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Sar Agha Seyed

Sar Agha Seyed is located at an altitude of about 2,200 meters above sea level, on Haft Tanan mountain, in the central part of Kuhrang city, about 130 kilometers from Shahr-e Kord, in Chaharmahal province and Bakhtiarí. The town is one of the intact beauties of Iran that must be known to understand the meaning and rhythm of life of the people who still live there. They have been living in the town for years despite the climatic difficulties due to the high altitude and the presence of snow. Sar Agha Seyed is not a place for modern life.

When it snows, the town road is cut off from the rest of the world. Therefore, the beauty and pristine nature of Sar Agha Seyed are completely affected by the seasonal weather. The village was one of the summer resorts of the Bakhtiari nomads. In fact, the Bakhtiari dialect of the Lorí language is spoken here. Sar Agha Seyed is a village with buttress and staircase architecture like Masouleh. Despite retaining its originality, the name of this town is less heard among the peoples of the Iranian highlands.

Rayen Citadel

A splendid adobe citadel dating back to the Sassanid era (4th century AD). This citadel in the heart of the medieval city of Rayen is very similar to Arg-e Bam before the earthquake in 2003, and has all the architectural characteristics of desert castles. It is divided into several neighborhoods: the houses, the bazaar, the food store, the area dedicated to the bourgeoisie and the fortress. The citadel has 15 towers with a single corridor that allowed soldiers to pass from one to another. Rayen’s fortress was inhabited 150 years ago. According to some ancient documents, it was situated on the trade route, and was not only a trading center for valuable goods and high-quality textiles, but also a center for the artisan of swords, knives, and later weapons-making. Rayen is located at 2,200 meters above sea level and offers a picturesque landscape to visitors.

Pasargada

This city, founded in the Pars region in the 6th century BC. C. by Ciro the Great, it was the first capital of the Achaemenids. Pasargadae is the place where a varied mix of art and architecture, adopted from the countries incorporated into the vast Achaemenid empire, was created to generate the unique ancient Persian style, which was later perfected in Persepolis. The archaeological remains of its palaces and the design of the gardens, as well as the mausoleum of Cyrus, are not only an unrivaled example of the first phase of the evolution of Achaemenid art and architecture, but also an exemplary testimony of the Persian civilization. In fact, Pasargada became a prototype of the Persian Garden concept of four quadrants divided by streams and paths. The architecture of Pasargada is characterized by refined details and subtle verticality.

Neyriz

The city of Neyriz is one of the oldest in the province of Fars, with an altitude of 1795 meters above sea level, and is located at a distance of about 230 kilometers east of Shiraz, the name of Neyriz has been mentioned on the Persepolis tablets. Its agricultural products are almond, walnut and pomegranate. Neyriz pomegranate is famous for its special flavor and freshness. In fact, in this city there are more than 10 types of pomegranate that differ from each other by their taste, color and size.

Mesr village

Mesr village is almost a hundred years old and was once known as Chah Deraz. As far as the eye can see, the surroundings are covered with long and short dunes of golden sand. This landscape of particular beauty makes the area famous as a sea of ​​sand. Just stand in one of these dunes for the golden sea to appear before your eyes. The sand dunes sparkle like the shimmering waves of the sea in the sun.

Mesr -means Egypt in Persian- is a desert town located in the central district of Khur, in the province of Isfahan, 45 km from the city of Jandaq and 371 km from Yazd.

Marivan

The city of Marivan is located 125 km northwest of Sanandaj, near the Iran-Iraq border, at an altitude of 1,320 meters above sea level. The Zagros Mountains are the highest land in Marivan. Being the rainiest city in Kurdistan province, the city’s climate is cold and humid. Marivan consists of three parts, main districts like “Markazi”, “Sarshiv”, “Khavumirabad”, four cities and six rural districts.

Marivan Woods

The forests of the region cover an area of ​​185,000 hectares stretching from the Garan Gorge in the west to the village of Sheikh Attar.

The high western plains of the Zagros Mountains attract moist clouds, thus providing suitable conditions for creating forest cover.

Lake Zaribar

Lake Zaribar is one of the beautiful lagoons in western Iran and is considered a tourist center of the country. This extraordinary ecosystem with an area of ​​about 3,000 hectares, composed of water, reeds and wildlife, is located in the western part of Marivan. This lagoon is home to many species of fish such as common carp, cane carp, and a species of eel. The lagoon is an important aquatic ecosystem in the life cycle due to the seasonal migration of birds and is considered a beauty with great potential for ecotourism.

Maku

Maku is a city in the Iranian province of West Azerbaijan. It is located 22 kilometers from the Turkish border, in a mountain gorge at 1,634 meters of altitude. Zangmar River runs through the city of Maku, the largest free zone in Iran. Maku was the capital of a Kangarli khanate, one of many small semi-independent khanates resulting from the disintegration of the Safavid empire in the 17th century.

Mahan

Mahan, located 35 kilometers from Kerman, consists of two places of interest: the Mausoleum of Shah Nematollah Valí and the Garden of Shahzadeh.

Shahzadeh Garden

The prince’s garden is located 5 kilometers from the mausoleum, south of Mahan village and south-east of Kerman, and is one of the 9 Persian gardens that have been registered on the UNESCO World Heritage list (in 2011 ). This garden, built in the late 19th century dedicated to the Qajar prince, Mohammad Hassan Khan, has hundreds of massive trees, streams of water, and fountains, making it a desert paradise. The pavilion was used as the prince’s summer residence.

Kharanaq

Kharanaq is the name of a village located 60 km from the city of Ardakan, in the province of Yazd, and is an extraordinary example of a rural village structure. Kharanaq, with its ancient history, attracts tourists from all over Iran for its unique location and scenery. This town consists of two parts: the new part, in which more than 500 people live, and the old part or Kharanaq castle that until recently housed the same inhabitants, but was left uninhabited about 30 years ago due to erosion. Given the presence of iron, barite, zinc and granite mines, Kharanaq and its surroundings are one of the most important economic centers in the country. This town has been called Kharanaq by the locals, whose meaning is the birthplace of the sun.

Kandovan

A town in the province of East Azerbaijan that is located south of Tabriz, at the foot of an extinct volcano, Kuh-e Sahand (3707 m), the highest point in this province. Troglodyte houses are carved out of soft volcanic tuff rocks: they are the ashes of fiery clouds from ancient Mount Sahand explosions.

In Kandovan, the tuff layer is more than 100 meters thick and erosion from rainfall and runoff has produced conical formations similar to those in Cappadocia.

The houses date back to various eras – some of which are still inhabited – and the town is a popular summer stroll. Although it is located in a remote corner of northwestern Iran, the villagers live like modern cavemen. Present-day Kandovan residents say their village is over 700 years old, created by those who fled the Mongol army and descended into caves to hide. The houses are known as “Karan” in the local Azerbaijani dialect, translated as beehives. In this area of ​​Iran Azerbaijani is spoken by the majority, one of the recognized languages ​​in Iran.

If you are passionate about mountains, mountaineering, anthropology, historical landscapes and the fascinating culture of the Middle East, SITO Travel will help you organize your trip to Iran. Contact us because our experience is born and developed in the field.