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.