Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sangesar Hotel
( 362 4280; fax 362 4380; Saheb Zaman St; d/ste US$30/41)
with blue
tiling, grand lobby and two-storey chandelier of 1970s rope-glass. Take the best suite for
full effect.
SHAHMIRZADدازریمهش
0232 / POP 9000
This popular weekend getaway for Semnanis is a quietly charming oasis amid spiky rock
ridges. Gushing streams and a few remnant mud-compound houses grace the upper parts
of town around Naqsh-e Jahan (Imam) Sq. There's enough snow on the ridges 8km behind
town to allow impromptu sledging until mid-April. Between Shahmirzad and Mahdishahr,
Darband
is a somewhat scraggy picnic spot behind which a path leads up to a locally
famous
cave
in the cliff.
Excellent value even at foreigner prices,
Moshtameh Ferhangi
( 366 4114; local/
foreigner d US$8/18)
is a modern, four-storey octagonal tower hotel set in a garden at the
top edge of town. It's unmarked but very obvious: follow Motahhari St up from Naqsh-e
Jahan Sq (10 minutes' walk). Rooms are big and although a little bare, have smart bath-
rooms and good views.
By the chairlift and art-park directly above Naqsh-e Jahan Sq, a basic
teahouse
spills
out into pretty gardens on warm afternoons.
Minibuses (US$0.50) and savaris (US$1) to Semnan leave from Imam St, 500m down-
hill from Naqsh-e Jahan Sq. For the picturesque direct route to Pol-e Sefid you'll need to
find a taxi driver gutsy enough to ford the unbridged river en-route.
Damghanناغماد
0232 / POP 55,000 / ELEV 1150M
This historic caravan town sits on the edge of the great desert plateau, attractively backed
by parched rocky ridges (the highest are discordantly snow-covered well into April).
Damghan's timelessly crumbling mud-walled buildings are rapidly being replaced by
modern constructions. However, several ancient religious structures in expertly faceted
brick are within easy walking distance of the central area.
The covered bazaar hugs the town's central east-west axis (Imam Khomeini St) for the
block between Chaharshir Sq (with its four gilded lions) and Imam Khomeini Sq, where
Bank Tejarat changes US dollars, euros and UK pounds. From here, Motahhari St heads
