Travel to the Discovery of Iran

A trip to Iran, the ancient Persia, makes it possible to meet the cradle of civilizations, a place of exchange, culture and traditions between the peoples of the West and the East and also an important step on the Roads legends of Silk because Iran is located at the crossroads of lands, peoples and influences of Turkey, Russia, Arab countries and already China. You will meet the Persians, proud of their culture, their literature, their traditions and their prestigious history. A trip to Iran is also to discover its arts, its monuments and the beautiful variety of architecture: palace, caravanserai, crafted bridges, fortified villages, mosques with glazed ceramics and enamelled domes, fire temples, Persian houses and gardens , grandiose landscapes and picturesque sites that are remembered.

Capital city : Téhéran

• Population : 77 200 000 habitants
• Change : Rial (IRR)
• Area : 1 648 195 km² (Three times France)
• Scheme: Islamic Republic
• Language: Persian
• Religion: Shiite Islam duodeciman (89%), Sunni Islam (9%), other 2%
• Summit: Mount Dam?vand (5,671 m)
• All times are UTC +3.30

Why choose Iran? :Iran is opening up to tourism: traveling in this unknown, long-forgotten country, rich in a thousand-year-old culture and unmistakable refinement, is an unforgettable experience. Provided they are well prepared.

First thing to know before you leave:tourist or not, any person on Iranian territory must respect the Islamic law in force in public places.

Early spring (late March to early May) and autumn (mid-September to November) are the best time to discover Iran. Temperatures are then relatively temperate, avoiding the harsh climate that characterizes this country, mainly composed of mountains and plateaus: torrid summers, severe winters. Can we leave during Ramadan? "Everything then turns a bit in slow motion, Certainly people do not eat during the day, leave their office a little earlier. But the museums remain open, the restaurants of the big hotels serve to eat to the foreigners and in the evening, it is the celebration! It is also a period during which there are fewer tourists and, consequently, more places in the hotels, fewer people in the tourist sites. "In 2017, Ramadan will take place from 27 May to 26 June. will be very hot during this period.

The men should cover their legs and arms. My friend was however sometimes in T-shirt the day, without that does not concern

Women have to cover their hair, neck, décolleté, and not to reveal the forms of his body. Ladies, you will need ample clothing (long-sleeved tunics) and a veil that you will have to get before your arrival. Indeed, you will have to carry them as soon as the descent of the plane, even 10 minutes before the landing for the Iranian companies. Personally, I took a scarf that I had at home, but I quickly bought new ones on the spot, lighter and light colored.

Islamic law seems to be increasingly flexible, or in any case gives rise to interpretations that give women some liberties. So you can see a lot of Iranian women wear the veil casually backwards so as to make a good part of their hair appear. Bright colors are also not proscribed. Iranian women wear makeup very much and some wear
more fitting outfits than others.

Iran opens up to tourism:in practice, this means that the benefits have not yet been fully implemented. Travelers should be prepared to accept a domestic flight cancellation at the last minute, or a change of hotels. After all, this is what makes the travel salt!

Discreet:it is necessary to avoid touching or kissing in public, as in most other countries of the East.

Any physical contact between a man and a woman who is not of the same family is forbidden: the wind is forbidden, and even handshakes, especially in administrative buildings.
Buying / drinking alcohol is prohibited.
Watch out for places where you are shooting or filming, especially near administrative or military buildings, you may be accused of espionage. Similarly, avoid questioning Iranians about political issues in places where you could be heard, you could put them at risk.

The first thing you will feel when you arrive in Iran is the very warm welcome of the Iranians. Tourism is still quite undeveloped in Iran, which makes you intriguing in the eyes of the inhabitants.
We felt very welcome and safe as soon as we arrived.
Then, when we were there, we saw ourselves several times offering things, without expecting anything from us: pistachios, candy ... The children tried to speak English to us and people wanted to take photos with us.

It is for a maximum of one month, granted exactly for the dates of the trip. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends that this be done at the Embassy of Iran in Paris.
One can also try to get it on the spot, on arrival in Tehran.
Travelers who choose to travel with an agency will be able to entrust to him - in return for payment - the administrative burden.
On the site of the site of the embassy of Iran in Paris, one finds the list of the documents to provide to apply for tourist visa.
Visa costs 75 €
The passport must not contain an Israeli visa.
Upon arrival at the airport, allow one hour for Customs to complete the forms.

In spring in autumn, favor light clothing, natural fibers: cotton, linen. Inside the country, for the morning and evening, warmer clothes. In summer, clothes very light but ... sufficiently covering and opaque.

