Iran Culture and History Escorted Small Group Tour for seniors

Odyssey Travellers small group escorted tour to Iran commences in Tehran. Your tour leader provides a short introduction to Iran and Iranian culture followed by a welcome dinner of Persian food this evening.

Transfers to the hotel are included for those travelling on Odyssey’s designated flight following arrival at Tehran’s international airport (see details below). For those arriving on a different flight, transfers are not included. If time permits, we will have a short visit to the Sa’ad Abad Museum complex, otherwise it will be included on the following day or at the end of the tour.

EK 0971

Today we explore the sights of Tehran including the National Museum, the Carpet Museum to learn about the history of the Persian carpet, and the Carpet & Glassware Museum.

Today this small group Iran tour travels North with your tour guide via Rasht to Bandar-e Anzali (Anzali Port), on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Owing to its position and climate, the surrounding districts are characterised by green fields and forests. En route we visit the village of Masuleh, built into the steep slope of the Alborz Mountain. Here, the roof of one house is the yard of the house above and also the pavement in the village!

The group starts the day with a short walk along Anzali’s waterfront, then drive to the province of Zanjan. Zanjan is located northwest of Iran, and its geographical conditions, abundant water sources, and fertile soil have made the province suitable for farming and animal husbandry. Most villages of the province are of ancient origin. Here we visit the UNESCO world heritage listed Soltaniyeh Dome, which lies on a plain between two mountains. The capital in Persiaduring the time of the Ilkhanid Mongols from 1302, the mausoleum of Soltaniyeh has the world’s third largest brick dome. It was described by historian Michael Axworthy (2007) as “one of the grandest monuments of Iranian persian architecture.”

As part of this Iran package our itinerary today takes this group tour to the great Sassanian religious site of Takht-e Soleiman (the ‘Throne of Solomon”) en route to Takab. The UNESCO world heritage listed religious site of Takht-e Soleiman dates back to 800 BCE. The water filled crater and fire temple located here were of great symbolic significance to the Zoroastrian and are associated with the volcanic history of the area. We spend the night in Takab, a hilly market town.

Day 6 of this Iran tour for seniors travels to Hamadan via the Alisadr Cave, the largest cave in the world containing water. We explore the caves by paddle boat, and have lunch at the site. We then continue to Hamadan, known to classicists as Ecbatana, and the capital of Persia under the Achaemenids. It is situated in the desert on the Royal Road built by Darius the Great between the Mesopotamia and the Iranian Plateau in central Iran.

Your tour guide leads this Iran tour today southwest to Kermanshah. En route we visit the Temple of Anahita in Kangavar, and the Sassanian bas-reliefs at Taq-e Bostan. After lunch we visit the UNESCO world heritage site of Bisotun to see its bas-reliefs and cuneiform inscriptions of the Persian empire.

Today the drive is through some of beautiful landscapes in the southeast that leads to Kashan, the first of the large oasis towns along the Qom-Kerman road which runs along the edge of the Dasht-e Kevir desert. Here we enjoy the restful shade of cupola-covered houses and the coolness of a pleasant persian garden with water fountains. We visit the acclaimed Persian garden called the Fin Garden, designed for Shah Abbas I, as well as Khan-e Tabatabi and Khan-e Borujerdi, merchant houses built in the late 1800s. The greenery and lively atmosphere of this well-tended oasis stands out against the the parched immensities of the surrounding desert.The merchant houses are a popular Iran destination for travellers. Tonight we stay at a beautiful Kashani traditional house.

This group tour continues to travel south, visiting Abyaneh village on the way to Esfahan. A common saying during the Safavid (1502-1722) period was that “Esfahan was half the world.” Today the city is still Iran’s most beautiful city. The wonderful buildings may be attributed to Shah Abbas who made the town his capital in 1598. These have added to the considerable wealth of history already preserved in buildings from earlier periods. On arrival we enjoy a guided tour of the Vank Cathedral and the old Armenian quarter of the city.

In the evening we enjoy a guided tour of the Khaju Bridge, built under Shah Abbas II. The bridge doubles as a dam, and has always been as much a meeting place as a bearer of traffic. The bridge features two levels of terraced arcades, the lower containing locks to regulate the water flow. One can still see original paintings, tiles, and the remains of stone seats built for Shah Abbas II to sit on and admire the views. A pavilion was built in the centre exclusively for his pleasure. We also visit Sio She Pol (33 arches) Bridge before checking in to our hotel.

The itinerary provides for a full days group tour of Esfahan with our tour guide. The group tour begins with visits to Naqsh-e Jahan Square, and home to the Ali Qapu, Imam and Sheikh Lotfollah mosque(s) as well as the Gheisarieh Bazaar. After lunch, we will visit Chehel Sotoun (Forty Pillars reception hall and pleasure pavilion) and have some free time before dinner to explore the bazaar, exploring an opportunity to learn about the history of the Persian carpet.

Today we continue travelling south to Yazd, one of the Iranian strongholds of Zoroastrian, famous for its fire temples. En route we stop at Meybod to visit the Narein Castle.

The ancient Iranians venerated holy fires, and in Yazd, one such sanctuary has survived through the ages, although the building itself is pretty recent. However the fire has been been burning in Yazd for at least seven centuries.

