Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bazaar's ungentrified eastern end is the delightfully decrepit yet still-active
Dokhtar
Caravanserai
. Grandly tiled, the dome and minarets of the
Rasul-Ullah (Sai-ini)
Mosque
peep above central Enqelab Sq. Madraseh cells line the inner courtyard of the
sizable 1826
Masjed-e Jameh
(Jameh Mosque), accessed through a spired portal on
Imam St.
Seyid Ibrahim (Imamzadeh) Mosque
is similarly extensive. The dinky
Khan-
um (Women's) Mosque
has a commonly photographed pair of squat pepper-pot minarets
but its 1940s architecture is of little artistic merit.
The 1851 Baha'i massacres were perpetrated in lanes behind where you now see philo-
sopher
Soravardi's bust
(Sa'di St)
on a library wall.
Pol-e-Sardar
, an attractive Safavid
bridge to the southwest of the town centre, is visible west of the Bijar road.
Sleeping
Park Hotel$
( 332 2228; fax 332 6798; Imam St; s/tw US$20/28; )
Upgrades are complete at this
reliable option near Azadi Sq. The manager speaks some English.
HOTEL
Zanjan Grand Hotel$$$
(Hotel Bozorg Zanjan; 728 8190; Basij Sq; s/tw/ste US$92/104/139; )
By far
Zanjan's top option, the stylishly sparse, international tandard rooms are spacious, with
impeccable bathrooms, a slight niggle being the ill-conceived light-switching system.
Staff try hard to please. However, the noisy location is inconvenient if you're not driving.
HOTEL
Hotel Sa'di$
( 322 2528; Imam St; s/tw/tr without bathroom US$6/8/10)
This sensibly priced
mosaferkhaneh
is relatively well kept but the windowless singles are truly minuscule.
MOSAFERKHANEH
Eating & Drinking
In addition to the traditionally styled places listed below there are numerous standard
kab-
abis
along Imam St.
Sofrakhane Sonati Abache$
(Bostani Bashkah; 323 7250; Bashkah Alley; dizi US$2, qalyan US$1;
8.30am-10pm)
Good for bread-and-honey breakfasts, this former
zurkhaneh
chamber is an
octagonal domed cellar eccentrically decorated with old samovars, portraits and peacock
TEAHOUSE
