Persian Gulf Tour Operator If you are thinking of surprising someone offer him a trip to • A treasure trove of the world’s finest architecture in the world are located in Iran. • 24 historical monuments of Iran until the beginning of 2021 are listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List • The most memories of the hospitality of tourists are related to Iranians • High cultural and ethnic diversity • Iranian art and crafts are well-known The knowledge of making Iranian launchs and rugs, Ta’zieh Performance,Naghali (traditional Iranian story telling), music, etc. are the records of IRAN UNESCO’s spiritual heritage • Four seasons nature with diverse climates. It’s possible to experience temperature difference up to 50 degrees at a time! • 8200 plant species, 163 mammal species. 535 bird species. 1000 species of amphibians and insects. 10 peaks above 4000 meters. 50 domestic lakes. More than 100 specialized caves. and...... Now it’s time to surprise someone you love! Persian Gulf Tour Operator Explore Persia Iran’s Geography Iran is one of the countries of the southwest of Asia also known as Middle East. It neighbors Afghanistan and Pakistan from East, Turkmenistan, Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Armenia from North, Td Iraq from West and Persian Gulf and Oman Sea from South. Iran has 31 provinces, 429 districts, 1245 cities and 2589 villages with a population of about 80 million people. Although mostly known as an arid country, the climatic variety has made Iran to a geographically diverse country, that’s why Iran is known as the land of four season. The west and northwest is where you experience winter all around the year, the cold weather of this area in the heated months of summer is refreshing and then in winters that the harsh cold is unbearable here, the southern area have a spring like weather. No matter when you visit the country, you can experience the four seasons by going to different parts of Iran. Persian Gulf Tour Operator Explore Persia Iran’s History Iran might be known as the place where Aryans lived, but the archeological findings prove that Iran has been inhabited since 800 thousand years ago. Iran was the home of a great tribe known as Elamite that lived around the 4th millennium BC and had established the first government of Iran. When the Aryans arrived, they gradually mingled with the natives that Elamites were among them as well. Aryans were a tributary of what is known today as the Indo-Europeans and are believed to be the grandfathers of all Indians, Iranian, and most of Western European. There are few places left from this time that the most famous of them all is Persepolis. Most of Iran’s historic sites belong to the Islamic time. Although after Islam Iran lost its previous integration, except couple of dynasties that were successful in unifying the country like Safavid and Qajar, but in this time art flourished under the influence of various rulers with different believes and ideas. Numerous houses, mosques and schools have remained from the Islamic period that are witnesses to the ingenuity of Iranian architects and artists in this time. Persian Gulf Tour Operator Explore Persia UNESCO World Heritage List Iran has been one of the early members of UNESCO and the 23 inscribed natural and cultural sites of Iran in UNESCO are: • Tchogha Zanbil (1979) • Meidan Emam, Esfahan (1979) • Persepolis (1979) • Takht-e Soleyman (2003) • Pasargadae (2004) • Bam and its Cultural Landscape (2004) • Soltaniyeh (2005) • Bisotun (2006) • Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran (2008) • Shushtaar Historical Hydraulic System (2009) • Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex (2010) ā ā • Sheikh Safi al-din Kh neg h in Ardabil (2010) • The Persian Garden (2011) ā • Gonbad-e Q bus (2012) ā • Masjed-e J mé of Isfahan (2012) • Golestan Palace (2013) • Shahr-i Sokhta (2014) • Cultural Landscape of Maymand (2015) • Susa (2015) • The Persian Qanat (2016) • Lut Desert (2016) • Yazd city • The Ensemble of Historical Sassanian Cities in FarsProvince Persian Gulf Tour Operator • The Hyrcanian mixed forests Explore Persia Handicraft The Cultural Heritage and Handicraft Organization of Iran defines a handicrafts as works of art that: are made by human, so machines have no place in their production, the materials are all local or from within the country, they are of cultural value and reflects traditional patterns or style, they are distinct and like no other products, they don’t require huge investment like other industries, they have high added value, they can be produced anywhere in cities, villages or nomadic tribes, and the technique of their creation is transferred from master to pupil. In Iran there are hundreds of handicrafts categorized into 10 main sections, the most famous of which are: the textile and clothing related