If time permits, we’ll visit to the Towers of Silence on the outskirts of Yazd, before checking into our hotel (if not, we will visit them the following day). The towers were used by the Zoroastrian to dispose of the dead to avoid contaminating the soil with a body. Until this custom was forbidden in 1970, the Zoroastrian expose their dead to the birds in “towers of silence” (dakhmeh). There are two towers near Yazd, built in the nineteenth century according to a design from India, where many Zoroastrian live. At the terrace at the top, the dead were exposed, and devoured by birds. In this way, neither the earth nor the sacred fire were soiled.

Out in the desert and off the beaten path of the travellers is a fascinating Iran destination and worthy of a visit on any trip. Yazd with its adobe buildings, the windy narrow street plans, wind towers, and the qanat water supply system are a wonderful reflection of Persian architecture and ingenuity as a response to the local hot desert environment.

The old city of Yazd is where with your tour guide this small group tour of Iran for seniors has a full itinerary planned. Yazd was a branch leading to India of the Silk road, and was visited by the Venetian Marco Polo. Its ancient city centre and Persian Architecture facilitated UNESCO World heritage status. The lanes of the bazaar twist and turn and eventually lead to the Friday Mosque, regarded as one of the finest in Iran. The tall façade, the shallow dome and the interior of the sanctuary hall all sparkle with glazed tile. Most of the tilework dates to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when the art was at its height and the city rich; no cost was spared in assembling thousands of precisely cut pieces of colored tile into large mosaics of geometric or floral design. In return for a small tip, the custodian unlocks the steps to the roof, and may even allow one to climb a minaret. In the old days, a muezzin would scale this five times a day to call his community to prayer; his modern successor understandably prefers to issue the summons from below, with the aid of records and a loudspeaker. Its a long trudge up a tight spiral staircase to the narrow balcony, apparently you hug the wall while admiring the view. The city sprawls below, dun-colored like the desert and is simply fascinating!

We also visit the Bagh-e Dolat Garden and Yazd’s Ateshkadeh (Zoroastrian Fire Temple) where the fire has burned continously for seven centuries.

Today we continue on through the beautiful landscapes of the desert to Shiraz. The itinerary has our tour guide stop en route to visit the ancient Abarqu Cypress tree, and the UNESCO world heritage site of Pasargadae, where Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid dynasty is entombed.

We arrive in Shiraz, city of poets, late in the afternoon. Shiraz has a rich and turbulent history and is considered to be an important part of the history of ancient Persia. It was spared destruction by Genghis Khan’s forces as well as the forces of Timur who followed 160 years later. Several earthquakes and Afghan raids destroyed the area, however it was resurrected as the Iranian capital in the mid 18th century during the Zand dynasty.

Today this Iran tour arrives at an Iran destination considered to be a highlight for any group tour and for the tour guideleading a tour of Persia. Out in the beautiful landscapes of the desert, our tour package itinerary has the group spend time on a private tour with a guide of Persepolis. This is one of key highlights of the Persian empire and of Persian architecturefor many travellers. A UNESCO world heritage site, Persepolis was founded by Darius I in 518 BCE. Persepolis, the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, is located about 60 kilometres northeast of Shiraz. It was built on an immense half-artificial, half-natural terrace. The importance and quality of the monumental ruins which where preserved under the desert sand for centuries make Persepolis a unique archaeological site in Iranian culture and ancient Persia.

Late in the afternoon, our tour guide escorts the group around the Royal Necropolis (Naghsh-e-Rostam), before driving back to Shiraz. In Shiraz in the cooler part of the day the itinerary has a guided tour of the Persian Garden reffered to as the Eram Garden (Paradise Garden), followed by Nasir-o-Molk (Pink Mosque) and the Narenjestan-e Ghavam (Narenjestan Palace). We also visit the Zand citadel, the Arg-e Karim Khan, as well as the tombs of Hafez, a 14th century poet, and Sa’di, a 13th century poet.

On day 15, this small group Iran tour takes a scenic drive west of Shiraz to take a guided tour of the ancient city of Bishapur (Shapur’s City), the capital under the Sassanian king Shapur I. Shapur’s armies defeated the Romans three times. Shapur had this city built by Roman soldiers who had been captured after the defeat of the Roman emperor Valerian in 260. It was here that the Roman General Valerian spent his final days in captivity.

What is fascinating is that many aspects of Bishapur’s architecture look Roman and do not belong to Iranian building traditions or refelect typical Persian architecture of the period. This city is full of strong Hellenistic-Roman and Persian influences in the architecture of its temple, audience hall, and defence structures. And the layout of the city is what specialists call the “Hippodamian Plan“, which means that the city looks like a gridiron, while the cities of ancient Persiawere usually were circular in design. The core of the city was the old castle, situated on a steep rock, which is in itself one of the most interesting geological features of the southern Zagros.

This morning we will complete our trip to Shiraz. Your Iran tour will take the short flight to Tehran in the afternoon.

This morning we visit the National Jewel Museum. Our tour will end with a transfer to the airport for those booked on the evening flight (as advised by Odyssey). For those departing on a different flight, transfers are not included.

EK0980