© Lonely Planet Publications 134 Western Iran ﺍﻳﺮﺍﻥ ﻏﺮﺑﯽ From paddy fields to blizzards to the original Garden of Eden, this region will shatter your preconceptions of Iran. Standing at the frontiers with Mesopotamia and Turkey, western Iran has witnessed many of civilisation’s great empires, fortunes oscillating between trading glories and military decimation. The deeply hospitable region lacks the iconic gem-city sites of central Iran so it’s often skipped by first-time Western visitors. But that makes it all the more appealing for those who relish delving a little deeper and being the ‘only tourist’. Western Iran is a linguistic and cultural patchwork: Kurds predominate in Kordestan and WESTERN IRAN Kermanshah provinces; Lors in Ilam and Lorestan; Arabs inhabit southern Khuzestan; Talesh and Gilaki are the traditional languages of Gilan (the southwest Caspian hinterland); and Azaris whose language is more Turkish than Persian, predominate in the rest of the northwest. In the most remote regions, and more generally in Kurdish towns, traditional dress is still worn. The chapter starts by the Turkish border. It loops around Lake Orumiyeh to Tabriz, con- tinues through the Azari heartlands to Ardabil and down the Caspian coast via Rasht to Chalus. After Qazvin, Soltaniyeh and Zanjan we consider the central mountains, Kordestan and the historical cities of Kermanshah and Hamadan before descending the former ‘Royal Road’ towards ancient Shush, Shushtar and Choqa Zanbil. HIGHLIGHTS Hike between flower-filled valleys and snowcapped peaks amid the ruined 12th-century Castles of the Assassins ( p182 ) Challenge Iran’s desert image in the paddy fields and forests of Gilan that lead to the delightful Jolfa stepped village of Masuleh ( p171 ) Aras River Valley Babak Castle From Jolfa ( p156 ) explore ancient churches, mud- Kandovan walled castles and grand canyons along the biblical Masuleh Aras River Valley ( p157) Takht-e Soleiman Castles of the Stagger up to Babak Castle ( p159 ), the dramatic Assassins emotional heart of Azarbayjan Howraman Venture into Howraman ( p194 ), a magical, rarely visited valley of traditional Kurdish villages Be awed by lonely Choqa Zanbil’s ( p215 ) massive, brick ziggurat which somehow managed to get ‘lost’ for 2500 years Choqa Zanbil Cross sparsely populated mountainscapes from Zan- jan to reach the ruins of Takht-e Soleiman ( p187 ), history’s foremost Zoroastrian temple complex Potter about between the fairy-chimney homes of Kandovan ( p155 ), Iran’s mini-Cappadocia 110-westerniran-ira5.indd0-westerniran-ira5.indd 113434 111/04/20081/04/2008 111:35:091:35:09 AAMM lonelyplanet.com WESTERN IRAN 135 0 200 km WESTERN IRAN 0 120 miles To Quba (90km) Ceasefire Line Kura Iÿdîr YEREVAN Aÿrî NARORNO River Mt Ararat (Aÿrî Daÿî) KARABAGH ARMENIA Khankandi BAKU To Erzurum (5137m) (Stepanakert) (120km) Doÿubayazit AZERBAIJAN A Z E R B A I J A N Gürbulak Sangar NAKHCHIVAN Goris Bazargan Pars Maku