Badab-e Surt

Badab-e Surt Springs, Mount Damavand and Sarv-e Abarkuh (Abarkuh Cypress), Lut Desert and Dashte Kavir are some of the most fascinating natural places in Iran’s national heritage. The Badab-e Surt springs, after Pamukkale in Turkey, are ranked as the second largest source of salt water in the world, with their unique structure (in the shape of stairs) and colors. Badab-e Surt is located in the Chahar Dangeh district of Sari in Mazandarán province. Mineral deposits accumulated at the foot of mountains over thousands of years have created hundreds of red and yellow-orange scale-shaped puddles.

Ardestan

Ardestan is located near Dasht-e Kavir, one of two deserts in central Iran. For centuries, its inhabitants had to cope with extreme heat and lack of water. The locals dug long tunnels (Kariz) in order to bring the water available from the springs in the mountains to Ardestán. The Kariz system, that is, the aqueduct canals, is an ingenious invention of the Iranian highland inhabitants of the 5th century BC. In fact, in Iran, especially in the desert areas, there are still vestiges of this system, which is known as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Ardestán is a small town located on the Yazd-Kashan highway and is not far from Isfahan. In the Middle Ages, Ardestán was one of the most prosperous cities in the region, as evidenced by its great Aljama mosque. The Quran requires that all Muslims in a city participate in Friday noon prayer, which is why the great mosque where they gather is called the Great Friday Mosque.

Ardakan

Ardakan is the capital of the central Ardakan constituency and the second largest city in Yazd province. It was founded in the 12th century in the Zardug region. Ardakan is located 60 kilometers from Yazd and has a dry climate. The word Ardakan in Persian means “holy place” or “clean place” (and the city has many historical religious attractions such as the Zir-e-Deh mosque, Emam-Zadeh Mir Seyed Mohammad and the Tekyeh bazaar and the central district known as Sharkh Ab (water distribution).

Yazd province is one of the Zoroastrian centers of Iran and there are many holy places dedicated to this cult practiced in Iran. Chak Chak and Sharif-Abad are two places that each summer welcome thousands of Zoroastrian pilgrims from all over the world.

Alamut

The enigmatic Alamut Castle (Hasan Sabbah Castle) is nestled among the mountains at the western edge of the Alborz mountain range, in a valley near Qazvín in the southern Caspian Sea. In the past, part of these mountains formed the Deylán district where it remains hostile. This area, located between the central plateau of Iran and the Caspian Sea, constitutes a formidable natural barrier. On the north side, the slopes are heavily forested and there are wild animals like wild boar, bear and even some species like the Caspian tiger, which is on the verge of extinction.

The history of Alamut Castle is closely linked to that of Hasan Sabbah (1034-1124) and therefore it will be useful to know about his ideology and religious doctrine as he was the leader of the Nasrid sect. The power of the Nasrids, also called hashshashín, whose fame is indebted to their strategy of targeted assassinations against political and military leaders, reached its peak during the Fatimid dynasty. Hasan Sabbah was born in Qom to a Shiite Twelfth family and received religious education from an early age.

Abarkuh 

Abarkuh is one of the oldest cities in Iran, located in the center of the country and in the Yazd province. The presence of numerous archaeological sites testifies to an ancient civilization. As this city was first built at the foot of the mountain, kuh in Persian, it was called “Berkuh” (next to the mountain), which later became “Abarkuh” in popular language. With the passage of time, the city was officially named “Abarkuh.” In various ancient and recent sources “Abarqu”, “Abarkuyeh”, “Abarquyeh” have been mentioned. In addition to the archaeological sites, Abarkuh, due to its geological position and the characteristics of its land, produces one of the best apricots in Iran. Between the months of June and July, farmers sell this sweet and tasty fruit in trucks on the sides of urban roads, or it can also be enjoyed as a dried fruit.

The National Jewelry Museum of Iran

It is a collection of the most precious jewels in the world, collected over the centuries. Each object in the Museum recalls the bittersweet victories and defeats, which at the same time can be a reflection of the history of Iran and the artistic talent of its goldsmiths. This Treasure depicts the culture and civilization of the Iranian people who have had an adventurous past, but apparently never renounced the pleasure of bragging even with luxury items, obviously of priceless luxury.

