Day 1: Tehran (Arrival), Birthplace of Pahlavi Dynasty
At the time of arrival at IKA airport, our representative will welcome you with Logo show card and guiding you to exit the airport to the hotel. Leave the hassle of flight under the shower and relax before the tour of Tehran treasure. Tehran, as the most modern city and capital of Iran which clearly shows the classical and modern combination of Persian culture is located on the south of Alborz mountain range. Damavand, the highest Summit of Iran is a heroic symbol of Tehran, also the city embraces cultural & natural landscapes with brilliant glory of palaces and distinctive museums.
Our tour starts with Azadi Tower as a symbol of Modern Tehran and the contemporary national gate of Iran, soon after we will touch Contemporary Art Museum to indulge ourselves to extent our knowledge about Persian Modern Arts and the most valuable collection of western art out of Europe and America, then we will touch the National Carpet Museum, where shines for the collection of Persian carpets since 1500 years ago to now.
Overnight Tehran, (D).
Day 2: Tehran, Qajar Village Became A Capital
A Glance of Persian Empires Capitals Tour begins with Golestan Palace as a royal complex with over 400 years old, which is decorated with peculiar ornaments such as tiling, mirror-works and paintings, surpassed the four kings of Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties who crowned in its majesty and now distinguished itself as a Unesco World Heritage, also we visit symbolic tomb of Naser-al-Din Shah Qajar Symbolic Tomb in the yard of the palace as a king of Persia for half a century, soon after that overlooking Tehran Grand Bazaar, a roofed up building with the old-time architecture of passages and pathways which leave you in a puzzle as a cultural and economic centre in the downtown of Tehran, after that our exploration continues to Iran National Museum as the cradle of Persia story that holds archaeological collections in two separate structures; Ancient Iran Museum and Museum of Islamic Period, which present you with culture, art and history of Persia, then (Sat to Tue 14:30 to 16:30) walking to Treasury of National Museum (National Jewelry Museum), where shines for the beauty of the diamonds, jewels and royal heritages, to feel kingdom lifestyle better.
Overnight Tehran, (B,L,D).
Day 3: Tehran- Kashan-Isfahan, Capital of Persian Architecture
Today is devoted to Kashan legacies on the way to Isfahan, so our tour begins with Fin Garden, which depicts a genuine Persian garden, telling us stories about the contemporary era from murdering Amir Kabir to present, after that we visit Boroujerdi House which combines the desert style of wind-catchers with Persian traditional models of an iwan with superb plaster-work in interior and exterior decoration, soon after we touch Sultan Amir Ahmad Bathhouse to feel Persian architecture meanwhile bathing, next in order of time we walk to Tabatabaee House which includes peculiar differences with the previous one in terms of stone reliefs, stucco and coloured glasses,
then move to Isfahan to sense the white river to indulge ourselves to the beauty of widely-known Khaju Bridge.
Overnight Isfahan, (B,L,D).
Day 4: Isfahan, Safavid Capital
Isfahan, the city of glories and Perso-Islamic masterpieces devoted itself to craftsman’s dexterity to become centre of art, not only in architecture or handicrafts but also in urban structures and music. The city is a treasure of mosques, Cathedrals, mansions, bridges and gardens which amazed visitors in all aspects of skilful ingenuities. Isfahan is also the centre for wall-paintings and frescoes which narrate antique tales from Persia history of battles and love stories since thousands of years ago, especially in attractions such as Ali Qapu Palace and Chehel Sotun Garden.
Tour through Isfahan begins with a three-floor building which is called Qeisarie Gate in remembrance of the king as the main entrance to Isfahan Grand Bazaar, which directs us to Naqsh-e Jahan Square (Meidan Emam) to visit the masterwork of chief architect Sheikh Bahaee, also having a workshop for the art of Minakari demonstrates us how ancient Persians enameled objects to place heaven into them by decorating metal(mostly Silver and Copper) or tile by patterns and paintings derived from the taste of the artist, soon after we walk to Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque to be amazed with the genius interior and exterior decoration of the dome which used to be a royal mosque dedicated to Shah Abbas Safavid, after that we visit Shah Mosque, which depicts Persian architecture in Islamic era, by consisting of iwans, domes, tilling and supreme engineering of voice echoing, then our trip to the square will end by Ali Qapu Palace which could be called as a gallery of art in terms of music, painting and decoration in an acoustic structure.