The large hotels were requisitioned after the fall of the Shah in 1979.
Since that time, few openings. Beautiful charming hotels occupy ancient caravanserais: for example, the hotel Abassi, in Isfahan. Large hotel chains are being established in the country.
We work with the best hotels4 * in Iran (5 * hotel on request of the customer)

You can not use your credit card in Iranian .It is therefore necessary to take cash. Merchants willingly accept euros and dollars. But for purchases exceeding about 400 € (a carpet, jewelry), the traders have bank terminals: the account is then debited by a bank located outside Iran

Before your arrival to be able to exchange it at the airport. Obviously it is also possible to exchange in the city. At the time of our stay the exchange rate was: 1 € = 35 000 rials. In other words, you can easily become a multimillionaire in Iran!

Warning : although the rial is the official currency, most Iranians speak in "Toman": 1 toman = 10 rials. So check before your purchases if the prices quoted are in rial or toman

The offset is +2.30.
In winter time and in summer time, when it is midday in Paris, it is 14h30 in Tehran.

Iran is 1,648,000 square kilometers: three times as large as France, it is the second largest country in the Middle East, after Saudi Arabia.

It is a very mountainous country. To the north, the Alborz Mountains peak at 5671 meters, with the Demavend, an ancient volcano. To the west, the Zagros range starts from Lake Van, in Turkey, and goes down to the Persian Gulf. Some mountains exceed 4000 meters. To the south-east is the Makrân range, which marks the border with Pakistan and culminates at 4042 meters with Mount Taftân, a volcano.> Two large deserts, the Dasht-e-Kavi and the Dasht-e- Lut occupy the central part of the country, a vast plateau of an average altitude of 1000 meters.
Its longest river, the Karoun, is about 800 kilometers long. It takes its source in the Zagros mountains and flows into the Shatt al Arab, where also the Tigris and the Euphrates meet.
Apart from the shores of the Caspian Sea in the north of the country, which receive more than one meter of rainfall a year, the rest of the country is fairly little watered.

The Iranians are nearly 82 million. Tehran, the capital, has more than 8 million inhabitants. It is the largest city in the country, ahead of Mashad (2.7 million), Isfahan (1.7 million) and Tabriz (1.4 million). By 2015, 73.4% of the population lived in cities. The Iranian population is growing by 1.2% per year. Life expectancy at birth is 71 years

The Islamic Republic of Iran is the only Shiite theocracy in the world. The highest authority is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution. He was appointed by his predecessor, Ayatollah Khomeini, and has held this position since June 4, 1989. The President of the Republic is the second personage of Iran. He is elected by universal suffrage for four years.

In Tehran and the big cities, it is better to take the taxi. A bus network connects the major cities to each other and the roads are in fairly good condition.

Driving in Tehran can quickly become a nightmare for the non-savvy.
Traffic seems never to stop, either day or night. For having tried the experience of driving in Iran, one tip: stay constantly on the alert.

In terms of security, do not be afraid. The city of Tehran and tourist towns like Shiraz or Ispahan are very safe.

"We are never bored on the streets: no displaced looks, no harassment in the bazaars," says Josiane Durant, who has been traveling in Iran for several decades. A woman can very well book a hotel room alone, eat alone in a restaurant and walk alone in the streets.

Travel agencies mainly offer group travel for a simple reason: with strong demand and limited infrastructure, their Iranian partners prefer to host groups that are more profitable.
But it is possible to travel alone in Iran. The Iranians are also great fans of the Couch Surfing, a good way to discover the country at a lower cost!

The Iranian cuisine less known than other oriental cuisines is nevertheless of a very high quality and a great finesse.

The restaurants do not allow to enjoy all the flavors, and being invited to eat with friends will also be a rewarding experience for the taste buds. According to the restaurants, the menus will be more or less well-stocked, there are establishments offering buffets formulas that allow to taste many traditional dishes. It is in Iranian families that we can taste the richness of a tasty and refined cuisine, refined without sophistication, subtle simplicity and often requiring long preparations.

Some restaurants will allow you to relive part of this time, offering traditional music or singers who will interpret classics of Persian music during your meal.
In Iran, in everyday life, meals are taken at the table. In traditional families and in the provinces, people sit or sit on the carpeted floor or on a small stage (takht): the dishes are placed on a tablecloth that is unfolded in the middle of the room and the guests. Men and women eat separately in some traditional families. At noon, meals are taken between 12h and 14h; between 8 pm and 11 pm, often quite late. The Iranians use the spoon and the fork, never the knife.