Persian Odyssey

Depart London the direct flight to Tehran.  Over the next two days explore the many places of interest in the city.  There are numerous museums of ancient and contemporary culture and art that should not be missed.

After breakfast, transfer to Tehran Airport for the flight to Kerman.  This is a desert trading city, a staging point between Persia and the Indian Sub Continent.  A highlight is the Mausoleum of Moshtaq Ali Shah, the sufi mystic.

Shiraz, the former capital of Iran is renowned for its lyrics, roses, cypresses and nightingales.  Its most famous landmarks are the Vakil Mosque and Arg Karim Khan (citadel), and it has some beautiful gardens, and two lovely mausoleums that mark the burial place of the greatest Iranian poets of the 14th century.  North-east of Shiraz is Persepolis, a highlight of the trip.  It is said to have begun by Darius I sometime after 520 BC, it was increased and further embellished by subsequent Achaemenian kings for the next 150 years, as the grandest statement of the successful empire.

After an early breakfast, we begin the long drive along the silk road toward Yazd.  Make a stop en route at Pasargadae, the burial place of Cyrus the Great.  Spend the night just outside Yazd in Caravanserai Zein-O-Din, a restored desert outpost where traders would rest on the silk road.  The next day, complete the final leg of the silk road drive, arriving in Yazd late morning.  Yazd is a fortified desert town, reckoned to be one of the oldest towns on earth.  It was described by Marco Polo as a centre of commerce, producing silk, textiles and carpets.

After a leisurely breakfast we will be driven from Yazd north-west to Meibod, and then further onto Na’in.  An important crossroad on a major trade route, Na’in is where the desert road begins.  Continue to Esfahan in the afternoon where you spend the next three nights.  The grandeur of Esfahan is expressed in its architectural wealth, with its fabulous bridges, Islamic palaces and Persian gardens, while its bazaar is one of the most exotic in the Middle East.

This morning drive north to Tehran, stopping en-route at Qom to see the magnificent mosque and for lunch.  Continue to Tehran where you will spend one night before taking the BA flight to London in the morning.