Tehran, Capital of Iran

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Overview

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Tehran is the capital of Iran and an incessantly growing city of several million inhabitants (11 million according to the last census, but it seems that there are much more people than that). The city is divided in two main parts: the mainly fundamentalist South Tehran where all the cheap hostels are located, and the more liberal North Tehran where middle and high class families live and where the top-end hotels are. If you want to see the liberal Iranians, go to North Tehran and you will see women dressed with the last fashion clothes and barely covered. The main historic sites are in South Tehran and some museums are in the southern part of North Tehran. The best ...Read More

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Mosaferkhune Mashad

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Hotel | "Mashhad Hostel"

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I had arrived into Tehran late at night and I was looking for a cheap hostel near the Golestan Palace. The taxi driver drove me to Mashhad Hostel in West Amir Kabir Avenue, in South Tehran. Mashhad Hostel is a cheap hostel for budget travellers (around 40,000 - 50,000 IR (4-5 euros) for one single room. Double rooms are not much more expensive). It is clean and discreet. The front rooms are very noisy during the day but at night, there is no traffic outside so you can sleep quietly. The back rooms do not have windows but are much quieter. I was given a tiny room lacking decor but with a/c (only during the night), no covers were provided but it is very hot so I did not need it e...Read More

I had arrived into Tehran late at night and I was looking for a cheap hostel near the Golestan Palace. The taxi driver drove me to Mashhad Hostel in West Amir Kabir Avenue, in South Tehran.

Mashhad Hostel is a cheap hostel for budget travellers (around 40,000 - 50,000 IR (4-5 euros) for one single room. Double rooms are not much more expensive). It is clean and discreet. The front rooms are very noisy during the day but at night, there is no traffic outside so you can sleep quietly. The back rooms do not have windows but are much quieter.

I was given a tiny room lacking decor but with a/c (only during the night), no covers were provided but it is very hot so I did not need it even with the a/c.

The mattresses are quite hard but that is the case in many Iranian hostels. The bathrooms are shared and the toilets, which are Turkish are cleaned several times a day. There is also a laundry service and a prayer room for Muslims.

There is no restaurant in the hostel, but the staff showed me a small cafetaria a few yards away where I could eat an Iranian breakfast or abghust for less than 10,000 IR (1 euro).

It is located in south Tehran, near the mechanics shops. It is easy to reach it by metro or bus. It is great place to meet other like-minded backpackers (mainly Japanese tourists). There is a great guestbook in the lounge where you can find useful tips for your travel in Iran Pakistan and Afghanistan. Women are sometimes allowed to remove their veil inside the hostel.

The staff is very friendly and even though they do not speak very good English, they will provide you with all the information you need while in Tehran. I was offered to share the manager's meal the day of my arrival in Iran as a welcome gesture and I learnt some Farsi words with him.

Also there is a curfew at night: the hotel closes its doors after 10pm until early morning, but there is always someone to open the door for you if you arrive during the night (learnt how to give an excuse in Farsi as Iranians like people to be polite ('bebakshid' - I am sorry - is enough for a tourist).

If you travel on a tight budget and if you want to meet other backpackers, it is the place to go. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on September 25, 2007

Mosaferkhune Mashad
Amir Kabir Avenue
Tehran, Iran

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Jamshidieh Park

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Attraction

Jamshidieh Park Photo - Jamshidieh Park, Tehran, Iran

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I had met a great open-minded Iranian guy living in Tehran and I had wanted him to show me where young Iranians spend their evenings. My Iranian friend then found no better place than Jamshidieh Park in the Niavaran district of North Tehran, just at the base of the Kolakchal Mountain in the Alborz range. For your information, it is not easy at all to reach by public transport from South Tehran hostels (where most backpackers stay). The best way is to take a taxi (expensive because it is a long way, expect to pay at least 80.000 IR, 7 euros for one way) or to go with an Iranian acquaintance. Entrance is free and photography is allowed everywhere provided you remain discreet beca...Read More

I had met a great open-minded Iranian guy living in Tehran and I had wanted him to show me where young Iranians spend their evenings. My Iranian friend then found no better place than Jamshidieh Park in the Niavaran district of North Tehran, just at the base of the Kolakchal Mountain in the Alborz range.