Mevlana

Yalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumí

Nació en 1207 en Balj, en la provincia del Gran Josrasán de Persia (actual Afganistán), en el seno de una familia farisea. Su padre, Baha ad-Din, era un reconocido erudito religioso. Bajo su patrocinio, Rumí recibió su educación temprana de Syed Burhan-al-Din. A la edad de unos 18 años, para evitar las invasiones mongolas, se trasladaron hacia el oeste a través de Irán, Irak y Siria, conociendo a famosos escritores y místicos, como el venerado poeta Attar, autor de la más bella parábola espiritual en lengua persa, “El lenguaje de los pájaros”. La huida de la familia terminó en 1226 en la ciudad anatoliana de Konya, capital del sultanato selyúcida turco de Rum, que da nombre al poeta. Rumi se instaló allí, enseñó y compuso hasta su muerte en 1273. A pesar de que los sultanes de Konya se vieron obligados a pagar tributo a los mongoles en 1243, la ciudad siguió siendo un refugio para la cultura islámica, reuniendo a mentes excepcionales procedentes de lugares lejanos en tiempos difíciles. Mevlana  fue enviado a Alepo (la actual Siria) para recibir una educación avanzada y luego a Damasco. Continuó su formación hasta los 40 años, aunque cuando su padre murió, Rumí le sucedió como profesor en la famosa madrasa de Konya a la edad de unos 24 años. Recibió su formación mística primero de Syed Burhan al-Din, y luego fue entrenado por Shams-e Tabrizi. Se hizo famoso por su visión mística, sus conocimientos religiosos y como poeta persa. Él enseñó a un gran número de discípulos en su madrasa y también fundó la orden sufí de los derviches Mevleví e instituyó el ritual de la danza extática por el que aún hoy se conoce a los “Derviches Giróvagos”. Murió en 1273 en Konya (actual Turquía), que posteriormente se convirtió en un lugar sagrado para los derviches de la orden Mevleví.

Escucha el ney, y la historia que cuenta,

cómo canta acerca de la separación:

Desde que me cortaron del cañaveral,

mi lamento ha hecho llorar a hombres y mujeres.

Deseo hallar un corazón desgarrado por la separación,

para hablarle del dolor del anhelo.

Todo el que se ha alejado de su origen,

añora el instante de la unión.

El Kilim Iraní

El término kilim deriva de la palabra persa “Gilim”. Los kilims son tejidos planos sin pelo que se hacen encajando la urdimbre y la trama. Un kilim es una tela tejida a mano con lana de cabra u oveja y se utiliza generalmente como alfombra. Cada región de Irán tiene su propio diseño que, a su vez, procede de la cultura y la tradición locales o nómadas. El kilim es en realidad un tejido común entre los nómadas que puede tener otros usos además de alfombra: bolsa de sal tribal o namakdán; la alforja de asnos o caballos llamada khorjín; tiras de tiendas, fardo de viaje o boqché. Los kilims se tiñen de forma natural, y esta tradición sigue siendo practicada por los tejedores tradicionales hasta el día de hoy. Los materiales de tintura se obtienen generalmente de fuentes vegetales y minerales.

Ahvaz

Ahvaz, the capital of the Khuzestan province, is the seventh most populous city in Iran, which is located on the bank of the Karoon River. With 9 bridges, Ahvaz has the largest number of bridges between cities in the Middle East which has led to it being known as the “city of bridges”. The Karoon River, located in the middle of the city, is the only navigable river in Iran.

In the past, Ahvaz used to be one of the centers of Christianity in Iran and with a daily oil producing capacity averaging 750,000 barrels it ranks among the cities with the highest oil production capacity. Ahvaz’s climate is desert and subtropical with long, hot summers and short, cool winters. The months of September, October, March and mid-April are the best to travel to this city. The white metal bridge built over the Karoon River with 501 meters long and 9 meters wide is not only the eighth largest suspension bridge in the Middle East, but also the fourth that was inaugurated in the world in 1936.

Urmia

Orumiyeh or Urmia is a city located in the northwestern part of Iran, dating back to the second millennium BC. according to historians. Its name means city of water in the Assyrian language, due to the existence of Lake Orumiyeh. Azeris make up the majority of its population, while the minority is made up of Kurds, Christian Assyrians and Armenians. As many Armenians and Assyrians used to live in this city, it has many spectacular old churches. Around the year 1900, Christians made up more than 40% of the population of Urmia, although most of them fled in 1918 due to the occupation of the Persian campaign in World War I and the Armenian and Assyrian genocide by the Ottoman Empire. Among the historical monuments and natural landscapes of Urmia we can mention: Lake Orumiyeh, Lake Marmisho, Jomeh Mosque, Seh Gonbad (three domes), the Cathedral of Mother Mary and the Cathedral of Saint Mary. Urmia usually has a cold climate and spring and summer are the best seasons to travel to this city.