Kashanak and Darband Mountains, North of Tehran - IRAN

Tehran is a city at 1400 meter altitude as an average. I live in a part of Tehran which has an altitude of 1750m above free sea levels. and I believe the most beautiful thing about Tehran (along with many ugly facts in my home-town!) is the presence of Alborz mountains which are covered by snow almost 8-9 months a year. this reminds many one thing: Skiing in Tehran would be great! I wrote before on Ski resorts in Tehran like Shemshak, Tochal and Dizin.

Tochal mount is about 4000 m altitude and it features a Hotel at 5th stop (I have heard it's the highest altitude for a hotel in the world but I am not sure) which I resided one night and it was a great experience. Tochal Ski resort may not be the most recommended ski resort (because of its small field) but is very popular among Tehrani young skiers with just minutes from their homes!

in the north of Tehran, you have old villages which are attached to modern Tehran as a part of city and not as suburbs. Darakeh, Darband, Niyavaran, Kashanak and Daar-abad are among them.

This is Tehran's view from Kashanak mountains, 2400m altitude

 going to mountains for people of Tehran is considered as sport, hobby, picnic and even dining! with many beautiful restaurants in Darband and Darakeh districts, you will enjoy a lunch or dinner (even breakfast) in high altitudes with mountain views.

a Panoramic view of Darband vally

Another beautiful fact about all these incredible mounts above Tehran, is you can climb up one and come down from another! for this you have to leave your car at ones footage ofcourse and also you may need to spend a full day climbing and walking (8-12 hours)

here are some possible routes:
climbing up Kolak Chaal and coming down from Darband
climbing up Kolak Chaal and coming down from Tochal
climbing up Kashanak and coming down from Tochal

how to get there:
Darband: from Tajrish square with one taxi route
Kolak Chaal: from Niavaran sreet, Feizieh (Jamshidieh) avenue
Kashanak and Dar Abad: from Niavaran square (Niavaran Palace) with one bus or Taxi route
Darakeh: from Parkway (Chamran) crossing with Vali Asr strees with Taxi

what to wear: in Spring and Fall the weather can be warm, chilling and raining. in Summer it can go extremely hot (40 degrees!) and in winter it can go below zero easily (minus 10 or -20)

Ghalaat (Qalaat) village, ancient beauty in Iran

one of the most pleasant trips you can make in Iran, is heading to lovely city of Shiraz. understanding why Shirazi people are so calm and warm-hearted, lies in the way they live! Shirazi culture is seriously mixed with the philosophy "life is short, enjoy the moment"

Qalaat village - I call this picture: windows to blue sky

for living the moment, Shirazi citizens often go to suburbs and near villages or areas, calling Baagh (garden). and Qalaat (Ghalaat) is one of the most famous and top destination, especially for those who live in North - North West of Shiraz.
The Village is almost 20 miles from Shiraz, toward North-West. Qalaat has a history for over 2600 years, still enjoying beautiful ancient memorials, like a church called Glory of Christ, survived from Ghajar period, surrounding with nice gardens. the village has less than 300 residents in roughly 70 families, mostly serving the tourist come to the village from Shiraz and Jahrom city.

 

for living the moment, Shirazi citizens often go to suburbs and near villages or areas, calling Baagh (garden). and Qalaat (Ghalaat) is one of the most famous and top destination, especially for those who live in North - North West of Shiraz.
The Village is almost 20 miles from Shiraz, toward North-West. Qalaat has a history for over 2600 years, still enjoying beautiful ancient memorials, like a church called Glory of Christ, survived from Ghajar period, surrounding with nice gardens. the village has less than 300 residents in roughly 70 families, mostly serving the tourist come to the village from Shiraz and Jahrom city.

 

In Ghalaat you can find some handicrafts and souvenirs from Persia and Fars province. like Kilims, knitted and woven bags and shoes, wood crafted artworks etc. there are two rivers passing the village called Shab Shotori and Cheshmeh Anjiri with many beautiful springs heading toward them and three amazing waterfalls. best time to see all these is in May and June.

Qalaat Village

I took these pictures in March. so don't worry about the weather, it will be hot in the summer.

Tehran Property prices are EXPENSIVE or not?!

Is Tehran an expensive city to live in? in this post, I check some indexes and share some facts, with a focus on Property prices and costs, since it's swallowing the majority of Iranian household income.

Why house prices rise globally? what was the case in Tehran?
land resources are obviously scarce!
is this the only reason prices rise? The most important reason for this crisis is that we have been drastically restricting the amount of land available in Tehran, for housing since it was chosen as Iran's capital. Furthermore, after the revolution back in 1979, new policies and strategies led to dramatic immigration of people from farms, countries and villages or small towns in to the bigger and larger cities for more opportunities on employment and seeking a better quality of Life.
These are problems of market failure and land markets fail more than most, so they need regulation, which is what planning should do. But regulation needs to be informed by an understanding of how markets work. The problem is that our planning system seems to proceed as if it can entirely suspend the laws of supply and demand.

cost of living in Tehran...?
a couple living in mid-level style in Tehran needs:
350 USD per month rent (it can go as high as 2000+ USD per month for a two bedroom apartment)
200 USD per month for markets
100 USD per month to dine out once in a week (4 times a month)
100 USD per month transportation
50 USD per month utilities

I quit trips, vacations, sports, entertainments, parties, clothing extras etc

so they both need to have roughly 800 USD per month.
now more statistics and facts to know:

minimum wage in Iran is 200 USD per month
a 5 years experienced engineer or BS holder works for 350 USD per month
a 15 year experienced engineer or BS holder works for 500 USD per month

so they have to work hard both to live in a very simple mid-level life style with no extras!

luxury properties in Tehran
the price of an apartment in Tehran can vary from 1000 USD per sqm to 12,000 USD per sqm!

