Kashan
Overview
Kashan is 3 hours away from Tehran and it's the first time you can enjoy real Iran. It is a quite small town with a really nice bazaar, superb baths and nice traditional houses. Easy walkable, easy distance from the desert and with wonderful people, it makes for a perfect 2 or 3 days stay: calmer, more relaxed, more conservative (most of
women wearing black chadors) and with really nicer places to see than Tehran.
Besides, the Dasht-e Kavir desert is just one hour away by car, so Kashan makes it a good base to visit it together with the salt lake.
Allow at least 2 days to fully enjoy the city and its people and 2 more days if you want to visit the desert. We spent most of the time with Hossein, a guy we met on the bus and with Ibrahim, too, a local guide who took us around the city for free.
Besides, the Dasht-e Kavir desert is just one hour away by car, so Kashan makes it a good base to visit it together with the salt lake.
Allow at least 2 days to fully enjoy the city and its people and 2 more days if you want to visit the desert. We spent most of the time with Hossein, a guy we met on the bus and with Ibrahim, too, a local guide who took us around the city for free.
Sightseeing
Most of the sights are within walkable distance.
Start by the lively bazaar. It’s a realy nice covered bazaar and the ceilings
are really impressive at some parts, especially at some squares inside the
bazaar. Not to miss are the shrine hidden in a small square on the right hand
side coming from then main entrance, a teahouse where you can sit in a terrace
with superb views, another teahouse inside an ancient bathhouse where you can
have shisha and an ancient mill which is still working.
After the bazaar, you can go and have a look at a couple of traditional houses, one of the most famous sights of Kashan. Worth visiting are the Abbisinian house and the Tabatabaei house, both perfect examples of the ancient architecture in the area. The entrance fee is 100000 rials per person per house.
Nearby you have the Sultan Amir Ahmad baths. It is a must to visit them. Although they are not working anymore and they are just a museum now, the architecture is astonishing and just imagining the place a few centuries ago gives you an idea of the whole thing. Beautiful. Don’t miss the rooftop, it’s really impressive to see the domes and the view over Kashan.
Walking around Kashan you’ll see a couple of interesting mosques and shrines (although the most beautiful shrine is the one at the bazaar) and if you want to go a bit further, a visit to Fin garden is reccomended.
Outside Kashan, an hour driving, there’s the Dasht-e Kavir desert and the Namak Salt Lake. You can visit both places together with the Holy Shrine (more beautiful from the outside tan from the inside. Note the graves of the Iranian soldiers dead during the Gulf War) if you arrange a tour, as there’s no public transportation going there. We went there with Ibrahim and payed 30 € to stay overnight at the desert. To be honest the trip is not reccomendable, only if you have never been to any desert before. If you have been to Sahara, Gobi or any other sand desert, you’ll be disappointed. There are a couple of sand dunes (small ones), you’ll see camels on the way and the salt lake is quite big, but most of the time the desert is just stones and dust and there are not impressive sights. So, go there only if you have never been to any desert and want to have a taste of it.
After the bazaar, you can go and have a look at a couple of traditional houses, one of the most famous sights of Kashan. Worth visiting are the Abbisinian house and the Tabatabaei house, both perfect examples of the ancient architecture in the area. The entrance fee is 100000 rials per person per house.
Nearby you have the Sultan Amir Ahmad baths. It is a must to visit them. Although they are not working anymore and they are just a museum now, the architecture is astonishing and just imagining the place a few centuries ago gives you an idea of the whole thing. Beautiful. Don’t miss the rooftop, it’s really impressive to see the domes and the view over Kashan.
Walking around Kashan you’ll see a couple of interesting mosques and shrines (although the most beautiful shrine is the one at the bazaar) and if you want to go a bit further, a visit to Fin garden is reccomended.
Outside Kashan, an hour driving, there’s the Dasht-e Kavir desert and the Namak Salt Lake. You can visit both places together with the Holy Shrine (more beautiful from the outside tan from the inside. Note the graves of the Iranian soldiers dead during the Gulf War) if you arrange a tour, as there’s no public transportation going there. We went there with Ibrahim and payed 30 € to stay overnight at the desert. To be honest the trip is not reccomendable, only if you have never been to any desert before. If you have been to Sahara, Gobi or any other sand desert, you’ll be disappointed. There are a couple of sand dunes (small ones), you’ll see camels on the way and the salt lake is quite big, but most of the time the desert is just stones and dust and there are not impressive sights. So, go there only if you have never been to any desert and want to have a taste of it.
Accomodation
There are a lot of options in Kashan. We stayed at
Ehsan House, a traditional house transformed into a hotel. At 20 USD per room
is a good deal considering the place is really nice and you can chill out at
the interior patio they have. Toilets are shared for the most economic rooms.
Reccomendable.
During the desert tour we stayed at a Caravanserai, nothing special.
During the desert tour we stayed at a Caravanserai, nothing special.
Food & Drink
Usual kebab, pizza, hamburger stuff but in Kashan we
discovered a bit more of Iranian food. Dates, lentil soup and some kind of
paste made with corn and cinnamon are worth a try. Anyhow, not the best food in
the world.
As for drinks, don’t miss the two teahouses inside the bazaar for a cup of chai and a shisha.
As for drinks, don’t miss the two teahouses inside the bazaar for a cup of chai and a shisha.
Transportation
To get to Kashan from Tehran go to the South Bus
Terminal and you’ll find plenty of buses going there. 8000 rials is a good
Price for a 3 hour bus ride. The bus drops you in the outskirts of Kashan, so you’ll
need a taxi to get to the centre.
Going out from Kashan to Esfahan, you can take a bus from the main bus terminal (3 hours) or if you’re going further (we went to Kerman) you can go by train and be in Kerman after some 13 hours.
Going out from Kashan to Esfahan, you can take a bus from the main bus terminal (3 hours) or if you’re going further (we went to Kerman) you can go by train and be in Kerman after some 13 hours.
Safety
No dangers at all. Note ven crossing the street is
an issue. Coming from Tehran it feels totally calm traffic and you’ll have no
problems. The only “annoyance” can be meeting people all the time trying to
establish conversation with you. People in Iran are extremely nice and they all
want to get to know you, what at sometimes it can be tiring because you feel
you have no privacy, but it’s perfectly ok.
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