handicrafts like braiding, traditional printing, and costume making. the loom woven handicrafts like carpet, Kilim, and Jajim. The clay related handicrafts like pottery, ceramic, and tile. the wood related handicrafts like Moaragh, Monabat and Khatam Kari. And at last the metal related handicrafts like Qalam Zani, Copper making and Mina Kari. www. Persian Gulf Tour Operator Explore Persia Architecture Naturally the architecture of each area is highly influenced by the climate and conditions of the place. In Iran, the northern area with the Hyrcanian jungles are built to have sloping roofs to resist the constant rainfall and use wood as the main material. In the arid central area of Iran what you find more than anything is clay soil so the houses are built with bricks and under the level of the street to overcome the heat. In the mountain areas the houses are built with stones, the only thing that can survive the harsh weather and cold. After the advent of Islam, however, the architecture of Iran underwent some conceptual changes. One was the belief on the separation of Public (Birouni) and Private (Andarouni) spaces and the other was the utilization of various arts for the decoration of façade and other parts of the constructs. Although highly decorative, you won’t find any unneeded place in Persian Architecture, the functional aspect of the house was always considered to be superior to all other functions. Persian Gulf Tour Operator Explore Persia Nomadic Life Iran is the land of nomads, the beautiful mountains and plains of Iran once a year become the residence of Nomadic tribes when they immigrate from their summer residence to the winter residence or vice versa. This movement influences nomadic culture drastically. They learn that all have to work to live no matter the age or the gender and theyknow the true value of objects and aim to omit unnecessary things from their life. Determination, tenacity, simplicity and independency are the most notable features of Nomads. The nomads of Iran of Iran that have kept their migratory style of life are: Turkmans that live in the eastern areas of the Caspian Sea, Shahsavans that inhabit the north-western end of Iran around Azerbaijan Province, Kurds that are residence of western part of Iran neighboring Lurs that live in the Lorestan Province and Bakhtiaries that live near south. Other important nomads of Iran are Qashqaies in central areas of Iran, Arabs in south and Baluches in east. Persian Gulf Tour Operator Explore Persia Food Iranian cuisine is divers, so diverse that no one can claim that he/she has tasted all it has to offer and that proves how significant food is in this country. for Iranian, food is an art of colors and shapes and tastes, but it should be mentioned that they don’t sacrifice taste for beauty. Iranian serve food in Sofreh, a table cover that is scattered on floor instead of a table and the family members sit around with the father/grandfather of the house sitting at the top and being served first. when you look at the Sofreh and the foods the colorful dishes and side dishes gets your attention. The combination of different food groups like Cereals, Beans, Vegetables and Vegetable proteins is seen in all Iranian foods. The climate has been very affective in the form of dishes that is produced in each region, but generally in Iranian Cuisine the mixture of rice and stew is the most common form, there are many different stews and they might differ from city to city, but they are all served with rice and some side dishes like salad, yogurt, and pickled vegetables. Persian Gulf Tour Operator Explore Persia Iran’s Nature Iran with its varied climate possesses a variety of natural phenomenon, from snowy mountains to arid deserts, from waterfalls to caves, everything you want is found in Iran. Flora and Fauna Iran is a very rich country in terms of variety of plant and animal life with 163 species of mammals, 535 kinds of birds, 1000 type of batrachian and crawling animal. Iranian forests are habitats for wildcat, wolf, jackal, boar, fox, bear and ram as well as several rare and endangered species such as the Asiatic Cheetah and Ground jay. The Hyrcanian forest of Iran is the sole remnant of the broad leaf forests that once covered most of the North Temperate Zone in the early Cenozoic Era, around 25-50 million years ago. Beside the Hyrcanian forest, ten million hectares of oak forest lies in Iran’s highlands in the western and central provinces. Acorns, aspens poplars and maples of this forest would give the visitors another view of Iran’s nature. Persian Gulf Tour Operator Explore Persia Iran’s Deserts Iran is a special place for people who are interested in gravitation ofa deserts. Two vast deserts of Lut and Kavir lie in Iran’s central region occupying 320,000 square kilometers or one fifth of the country’s land area.