For your information, it is not easy at all to reach by public transport from South Tehran hostels (where most backpackers stay). The best way is to take a taxi (expensive because it is a long way, expect to pay at least 80.000 IR, 7 euros for one way) or to go with an Iranian acquaintance.

Entrance is free and photography is allowed everywhere provided you remain discreet because lots of unmarried couples wander there.

The park garden was dedicated to Farah Diba, the wife of the last Shah of Iran. The park is one of the most picturesque and beautiful parks in Tehran. It was developed during the reign of the last Shah and extended after the Iranian Revolution. Behind the mountain you can find some ski slopes.

There are numerous restaurants and traditional teahouses (try the Kurdish House overlooking Tehran). Sometimes, when the Islamic Regime is less strict than usual, smoking narghileh (water pipe) is possible in the numerous teahouses. However, it was not the case when I was there.

There are also hiking trails from the entrance all the way uphill; this is almost a trek because the hill is steep, but there are many picnic areas and water fountains where you can drink (tap water is drinkable in Iran).

The park is so big that people can have a lot of privacy with their friends or lovers, and it is not rare to see couples walking hand in hand or middle and high-class families picnicking in the area.

There are also numerous viewpoints, but the best one is undoubtedly near the Kurdish teahouse where you can see Tehran City under smog.

A story that amused me: when I went to the Kurdish teahouse with my Iranian friend, I met another man with two incredibly beautiful girls sitting on the couch next to ours. He asked me in Farsi if I was married (which is not the case) and if he would find beautiful girls to marry in my country. I asked him why he would not marry one of the nice girls accompanying him. My Iranian friend then translated me the man's reply: both girls were the man's lovers and he could not choose one over the other, reason for which he was looking for a wife elsewhere!

Overall a good experience that I would recommend if you want to meet young Iranians in a relaxed atmosphere. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on September 25, 2007

Jamshidieh Park

Tehran, Iran

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Golestan Palace

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Attraction | "The Golestan Palace"

Golestan Palace Photo - Golestan Palace, Tehran, Iran

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Only a 10-minute walk from West Amir Kabir avenue where most cheap hostels are located, the Golestan Palace is the oldest of the historic monuments in TehranThe Palace is open everyday from 8:30am to 5pm (closed on Sundays and Thursdays) In 2005, there was a double tariff at the entrance: 4000 IR for Iranians, 40,000 IR (4 euros) for foreigners, including the use of your photo camera). The Iranian government was talking about suppressing the double tariff system when I was there (some other places in Iran had already abolished that system), so it might cost you less now to visit it. The Golestan Palace (Palace of Flowers) belongs to a group of royal buildings that were once enc...Read More

Only a 10-minute walk from West Amir Kabir avenue where most cheap hostels are located, the Golestan Palace is the oldest of the historic monuments in Tehran

The Palace is open everyday from 8:30am to 5pm (closed on Sundays and Thursdays) In 2005, there was a double tariff at the entrance: 4000 IR for Iranians, 40,000 IR (4 euros) for foreigners, including the use of your photo camera). The Iranian government was talking about suppressing the double tariff system when I was there (some other places in Iran had already abolished that system), so it might cost you less now to visit it.

The Golestan Palace (Palace of Flowers) belongs to a group of royal buildings that were once enclosed within the walls of Tehran’s historic Arg (citadel).

The palace you see nowadays is only part of a larger complex which was partially destroyed under the Pahlavi era to build government buildings (notice the awful grey buildings around you). However, the Pahlavi kept some parts of the Palace (the most beautiful ones, of course) which became the official residence of the royal family.

During the Pahlavi era (1925-1979), the Golestan Palace was used for formal royal receptions. The most important ceremonies to be held in the Palace during the Pahlavi era were the coronation of Reza Khan in 1925 and the coronation of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1941.

