Ancient Persia in Depth 16 days

Iran is quite simply an extraordinary country, where visitors are welcomed with open arms by friendly people who have redefined the word ‘hospitality’. The architecture is amazing with breathtaking mosques, stepped hillside villages, cleverly-designed wind towers (badgirs) and impressive structures such as the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence. The country's history is astonishingly rich, having embraced and dominated by countless civilisations. The Archaemedians, Alexander the Great, the Parthanians, Sassanians, Arabs, Seljuks, Mongols, Safavids and many other groups have all left their mark over the centuries. The current culture is in many ways a fusion of all the influences. Ancient Persepolis is just one of the many reminders of this rich history - words can’t describe just how impressive this site is. The country’s religion is predominantly Islam (mainly Shiite, but some Iranians are Sunni), although we will probably also encounter Jews, Zoroastrians, Christians and Baha’is along the way. Although Iran is portrayed by some Western media as being ruled by a dour and repressive regime, we will find that it is a land full of warm, lively and friendly people. Join us for this foray into one of the world’s most fascinating and least-visited countries.

Trip Highlights

• Gallery

  

  Yazd

  

  Shiraz women

  

  Old man in Qazvin

  

  Kashan

  

  Men in Masuleh

  

  Persepolis

  

  Iran

  

  Barter in Esfahan’s bazaar

  

  Revel in the Persian architecture of Eshafan

  

  Wander Yazd’s Old City

  

  Tackle Tehran like a local

  

  Teahouses of Shiraz

  

  The perfect Persepolis picture

  

  Eat at home

  

  Abyaneh

  

  Bisotun

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• Video

  Jordan Leaders

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From Our Blog

Past Travellers' Ratings & Comments

• • five

  The local tour leader/guide was excellent in every respect. I would recommend him to anyone.   Accommodation was not always particularly good , but we had a bed and it is after all all part of the adventure.  As always, some hotels provided a more varied breakfast than others, but we always had something to eat.  The size of the group (10) was good and in my view the largest number you want, for reasons of   1.Comfort in the bus,(we all had a double seat to ourselves, which in view of the long road trips was much more comfortable).   2. Manageable in terms of keeping track of everyone on site trips etc  3. Everyone mixing together without 'cliques'   4. Being aware of the needs of and the sharing the load of helping those less able.   5. All being able to hear the guides and the overall closer relationship with the guide. 

  – Carol, Edgecliff, NSW, August 18th 2009

• • five

  I really appreciated the extra knowledge both tour guides had about the best places for morning teas, lunch spots etc.  our Iranian guide Mohsun Mansouri was exceptional.  He had an esky full of ice and cold water available all the time.  This made it much more pleasant when we crossed the desert.  his attention to each member of the group was very much appreciated.   He remembered details about each of the group so would point out places of special interest and so on.  He also arranged confirmation of our onward flights, helped with currency exchange, sold us stamps and generally made the trip really easy.

  – Gael, Kingston Beach, TAS, October 8th 2009