By nourishing our mind in the square we walk to Chehel Sotun Palace (Bagh-e Chehel Sotun), where a relaxing atmosphere with gorgeous paintings are awaiting us with palace pillar photo reflected into the front pond, then we travel to the white river
to indulge ourselves to the beauty of worldly known Si-O Se Pol Bridges.
Overnight Isfahan, (B,L,D).
Day 5: Isfahan-Yazd, Capital of Art
We embark on a full day travel into the heart of the desert on the way from Yazd to Isfahan with an expedition to Maybod county to explore a region which was Mozaffarid dynasty capital and widely known in terms of architecture and handicrafts in north of Yazd. Our visits will include Abbasi Caravanserai where displays how travellers took rest on the way of their tours, after that we take a walk to traditional Water Reservoir which plays a vital rule to provide safe and clean water in the desert, soon after we have a glance of the Ice House which feed the county with Sufficient Ice reminded from winter to summer based on an evaporation engineering masterpiece since 1000 B.C, then we visit Narin Castle, which used to be a fortress during existence, dated back to Achaemenid era.
Our exploration continues to Naein county, where is an ancient region famous for the Qantas, handicrafts and castles, in south of Isfahan. We visit Naein Jameh Mosque which is one of the four mosques built soon after the Arabs conquest of Persia, after that we learn better about desert citizens lifestyle by surfing Desert Anthropology Museum, then we travel to Rigareh Qanat-based Water Mill to investigate how people quench their thirsty by constructing qanat underground since 1000 B.C in Persia.
Overnight Yazd, (B,L,D).
Day 6: Yazd, Persian Zoroastrian Capital
Yazd is a city which displays human adaptation to the hard nature by its unique architecture to use simple materials to build astonishing structures such as wind-catchers, Bath, mosque and houses to preserve the residents’ life in heart of desert, also Qanat construction is an ancient engineering knowledge which conveys water from natural sources to quench people and farms. The city is the home of Persian sweeties and a famous land in handicrafts especially for handwoven souvenirs, also religions diversity enlighten you about Zoroastrians, Jewish, Christians and Muslims in the city centre.
Today we begin our travel with Yazd Jameh Mosque, where the brilliance of tilling dazzle eyes next to highest minarets in Iran, depicting harmonious craft between Islamic and Persian architecture, but the Cashmere Fabric (Termeh) as the emanation of art in warp and weft of cloth is in the way to the mosque and some believe that the age of this magnificent fabric which is made of wool and silk goes back to more than 500 years ago. Some others believe that it’s come from the far lands of Cashmere. There are several types of this soft, magical cloth in Yazd, after that we walk to Fahadan area to explore brick and mud lifestyle with a particular style of construction, where customs and traditions fed the area, to reach Lariha House to capture a view of Yazd lifestyle in a well-decorated location with generally recognized architecture of wind-catcher plus archways, plaster-work and stained-glass window, then we visit Zoroastrians Fire Temple as the most important Zoroastrians fire temple in Persia, where is continuously burning for around 2500 years, Our exploration continues to Amir Chakhmagh Complex with its gorgeous balanced submerged alcoves in the Tekyeh and historical mosque, soon after we experience a traditional form of athletics exercising, which was used for training soldiers for warfare in Zourkhaneh (Pahlavani Rituals), after that tasting purchasing Sweeties such as Qottab, Loz, Baklava and Yazdi Cake as souvenirs, finally our today tour ends with having a pleasing night is calm atmosphere around the highest wind-catcher in the world with a peculiar architecture in Dowlat Abad Garden.
