Street art in Tehran. Photo courtesy of AFP 

How was your trip to Iraq… or was it Afghanistan?” a friend asked at a recent dinner party. Another pulled me aside to enquire if I’d needed a bodyguard. I had, in fact, been on a 10-day tour of Iran, journeying by luxury coach from the southern city of Shiraz to the capital, Tehran, with a group of 15 other adventurous souls.

Their confusion was understandable. I’d probably have reacted the same way before experiencing first-hand the utterly beguiling yet much misunderstood country. After all, back in 2002 Iran was lumped, together with North Korea and Iraq, into US President George W Bush’s “axis of evil.” Since then, unrelenting media coverage of its controversial nuclear programme, placard-waving hate mobs and “Death to America” murals have done little to dispel this stereotype—but change is afoot.

Following last summer’s nuclear deal and the recent lifting of economic sanctions, the world is starting to see Iran as something other than a threat. European governments, including the UK’s, are relaxing travel warnings and the Islamic republic is rapidly becoming a “must-visit” destination. With its incredible ancient monuments, imperial palaces, dazzlingly decorated mosques, bustling bazaars, breathtaking landscapes, and no less than 20 Unesco World Heritage sites, it’s like no other country I’ve visited and rightly deserves a place on travel hotlists.

As for the Iranian people, well, at times a bodyguard might come in handy if only to manage the sheer number of well-wishers who’ll greet you on the streets with big smiles and endless questions. You only need exchange a few simple pleasantries and bingo, you’ll be invited to pull up a chair at their family dinner table. Iranians are intensely proud of their national cuisine and will openly, and ardently, share their frustration about the lack of dishes available to tourists. This is because outside Tehran, the majority of restaurants only serve a monotonous menu of kebabs—for lunch and dinner.

The ruined city of Persepolis dates back to 515BCE. Photo courtesy of Lucie Debelkova

As Anthony Bourdain reveals in the Iran episode of his food-flavoured Parts Unknown travel series, “This is a land of secret recipes passed down through families like treasured possessions.” He’s referring to delicious, complex and time-consuming dishes that are mainly served in the home: cardamom-infused rice layered with chicken and barberries; pomegranate, walnut and meatball stew; lamb koftas with cranberry, cumin and pine nuts drizzled with spiced orange yoghurt. So if you want something other than sizzling slabs of meat for 10 days straight, just smile, say “salaam” and you’ll eat like a Persian king or queen.

Iranians are intensely proud of their national cuisine and will openly, and ardently, share their frustration about the lack of dishes available to tourists.

Iran is certainly a country of contradictions and contrasts, and this will be a constant source of fascination as you explore its riches. For example, the city at the start of our tour, Shiraz, shares its name with the world-famous grape variety. The surrounding hills were once blanketed with vines that produced excellent wines, but today not one bottle is produced in the region—or anywhere in Iran. Alcohol has been forbidden since the Pahlavi dynasty was ousted in the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which imposed Islamic law and theocratic rule. Even the word wine is banned from books published in the Islamic republic. The punishment for possessing or imbibing is at best a hefty fine, possibly a public lashing—or in extreme cases, execution.

Despite the severe penalties, I discovered alcohol consumption is widespread—behind closed doors. I got the low-down from a daringly candid group of forty-something Shirazis I met while trying the local delicacy faloodeh, a refreshing but intensely sweet sorbet textured with noodles and doused with rose or lime syrup. As we sat around the dessert stall in the shade of a blossoming orange tree, a man whipped out his mobile phone and scrolled through a list of names with the suffix “.drink,” the first one being “Saeed.drink.” “We don’t have bars or nightclubs anymore,” he explained, “so we throw parties secretly at home or we hire villas out in the countryside with DJs. Men and women wear what they like. We call up these illegal alcohol sellers, like people in America might call their drug dealers,” he says, sending his pals into fits of nervous titters, “and they come with their car boots filled with every type of alcohol you could imagine. Sure, it’s expensive, but we want to party just like everyone else.”

The Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque in Shiraz. Photo courtesy of Lucie Debelkova

A more reputable pastime in Iran is picnicking, and Shirazis are indisputably the nation’s best. Not just in public gardens, but on pavements, between parked cars and even on the grassy centres of mini-roundabouts. Cast an inquisitive glance and earn yourself  a place on their rug.

You’d be forgiven for thinking boxing is a popular sport in Shiraz, given the number of black eyes and bandaged noses you’ll spot on the busy streets. Our guide laughs at the suggestion and flags down a passing couple bearing injuries. Proudly, these complete strangers unabashedly talk us through the cosmetic procedures they underwent two months earlier. Another couple of strangers stop to show off identical, slightly upturned, doll-like noses sculpted about a year ago. Iran is the nose-job capital of the world and far from being embarrassed, Iranians wear their bandages with pride, like a Birkin or Louboutins. Such is the prestige associated with plastic surgery that there is even a trend for faking it. Young Iranians—both men and women—use make-up to blacken their eyes and bandage their noses to give the impression they’ve gone under the knife.

Iran is the nose-job capital of the world and far from being embarrassed, Iranians wear their bandages with pride, like a Birkin or Louboutins.

That the pursuit of beauty through cosmetic surgery is so widespread and accepted is bemusing in a country that requires women, by law, to cover their head and hair in public, and to wear loose-fitting clothes to hide feminine curves—with failure to comply risking fines, flogging or imprisonment. But Iran is rapidly changing and the strict religious dress code is being pushed to its limit, especially in the main cities, where you’ll see women in skinny jeans, skyscraper heels, daringly tight manteaus (long jackets), heavy make-up and headscarves covering little but the tips of their ponytails.

