Nature
 A legend tells that – after
creating the world and carefully
sharing beauty among the
countries of the world,
sparingly and cautiously – God
had a handful of pure beauty
which he scattered across the
country know today as Persia. It
does represent middle east in
miniature with its natural
beauty and landscape diversity
covering and area of 1,648,000
square kilometers, Persia
located at the heart of middle
east and as a bridge, links the
Caspian sea, the largest land–
locked body of water in the
world , to the Persian Gulf.
Unique landscapes such as limpid
water springs, pomegranate
orchards, pistachio gardens,
rows of lombady poplars,
decampment of nomads in
different season stelliferous
nights, rocky mountain,
endless high and low lands,
extinct snow – clad volcanoes,
dense forests of the Alborz
Mountain Range, and coastlines
of the Caspian Sea, are all eye
– catching and memorable.
Nature and it’s diversity in
Iran are valuable parameters for
million hectares of terrestrial
land are covered by orchards,
gardens and farmlands; 10
million hectares are plains and
pastures; 19 million of hectares
are forests and the remaining
include barren lands, desert
and
 mountains.
Among significant
characteristics of the vast land
is the existence of high
mountains as well as flat plains, desert areas, rivers and
lakes contributing to unique
geographical conditions in which,
at any time of the year and in
each section of the country ,
one of the four season is
visible. Thus in winter,
swimming and water skiing are
possible in the warm waters of
the Persian Gulf, and at the
same time winter sports, like
skiing are possible in the
northern and western mountains
of the country. The magnificent
Alborz Mountain Range in the
North, the Zagross Mountain
Range in the West and some other
mountain chains which extend
from Khorassan to Baluchistan in
the east, surrounded plateau of
Iran which is mostly desert in
the middle. The most important
summits in Iran are: Damavand
(5,671M.) – Northeast of Tehran;
Sabalan (4,880M.) - west of
 Ardebil; Alamkuh (4,000M) in the
center of Mazandaran; Zardkooh
(4,550M.)in Bakhtiari
Dena(4,309M. )North of Yasouj;
Taftan (3,941M.) south of
Zahedan. Complexity and
diversity of geological and
calcareous structures have
contributed to the formation of
so many caves in different
provinces, especially in
Azerbaijan, Kurdistan and
Hamedan which are attractive to
numerous tourists. Visiting some
of these caves is highly
recommended and they are amongst
important tourism attraction.
The two well-known deserts of
Iran, Dasht – e Lout and Dasht –
e Kavir, covering an area of
over 360,000 square kilometers
are amongs the most interesting
yet unknown places. Persia has
more than 500 known mineral
water and thermal Springs used
for different purposes.
 Most of these spas are located
in the Alborz Mountain Range in
Azerbaijan
and in the Zagross Mountain and
some are located close to
Isfahan, Mashhad and Bandar Abbas. The thermal spas of Sara-Eyin
(Ardebil), Larijan (at the
slopes of Alborz) and Mahallat
attract many people all around
the year for recreation and
therapeutic purposes. Iran with
owing one million and two
hundred fifty thousand
cultural - historical sites stands
at one of the top ten countries
on tourism attraction in the
world. Families, businessmen and
those who enjoy active holidays
will have plenty of things to do
in Iran. Walkers can enjoy the
silence of the mountains,sports
climbers,
skiers, bikers, fisherman, hunters, horseback
riders and other can enjoy their
favourite sports in the variety
of landscapes.
Food
Three thousand years, the
cuisine of Persia is one of the
oldest in the world .it has
demonstrated the remarkable
ability to absorb and adapt the
foods of other nations, starting
from ancient Rome and Greece to
Mongul India, the Moslem world
and the Ottoman Empire .this is
way Persian cuisine still
endures today with a warm
familiarity. The primary food in
classical Persian cuisine is
rice, delicately prepared with
herbs and nuts, sumptuous rice
dishes are served in assorted
variations. The main dish served
in restaurants through out Iran
is the kebab. The standard chelo
kabab is a long thin strip of
meat or mince served with a
mound of rice or with bread and
grilled tomatoes. Kabab Makhsus
is a larger strip of meat made
of better quality lamb, Kabab
Barg is a thinner and more
variable in quality. The most
common version is
Kababe Kobideh
made out of minced meat. Kebabs
are usually sprinkled with
Somaq(sumac) and accompanied by
a raw onion, a pat of butter and
a bowl of yogurt to stir into
the
Rice. Another Iranian favorite
is Juje
Kabab marinated chicken kebab
served in the same way as a
normal kebab.
Fille kabab is
made with lamb fillet and is
invariably delicious .Iranian
soup is usually made from
lentils and tomato paste and is
thick and filling. Abgusht also
known as dizi a soup-stew
combination eaten with sangak
bread is commonly served in the
restaurants called dizisara.
Khoresht is a blanket term for
any kind of thick meaty stew
made with vegetables and chopped
nuts and served with rice. One
of the prizes of Iranian cooking
is fesenjan, a meat stew made
with pomegranate juice, walnuts,
aubergine and cardamom. Qormeh
Sabzi is rather bitter stew made
from lamb, various vegetables
and dried lime. Iranian
Dolmehs
are
Vegetables, Fruit or vine leaves
stuffed with a mixture of
vegetables or meat and
rice.kofte
Are meatballs which are made
with the ingredients similar to
dolmeh, and mostly well know as
kofte tabrizi as it is a food
originally from Tabriz. Yogurt, called mast is a staple of
Iranian cuisine. Iranian sweets
is also famous for its taste. If
you have a sweet tooth, try some
delicious and refreshing paludeh
in Shiraz, chewy gaz from
Isfahan or many delicious
products made from honey,
particularly in north-western
Iran. Also Iranian tea which
made with samovar is also famous. Teahouses in all cities serve
saffron tea which is special tea
of Iran. |
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