Overnight Yazd, (B,L,D).
Day 7: Yazd-Shiraz, Achaemenid & Sassanid Capital
Departing Yazd we travel to Shiraz by having an expedition to Abarkooh county to wander at the 4500-year-old Cypress Tree, we keep going to Pasargadae, the ancient capital of Achaemenid, which was built under the order of Cyrus the Great with famous fourfold Persian model of the garden, to explain the nobility of the emperor and his necropolis, soon after on the way back to downtown our exploration continues with Naqsh-e Rustam, a Necropolis, where the emperors of Persian civilization are buried in rock cuts, with king’s engraved messages on rock reliefs, also the Zoroastrians sacred place “ Cube of Zoroaster ” as a spiritual monument is located next to the rock face, after that taking a short walk to Naqsh-e Rajab, an open-air archaeological archive which displays Sassanid imperial impregnable power and triumph over Roman emperor on bas-relief inscriptions, after that we will have a glance to Quran Gate, which is the entrance gate of Shiraz from the north, built by Zand dynasty in reason of blessing passengers by the holiness of Quran, next to the gate is Tomb of Khwaju, who was the guru in literature, also a guide to Hafiz.
Overnight Shiraz, (B,L,D).
Day 8: Shiraz, Zandieh Capital
Achaemenian’s and Sassanian’s glories is the city of prose & poem, gardens and flowers. Historical ornaments such as Persépolis and Pasargadae is spread through the tale of the province from Achaemenid empire to Zand Dynasty, also spirituality always associates with story of the people, not only during Zoroastrianism but also at the time of Islam to the present era.
Our tour to the city of romances begins with Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque, a supreme intellectual and artistic sacred place which proves no comparison with the typical mosques. Spirituality lies inside when sunshine passes through the colorful glasses of windows to Persian carpet orchards and on the firm columns inside, also you will be dazzled by the superb celling ceramic-work, soon after we reach Qavam House (Narenjestan Qavam), a unique model of Persian architecture which depicts most of the artistic value of the culture, not only in the garden with fountains, planting flowers and palm trees, but also with gorgeous mirror-works and European style of paintings, after that we dedicate our exploration to Zand Dynasty heritages by visiting Karim khan Citadel as a residence for Karim Khan and his family and also to be known as a military centre, the structure looks like a castle to guard the royal family and the king, after that our visits include Vakil Historic Bath, which is an architectural masterpiece in Vakil Complex, built from gypsum, stone and brick, then our exploration continues with a gourmet taste of contrast in flavours, which make the taste of a food special. Sour Cherry Rice, a traditional Shirazi dish, is a great example of such contrast. On one hand, you can taste the sweet flavour, and on the other hand, you feel the sour taste, by exploring architectural masterpieces we indulge ourselves into spring of Eram Garden which is the original meaning of Paradise (Pardis in Persian Language) by displaying the Persia peculiar structure in magnificent buildings and botanical garden, finally we will dedicate our evening to Hafezieh, the mausoleum of a poet whose love stories, spiritual beliefs and sagacious poems left an untouched and legacy behind for readers to alleviate with. Hafez Ghazal by the use of eloquence inspired Persians to fall in love, be honest and worship Allah.
Overnight Shiraz, (B,L,D).
Day 9: Shiraz, Capital of a Cradle of Civilization
We travel outside of Shiraz to explore Persepolis, one of the three Achaemenid Empire Capitals, which is dedicated to ceremonial events to demonstrate the imperial majesty and eminence, constructed by Darius the Great. The palace with the meaning of ‘city of Persians’ is a great example of Achaemenid architectural style where is also land of peace for Artaxerxess || and Artaxerxess ||| tombs, finally reaching Sa’diyeh where is the mausoleum of a poet who nourishes you with words and wisdom to enlighten your soul. Sa’adi with his global reputation for verses about human rights left us the most valuable heritage by writing books such as GOLESTAN & BOSTAN.
Shiraz, (B,L,D).
Depart Iran.