The historical city of Abarkooh.

Abarkooh is a historical desert city located in Yazd province and it attracts many tourists every year because of the numerous historical and cultural heritages located in this city. Abarkooh has been located on the way of the Silk Road which had been the main route between east and west from China to the Mediterranean Sea. Another branch of the Silk Road which connected south to Khorasan passed through Abarkooh, too. The soldiers and the commanders stopped in this city for some days during their wars and campaigns and Shah Abbas the Safavid king constructed many caravanserais in this area. So the importance and the prosperity of Abarkooh has been due to the passing of the Silk Road through this city.

The cozy cottages of Kapari ecolodge.

kapari cottage ecolodge is an accommodation with a very special architecture and it is located in the south of Kerman province in a small town named Qale Ganj (the treasure castle). The cities and villages in the south of Kerman, including Qale Ganj, Jiroft and Manoujan are historical cities and pieces of evidence like Jaz Mourian basin and historical hills show that great civilizations have lived here. Keshit is a village in this area with vast palm gardens and historical castles. The weird thing about this village, which is located in the heart of the desert, is a waterfall with fresh water pouring into a small lake.

Inside a cottage in Kapari ecolodge.

Bazaar of colors!

Minab is an old coastal city in Hormozgan province in the south of Iran. The local people of Minab have an interesting lifestyle and a rich culture. It is said that bazaar exposes the mood of a society and a good way to get acquainted with the culture of a society that you haven’t met before is going to the old and traditional bazaar of that city and meeting the local people.

A woman who sells ribbons in Minab's bazaar.

Different faces of Iran in one day.

After moving from a northern to a southern city in Iran in a short time, you may ask yourself: “ Did i experience all of these different climates in one country during such a short time?!”. Because of the two high mountain ranges (Alborz and Zagros) in the north and west of Iran and the two vast deserts in the center and east of Iran, different climates and temperatures are available at the same time!

Iranian Kebabs.

Iranian people enjoy eating and cooking but they love parties and gatherings more! In their parties, they usually serve traditional cuisines of Iran like different kinds of stews and Iranian kebabs. Kebab is an old Iranian cuisine and is a good choice for gatherings and camping days of the weekends because preparing the Kebab is done by two or three people and it gathers the friends. As a custom in Iran, preparing the kebab is the men’s job so it is usually done by the men. The meat for Iranian kebab should be fresh and healthy and it is usually marinated in spices, onion, yogurt or different sauces some hours earlier.

Grilling the kebab is the fun part. Friends gather around the broiler, while the meat is getting done and it spreads an appetizing smell in the whole area. Persian kebab is served with saffron steamed rice or Lavash bread. Sumac, Salad Shirazi (chopped tomato and cucumber with mint and verjuice), raw onion and basil are the inseparable mates of Iranian Kebab.

The castle of the Assassins.

There are many vague and mysterious tales about Alamut fortress and the things happened there. On 602 AD, a group of missionaries, who were named the Assassins, seized Alamut castle on the heights of northern Iran and selected it as their hideaway and military base. The leader of the Assassins, who named Hassan e Sabbah, lived in this fortress for 35 years and was known as “The Mountain Man”. He tried to propagate Ismaili faction and believed that Iran should have the same level of prosperity as it had before Arabs conquered Iran.

Ovan Lake.

"Bayazeh", village of history in Iran.

If you take a look at “Bayazeh” village and the barrens around from afar, you will see a white land in the middle of the desert that looks like a snowy land, but this silverness is due to the salt covering the sand of the desert! “Bayazeh” historical village, which has been a cultural center in the past, is located in Khur o Biyabanak town of Isfahan province, at the center of Iran.

KLM flights to Iran are going to be resumed.

KLM Royal Dutch Airline is about to resume the flight services to Tehran, the capital of Iran from October 30, 2016. KLM had operated services to Tehran since July 1991 until the route was suspended in 2013.  Four weekly flights are going to be operated between the Schiphol Airport of Amsterdam and Imam Khomeini Airport of Tehran.

Ice-climbing in Iran.

Ice-climbing is a very exciting activity similar to rock-climbing, added with ice and cold. Ice-climbing is the activity of climbing different ice formations with technical tools. A climbing route can be a frozen waterfall, a rock slab covered with refrozen flowing water or an inclined glacier. Due to lots of mountains in the north and North West of Iran and the cold weather in these areas, there are many places available for ice-climbing. Some of them will be mentioned in the following:

The beauties of Nayband port in Bushehr.

 Nayband is located on the Persian Gulf’s coast in Bushehr province, in the south of Iran. South of Iran is a fantastic destination for winter and Nayband National Park and its historical village is one of the most beautiful coastal areas along the beaches of the Persian Gulf. The historical evidences indicate that Nayband has been a scouting spot during Sassanid Empire (founded 224) and it has been an important bay for pearling and trading the pearls during the Buyid dynasty (founded 934).