Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tehran Highlights
Gaze in wonder at the 51,366-gem Globe of Jewels in the Treasury of
National
Jewels Museum
(
Click here
)
Relax, eat and meet the locals on a mountain walk around the lower slopes of
Darband
(
Click here
)
Take in the over-the-top opulence of the
Golestan Palace,
a monument to Qajar
excess (
Click here
)
Go downhill fast on the ski slopes of
Dizin
(
Click here
)
and
Shemshak
(
Click
See how the last Shah lived at
Niyavaran Palace
(
Click here
)
See first-hand Tehran's vital contemporary art scene in one of the
galleries
(
Click here
)
Navigate your way through vast, vibrant
Tehran Bazar
(
Click here
)
Drink coffee with hip young Tehranis in one of numerous cafes at
Gandhi Shop-
ping Centre
(
Click here
)
Choose your meal from a kabab-free menu at
Monsoon
(
Click here
)
History
Apart from 11th-century AD records suggesting the village produced high-quality
pomegranates, little was written about Tehran until the 13th century. In his book
Mo
'
jamol Boldan,
writer Yaqoot Hamavi described Tehran as a village of Rey, then the major
urban centre in the region, where 'rebellious inhabitants' lived in underground dwellings.
In 1220 the Mongols sacked Rey as they swept across Persia (
Click here
)
, executing
thousands in the process. Most who escaped wound up in Tehran and the future capital's
first population explosion turned the village into a prosperous trading centre.
In the mid-16th century Tehran's natural setting, many trees, clear rivers and good hunt-
ing brought it to the attention of the early Safavid king, Tahmasp I. Under his patronage,
gardens were laid out, brick houses and caravanserais built and the town fortified by a
wall with 114 towers. As Tehran continued to grow under later Safavid kings, European
visitors wrote of the town's many enchanting vineyards and gardens.
Threatened by the encroaching Qajars, regent Karim Khan Zand moved his army from
Shiraz to Tehran in 1758. At the same time he refortified the city and began constructing a
