Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The octagonal tomb tower of
Sheikh Attar
(admission US$0.50; 7am-9pm)
sits in
another pretty garden, 1km west (a popular horse-and-carriage ride).
Either end of the gardens is a great place to indulge in a bit of guerrilla picnicking, Ira-
nian style, and you'll be guaranteed to join a family or two for tea and cookies.
The tomb complex is 5km from Neishabur's central Khayyam Sq: take eastbound bus
10 to the end (US$0.50, 15 minutes).
Shah Abbas Caravanserai
(Imam Khomeini St)
Central Neishabur is a rather unexciting place, but very close to
Khayyam Sq, the restored Shah Abbas Caravanserai hosts souvenir shops, the
So-
frakhane Sonati Abashah
(tea & qalyan US$2)
traditional teahouse and a small
Nature
Museum
(admission US$1; 8am-1pm & 4-6pm)
; ask at the teahouse if the local speci-
ality of rhubarb is in season and try the sorbet drink. Amid the museum's displays of
stuffed birds, local animals, pinned insects and pickled snakes, notice the bottled human
foetuses.
The single-alley Safavid-era
covered bazaar
(6th Lane, Imam Khomeini St)
starts
about 300m further west.
CARAVANSERAI
Sleeping & Eating
HOTEL
Hotel Kamalalmolk$
( 224 4277; Modarres St; s/d/tr US$16/20/25)
Just 30m north of Khayyam Sq, this
hotel has five reasonably tasteful, en suite rooms, the quieter back ones looking out across
the brilliant little garden-cafe that is the place's trump card. You'd never guess it was there
from the uninteresting front restaurant section.
Getting There & Away
Mashhad savaris (US$3) and buses (US$1, two hours) leave when full from Neishabur's
somewhat hidden
main bus terminal
(11th Alley, 22 Bahman St)
, 2km northeast of
Khayyam Sq. The
train station
(Jafari St)
is about 1km south of Naqsh-e Jahan (Imam)
Sq. Coming by train from Tehran you'll arrive in Neishabur bright and early, allowing
plenty of time for sightseeing before continuing to Mashhad the same day.
Mashhad guide Vali Ansari Astaneh (
Click here
)
has pioneered a cross-mountain trip
that allows a Mashhad-Tus-Neishabur-Mashhad loop by walking (around six hours) or
using a 4WD (when conditions allow) between Zoshk and the attractive foothill village of
Kharv near Qadamgah.