Nakhchivan Kapan River Abad City Battle Site Agarak Shot Culfa Aras Eskanlu Chaldoran Qareh Kalisa Kordasht Meghri Khudaferin C A S P I A N Lake Bastam Jolfa Qareh Qarachilar Tatvan WESTERN IRAN Van Van Ziya'eddin Ushtebin S E A Hadiy Kaleybar Khoy St Shahr Duzal Razi Stephanos Norduz Babak Lankaran To Elazîÿ Hošap Castle Castle Tasuj Marand Meshgin (300km) Salmas Payam Shahr Astara Khah Ahar T U R K E Y Haftevan Sufiyan Ardabil Mamakan Takhti Tabriz Alvares Astara To Šanlîurfa Mingöl Lake Mt Sabalan Lavandevil Osku (350km) Esendere Sero Orumiyeh (4811m) Sara'eyn Fandoqlu Khotbeh Sara Azar Kandovan Sarab Lisar Hakkari Shahr Bostanabad Hashtpar Mt Sahand Khal Khal Asalem Orumiyeh Bridge under Aziz Yüksekova Abad (3707m) Kivi Bandar-e construction Hashtrud Punel Rezvanshahr Golmankhaneh Bonab Maraqeh Mianeh Hashtjin Bandar-e Anzali Somaeh- Oshnaviyeh Rasht Kiyashahr Astaneh-ye Hasanlu Aqkand Diz Sara Mt Seyah (3578m) Miyando'ab Langarud Ashrafiyeh Naqadeh Masuleh Fuman Lahijan Rudsar Piranshahr Fakhrigah Qal'eh Shahin Shikhlar Rudkhan Jawardeh Chaboksar Mahabad Dezh Rudbar Ramsar Mosul Dandy Tonekabon Bukan Takht-e Zanjan Gilvar Manjil Abbasabad Soleiman Loshan Chalus Arbil Karaftu Takab Hir Saqqez Qom Soltaniyeh Razmiyan Yuj Noshahr Sardasht Caves Choqa Qazvin Alamut Kelar- Marz- Sojas dasht anabad Baneh Ghydar Abhar Divandareh Hesar Gachsar Dizin Garmab Takestan Bijar To Sari See Enlargement Kharaqan Ab Karaj Kirkuk Towers (216km) Marivan Katalekhor Garm Caves Buin TEHRAN I R A Q Sanandaj Gol Ali Sadr Avaj Tappeh Caves Hejib Paveh Negel Palangan Kamyaran Qorveh Bahar To Sonqor Lalejin Saveh Mashhad Javanrud (910km) Qasr-e- Taq-e Hamadan Shirin Ravansar Bostan Asadabad Komijan Khosravi Sar-e-Pol-e Zahab Sahneh Tuyserkan Kangavar Qom Lake Jouker Kerend Eslam Bisotun Nushijan Namak Abad Harsin Malayer Saruq Gilan-e Kermanshah Nahavand Garb Nurabad Arak Delijan Borujerd Kashanὄ Alashtar Ilam Kuhdasht Khorramabad Dorud To Amman BAGHDAD Lumar Khomein (Jordan, 680km); Azna Bisheh Aligudarz To Yazd Aleppo (Syria, 700km) Darb-e- Golpayegan Mehran Sepid Dasht Astaneh (327km) Khonsar Tigris Mt Oshturan (4070m) Karbala Talezang Z Daran River Dehloran ar dko s Dez Dam uh Mountain Al Kut Andimeshk Esfahan Dezful Chelgerd Bin Jafar Shahr-e Kord To Yazd Shush (280km) 0 20 km Farsan Shushtar 0 12 miles Haft Masjed-i Tappeh Ardal Marivan Soleiman Qomsheh Zarivar Izeh Lake Choqa Karun Dehdej Borujen Zanbil Susangerd Baghmalek To Shiraz Euphrates River (367km) Dezli Biyakara Ahvaz Ramhormoz Semirom River Sh ver (A a Ri Kurmai tt r al Landeh v un Howraman-at a - r nd A Takht r Shadegan Dehdasht Kamala -r ab Ka Yasuj Al-Basra ud) Selin Belbär Khorramshahr Bandar-e Behbahan Halabja Nodesheh Nvin Abadan Imam Khomeini Dogonbadan Nosud Fars Hajij Ura Nur Abad Paveh To Kuwait PERSIAN GULF To Shiraz (123km); City (80km) Bushehr (161km) 110-westerniran-ira5.indd0-westerniran-ira5.indd 113535 111/04/20081/04/2008 111:35:131:35:13 AAMM.