Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Imam Khomeini Mosque
, which is a good place to quietly watch Islam in action. Most
lanes specialise in a particular commodity: copper, paper, gold, spices and carpets, among
others.
You'll also find tobacconists, shoemakers, tailors, broadcloth sellers, bookbinders, flag
sellers, haberdashers, saddlers, tinsmiths, knife-makers and carpenters. The carpet, nut
and spice bazaars might be the most photogenic, but the lane of stores selling fake design-
er labels (literally labels, not clothes) also catches the eye.
In our experience there are two ways to visit the bazaar, a place that cartographers seem
never to have fully conquered. One is to simply wander the labyrinth of streets and alleys,
taking whichever direction you fancy and just going with the flow. You'll almost certainly
get lost but will soon enough be found by a helpful local; remember to walk uphill to the
main exit.
The other is to allow yourself to be befriended by one of the carpet salesmen. Tell them
what sections of the bazaar you'd like to see (the gold bazaar, spices bazaar, the mosque
etc), and they will lead you. When you're done, they will expect you to visit their carpet
shop, drink some tea and view a few rugs - which in itself is quite fun (carpet prices here
are probably the best in Iran).
Try and visit in the morning, when business is brisk but not yet frantic, as it becomes at
lunchtime when the chance of being run over by a piece of fast-moving haulage equip-
ment is high.
Golestan Palaceناتسلگ خاک
( 3311 3335-8;
www.golestanpalace.ir
;
Ark Sq; individual tickets US$0.20-0.50 each;
Panzdah-e Khordad; 9am-4pm)
In what was once the heart of Tehran is this monu-
ment to the glories and excesses of the Qajar rulers. Between Imam Khomeini Sq and the
bazaar, the
Golestan Palace complex
is made up of several grand buildings set around a
carefully manicured garden. You must buy a separate ticket for each building.
Although there was a Safavid-era citadel on this site, it was Nasser al-Din Shah (r
1848-96), impressed by what he'd seen of European palaces, who built it into the 'Palace
of Flowers' you see today. Originally it was much bigger, with inner and outer sections to
encompass offices, ministries and private living quarters, but several surrounding build-
ings were pulled down under the Pahlavis.
The following description assumes you start your visit at the Ivan-e Takht-e Marmar,
then continue in a clockwise direction around the courtyard.
PALACE
Ivan-e Takht-e Marmar
AUDIENCE HALL
