Leave India For an Iranian Adventure

July 25, 2016

If you are travelling from India to Iran on holiday you can get a seven-day visa upon arrival, as well as a valid passport and proof of funds. Iran, also known as Persia is in Western Asia and is bordered by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and across the Caspian Sea by Russia as well as borders with Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Turkey, and to the south by the gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, which makes it the sole country with an Indian Ocean and Caspian Sea coastline. Iran is the second-biggest Middle Eastern land and is the eighteenth biggest globally, with around 78.4 million citizens. The capital city is Tehran and the official language is Persian, but people also speak Kurdish, Turkmen, Arabic, Georgian, Tati and Armenian amongst others. The official religion is Shia Islam although Sunni Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity are also practiced there.

The currency in Iran is the Rial, and Iran has one of the oldest civilisations on the planet. From the Elamite kingdoms in 3200BC to the Iranian Medes in 625BC and then the famed

Achaemenid Empire, which was ruled by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC ,which was one of the largest empires in the world.

Alexander the Great eventually conquered the empire, until the emergence of the Parthian Empire and Sassanid Dynasty so Iran is filled with astounding archaeological and historical temples, sculptures and buildings. Modern day Iran has a sophisticated culture where poetry and literature are lauded and there are a burgeoning fashion and film scene. While the country is Islamic, it is not dogmatic as it is in say Saudi Arabia, and the Iranian people are known to be very friendly and courteous. The best time to visit is in Autumn or Spring to early summer and must-sees are the ruins of Persepolis, the markets, and mosques of Esfahan and the minarets of the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashad. When buying goods such as handmade carpets, drink chay (tea) while haggling down the price and eat kebabs or mirza ghasemi (mashed aubergine with garlic, tomato and egg), so don’t believe everything you read about Iran, the country itself, is full of things to taste, buy and explore, and if you travel from India to Iran, you will have a holiday you will never forget.