HI Tehran : for each night is 15 $
See you in IRAN : each night is 15 $

there are another hostel : 

Mashad hostel : it is cheap too but I don't know eactly price

7 hostel 

iran hostel