Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Away
To Mashhad, savaris (US$1.50) are sporadic and buses (US$1) are sadly rare.
The Road to Afghanistan
There are direct buses from Mashhad to Herat (Afghanistan) but you could add a little
spice by doing the trip in bus/savari hops via Fariman, Torbat-e-Jam and Taybad. For in-
termediate stops you will generally need to pay a private taxi.
MASHHAD TO TORBAT-E JAM
In the scrappy railway-junction village of Sang Bast (40km from central Mashhad), you
could climb the AD 1028 Ayaz Minaret . But don't hope to get inside the caravanserai in
case your wish comes true: it's now the local prison.
TORBAT-E JAMماجتبرت
0528 / POP 85,000 / ELEV 920M
Where the last ripples of mountain ridge disappear into a vast dusty plain, you'll find this
friendly, adamantly Sunni town. White beards and whiter turbans create a street-vibe
that's more oriental than in most Iranian cities.
Imam Khomeini Blvd runs 4km from Imam Reza Sq (northwest) to Falakeh Sharak
(southeast), passing Shahrdari Sq halfway. The town's central Valiasr Sq is 600m east of
Shahrdari Sq along commercial Al Mahdi St.
Sights
Jami Mausoleumیماج هاگمارآ
(Aramgah St; admission free; dawn-dusk) Torbat-e Jam's highly impressive must-see
sight is the beautiful Jami mausoleum complex . Here, 10 religious buildings intertwine
around the grave of 12th-century Sunni mystic and poet Sheikh Ahmad Jami. His tomb-
stone rests under a very old pistachio tree, above which soars a particularly impressive
blue-tiled main iwan . In this iwan there are three doors. The one to the right is open to all
visitors and leads through a small sanctuary into an inner courtyard across which is the
AD 1442 'New' Mosque . Look for the magnificent vaulted ceilings and octagonal
columns on either side of its prayer hall. It's 'new' compared to the 1302 Atirgh Mosque
MAUSOLEUM, SHRINE
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