Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Edareh-ye Gozarnameh (Visa extensions)
A2
4
Miras Ferhangi Khorasan
B1
Transport
5
Bus to Airport
C3
6
Felakeh Ferdosi (Buses for Tus, Torqabeh, Abadeh and Zoshk)
B1
7
Istgah Sarakhs
D3
8
Main Bus Terminal
B3
9
Sherkate Mellie Naft-e-Iran
B1
10
Very Rare Buses to Kalat Naderi
D1
Be aware that during major pilgrim seasons, almost all accommodation and transport
will be booked out months in advance. Contrastingly, at other times Mashhad offers about
the best-value accommodation in Iran. Winters can be very cold, with snow on the ground
for up to five months a year. Summers are contrastingly hot. April is ideal.
History
Following Imam Reza's burial here, the small village of Sanabad began to attract Shiite
pilgrims and soon became known as Mashhad (place of martyrdom). Nearby Tus re-
mained a more significant town until 1389 when Tamerlane sacked the whole area and
thereafter it was Mashhad that eventually limped back to life as the new capital of Khoras-
an. The shrine was enlarged in the early 15th century by Tamerlane's son, Shah Rokh, and
his extraordinary wife, Gohar Shad, for whom the Haram's main mosque is named. Once
the Safavids had established Shiism as the state creed, Mashhad became Iran's pre-emin-
ent pilgrimage site and Shah Abbas I rebuilt the Holy Shrine's new core around 1612.
Politically, Mashhad reached its zenith under Nader Shah (
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)
, whose empire was
focused on Khorasan. Even though Nader was a Sunni of missionary zeal, he continued to
sponsor the Haram.
