Golestan Palace

Golestan Palace occupies pride of place in Tehran's history. This heritage site is a complex of buildings and gardens initially built by the Qajar rulers and used as their court and residence. It was finally used by the Pahlavi dynasty as an official space largely for formal receptions.It's ended as being an amalgamation of Persian and European art and architecture. There are many buildings such as Mirror hall, Shamsol Emare, Diomand Hall, and Salam Hall in the palace and it will take a large part of the day to see it all, so keep sufficient time aside.

Our guests with Leila in Golestan Palace

National Zoorkhane Day

In Iranian culture Zoorkhaneh is a sacred place where the physical activity is combined by music and literature. Zoorkhaneh is the house of strength not only for the body but also for the soul and spirit. Having strong morality, devotion, and honorary manner is as important as having a strong body.
Pahlevani is an Iranian traditional sport dating back to Zoroastrianism that athletes train rigorously with live music and poems of Shahnameh, the masterpiece epic book of Ferdowsi.
Iran celebrates National Zoorkhane Day on June 9th to show that Pahlevani is not only about the physical fitness but also courtesy and generosity.

A cultural Zoorkhane in Iran

Ancient Sports

Have you ever wondered about the origin of bodybuilding and fitness? The answer is Iran.
There are so many more sports and activities, many of them traditional to Iran that are still praticed even today. 
Varzesh-e bastani, which literally means ancient sport,  has been inscribed by UNESCO as Pahlevani and Zoorkhaneh . It has been recognized as the world's longest-running form of such training. In this sport, the men not only worked on their physical fitness but they worked to improve their spirituality, and to be more modest, submissive and generous.
If you travel to Iran, perhaps you too can experience one of these sports firsthand whether it's just observing or actually doing.

One of our guests in Zoorkhane