North of Tehran - apartments: 5000 - 7000 USD per sqm
Villas from 5 - 25 Million USD

Kamraniyeh - apartments: 7000 - 10,000 USD per sqm

France, Royan - a 4 bedroom Villa for 400 USD per sqm
400,000 USD for 1000 sqm plot and 240sqm villa

what's next?! where the prices are going to?
Iran and specifically Tehran's real estate market shows up with a boom every 5 or 6 years. this has been always like that in last half decade.
it seems that the market will have a smooth rise fitting the inflation rate only in 2015, till 2016 summer. then the prices have the potential again to racket up again.

Shiraz, a city to love, a culture to live

Shiraz is one of the oldest cities in Iran, also one among most five populous and largest cities in Iran. almost located n the southern part of Iran, close to Persian Gulf and laying in the foothills of Zagros Mountains, roughly 900 km away from the Capital Tehran.

but these are just numbers and stats! Shiraz is a city to love, not to count! Shiraz has been defined by more than 2500 years of history and culture, since the Achaemenid Empire and Dynasty ruled Shiraz or Pars province to be capital of their Empire.

Shahcheragh Mosque

With such history, Shiraz has become synonymous with education, poetry and genuine and noble people. Shiraz was also the Iranian capital during the Zand dynasty (AD 1747–79), which many of its most beautiful buildings were built or restored, like Arg Karimkhan, Vakil Bazzar, Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque and many others.

In modern Iran, almost everybody seems to like Shiraz city and Shirazi people :) holding graves of some of the most important and popular poets like Sa'di and Hafiz, alongside with historical sites like Persepolis and Pasargad, Iranian people are sympathetic about this city. Cyrus the great and Darius' cemetery located in Pars (Fars) province, adds tons of feelings and emotions among those who believe in Persia's Empire supremacy.

Arg Karim Khan

hospitality
all these facts and figures haven't caused Shirazi people to be disrespectful to other citizens and nationalities. if you have once visited places and cities in the heart of Europe with people who are deeply concerned about their race, you will cherish such manner in Shiraz. a city with stuck up nose citizens has a poisoned spirit above the houses and monuments!

how to travel to Shiraz?
for visiting any city in Iran (except for free zones like Kish island) you will need a Visa from Iran's embassy (or consulate) in your country or countries who accredited with your homeland politically. Visa on arrival is available for some nationalities (ask your local travel agency or embassy office)

you can fly to Shiraz int'l airport from Istanbul, Dubai, Doha, London, Kuala Lumpur etc
you can also fly to Tehran or other int'l airports and travel to Shiraz via air from almost all the cities in Iran, or travel by bus or train. price of air ticket from Tehran to Shiraz varies in a range of 50 to 100 USD (one leg) and the flight is roughly one hour.

bus tickets are cheaper, around 15-20 USD and the trips takes 12 hours.

where to stay in Shiraz? accommodation options
Shiraz has many hotels as it is a well known destination for most of tourists coming to Iran from the very beginning. 5 star hotels like Shiraz Hotel, Chamran Hotel, Pars etc and many 4 and 3 star hotels. like all the other cities in Iran, regretfully Shiraz suffers from lack of some tourism infrastructures, but with some study and research before your schedule, you can guarantee your trip out of bad surprises :)

planning a budget trip? back pack lovers read here!

a backpack travel to Shiraz with your partner would be memorable

you can travel to Iran from land borders in south and travel to Shiraz with bus for as low as 7 USD. in Shiraz there are some motels you can stay for below 10 USD per night. also try hospitalityclub.org, which many from Shiraz are offering a coach or bed for single or couple travelers. once again Shirazi people are greatly welcome and kind to tourist which will definitely surprise you!

Eating in Shiraz
Shiraz enjoys good restaurants and meals like many other Iranian cities. Sea food is a must to try in this city! and there should a "must try before you die" in your food bucket list called Kalam Polo!! it is Cabbage, rice and meat baked in steam with herbs and spices. foods can be spicy in Shiraz.

if you are Vegetarian, like all other cities in Iran, you may face difficulty in Shiraz.

where to go?
what a silly question! keep calm and walk away! going every where in Shiraz is pleasant :D many places reminds you of the greatest historical places in Italy or Greece. and some streets are really sleepless! try this link on Lonelyplanet

if you have enjoyed Shiraz before, please send me your travel reviews to be published here :) send them to me by email to honarparvar (at) hotmail (dot) com