The two main highlights of Golestan Palace, not to be missed are Takht-e-Marmar (Marble Throne) in yellow marble and Shams-ol-Emareh with its twin towers.

Takht-e-Marmar is one of the finest examples of Iranian Architecture, located in the middle of an iwan (terrace) just in front of the entrance. This is where the first Pahlavi king was coronated.

Shams-ol-Emareh is a mix of European and Islamic architecture built for Nasser-ol-Din, a Persian King in 1865. It was the highest building in Tehran in the 19th century because Nasser wanted a building in which he could have panoramic views on Tehran.

You will be given a series of tickets at the entrance, each of which is valid for one of the buildings. The Golestan Palace is the most beautiful place to visit in Tehran so you should not miss it even if you do not plan to stay long in the capital. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on September 25, 2007

Golestan Palace
Ark Squire
Tehran, Iran +98 21 311-3335
+98 21 311-1811

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An encounter with the Bassijis, the much dreaded Guardians of the Revolution

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Story/Tip

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I had met Moshen, a lovely Iranian guy through a chatting website and I had decided to meet him since he seemed trustworthy. He was a graphic designer student about to finish his studies and we quickly became friends after I arrived in Tehran. Moshen showed me the main sights of Tehran with his car during my three days in Tehran and introduced me to his family living in a spacious modern flat in a middle-class neighbourhood in North Tehran. I learnt later that Moshen's father was a strong supporter of the Shah and disliked the current Islamic Regime because it failed its ideals. That is why I was asked so many questions about the King of Belgium and the current Belgian political system whe...Read More

I had met Moshen, a lovely Iranian guy through a chatting website and I had decided to meet him since he seemed trustworthy. He was a graphic designer student about to finish his studies and we quickly became friends after I arrived in Tehran.

Moshen showed me the main sights of Tehran with his car during my three days in Tehran and introduced me to his family living in a spacious modern flat in a middle-class neighbourhood in North Tehran. I learnt later that Moshen's father was a strong supporter of the Shah and disliked the current Islamic Regime because it failed its ideals. That is why I was asked so many questions about the King of Belgium and the current Belgian political system when I met him.

One day, I asked Moshen to show me the most open-minded areas of North Tehran (because I was staying in a mostly fundamentalist area in South Tehran and I had barely seen any young Iranians aiming for a change in the way the country was ruled). Moshen thus decided to drive me to Jamshidieh Park, close to the Alborz Mountains in North Tehran where, according to him, I would see unmarried couples wandering together hands in hands and barely covered young women.

We met several friends of Moshen in the park and after having drunk a tea in a teahouse overlooking Tehran, it started becoming dark, so Moshen and I left the park to go to a so-called Italian restaurant near Vali-ye Asr Avenue where we ate a thick pizza.

Unfortunately, time went quickly by and I had to get back to my hostel before it closed for the night. There is an unofficial curfew in South Tehran, meaning that after 10pm everything is closed and one might wonder what a tourist is doing in such an area at night.

Moshen and I went down Vali-ye Asr avenue towards South Tehran in his white Fiat-like car. Moshen had put an American music tape in his radio and we both listened to the loud music.

Just after we crossed the imaginary border between North and South Tehran, we noticed a small traffic-jam. I could swear I saw Moshen becoming pale; he started panicking, quickly removed the music tape out of the radio and hid it under my seat. He then told me to remain quiet and not to say anything.

He had seen the Bassijis.

The Bassjis, are a voluntary paramilitary force subordinate to the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. They patrol the city streets (usually in the hot spots of the city at night) and are allowed to arrest anyone who does not comply with the Islamic rules.

Moshen slowed down. He was hoping that the Bassijis would let us go without asking us further questions. That was when I realized that the Bassijis were there.

The guardians of the Revolution —all bearded men with khaki fatigues and Kalashnikov guns—noticed Moshen and me. They could not miss us because of my blonde hair and white skin.

They asked Moshen to stop his car and get out of it. They told me in Farsi to stay put; Moshen translated for me. He was sweating because he knew that there were illegal music tapes in his car. The Bassijis had a quick look at the car but did not notice the t Read Less

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