Narenjestan-e Qavam in Shiraz. Photo courtesy of Lucie Debelkova

While it would be easy to fill your days just strolling, chatting and soaking up the local culture, our bespoke itinerary—crafted by luxury tour operator Country Holidays as part of its Signature Departures collection—was packed from dawn to dusk. It was a little exhausting at times but there’s not one site I’d skip—even if it did mean 6am wake-up calls on most days. Upgrading to a Signature Departures tour guaranteed us a more personal experience thanks to the small size of the group (16 is the maximum), expert guides, thoughtfully curated dining experiences and well-chosen hotels.

Our first day in Shiraz was epic, starting with the Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque, where we were bathed in kaleidoscopic light as the morning sun blazed through beautiful stained-glass windows. Other highlights included Narenjestan-e Qavam, a gorgeous 19th-century house and garden with orange groves and a central canal, and the tomb of the famous 14th-century poet Shamsuddin Muhammad Hafez, a son of Shiraz. While visiting the tomb, pay one of the canary-wielding men at the main gate and his bird will pull from a box a piece of paper bearing one of Hafez’s verses. Like a fortune teller, the bird’s master will interpret the words’ significance for you. At the nearby tomb of Saadi, a famous poet from the 13th century, men gather to sing heartfelt renditions of his poetry under the mausoleum’s mosaic dome.

On day two, we head out to the ancient ruins of Persepolis, whose name means “City of Persians.” Built more than 2,000 years ago as the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid empire, the crumbling monuments and tombs strewn across a dry, barren landscape are a phenomenal reminder of the majesty and might of the once-great civilisation.

The Imam Mosque in Isfahan. Photo courtesy of Lucie Debelkova

We wake the following day in the desert city of Yazd, home to one of the world’s oldest religions, Zoroastrianism. The sombre-sounding Towers of Silence make for an intriguing, if a little eerie, start to the day. The circular hilltop monuments are where the Zoroastrians once left their dead to be eaten by vultures and wild dogs. These “sky burials” were supposedly banned in the 1960s as the city began to sprawl and residents started making grisly discoveries in their yards.

After a whirlwind 24 hours in Yazd, we bid farewell to its memorable skyline dotted with wind towers—a traditional form of natural air conditioning—and punctuated by the turquoise-tiled minarets of the Jameh Mosque, and make the four-hour journey to Isfahan.

There’s a saying in Iran that Isfahan is “half the world,” something Country Holidays must have taken into account when dedicating two days and three nights of our tour to this beautiful city. It’s also home to one of the country’s most famous hotels, the Abbasi, which although rather underwhelming on the inside, has a beautiful central courtyard blooming with flowers and dotted with frothing fountains.

The best place to immerse yourself in local life is Isfahan’s elegant and spacious Imam Square, a former polo field once watched over by the king from the nearby Ali Qapu Palace. Behind the archways that fringe the square is a bustling, maze-like bazaar dating back to the 17th century where you can snap up the fiery red stigmas of saffron for a bargain price, traditional blue and white enamel dishes, Persian rugs, camel bone jewellery boxes and a delicious nougat-like local speciality called gaz. From the square you can explore the Imam Mosque, the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque and the palace. Their blazing blue-tiled mosaic arches, impossibly intricate geometric domes and spiralling carved columns are all showstopping examples of Islamic architecture. As the sun sinks towards the horizon, head to Si-o-Seh Bridge, where the locals regularly break into song or impromptu performances of poetry.

Head to the maze-like bazaar in Isfahan to buy beautiful enamelled dishes.  Photo courtesy of Lucie Debelkova

After a brief visit to the remote mountain village of Abyaneh—a labyrinth of red mud-brick houses where villagers in traditional dress stroll with their donkeys—Tehran comes as a slap in the face. But once you’ve adjusted to the insane traffic and smog, the designer boutiques, blossoming cafe culture, cool art galleries and fine dining start to feel as familiar as any Asian or European capital. Preconceptions about Iranian fashion sense go out the window in Tehran, where luxury shopping is becoming big business. Trendy malls are springing up, emblazoned with glossy advertising for prestige brands such as Louis Vuitton and Rolex. The growing curiosity for couture saw Iran hold its first Fashion Week in the capital last year, and a snoop on Instagram’s Rich Kids of Tehran shows young Iranians are not only obsessed with designer logos, but also with supercars, private jets and gold-plated smartphones.

Preconceptions about Iranian fashion sense go out the window in Tehran, where luxury shopping is becoming big business. Trendy malls are springing up, emblazoned with glossy advertising for prestige brands such as Louis Vuitton and Rolex.

Last year the capital received a creative jolt when 1,500 billboards were adorned with replicas of works by local artists and famous names such as Picasso, Matisse and Munch, along with traditional Persian miniatures, carpets and calligraphy. Titled “A Gallery as Big as a Town,” the 10-day project was aimed at changing perceptions about the city and boosting visitor numbers. Judging by the crowds jostling to see the treasures at the National Museum of Archaeology and the long queues at the National Jewellery Museum, the campaign certainly did its job. Make sure you catch a glimpse of the latter’s pink diamond, said to be the largest uncut diamond in the world, and the Globe of Jewels, made in 1869 using 51,366 precious stones. Also make time to marvel at the craftsmanship of Iran’s most famous export at the National Carpet Museum. Other highlights include Golestan Palace, the jewel-encrusted former home of the Qajar royal family, and the Azadi Tower, a striking 50m-high monument built in 1971 to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the first Persian empire.

Tehran’s Azadi Tower celebrates the founding of the first Persian empire more than 2,500 years ago. Photo courtesy of Lucie Debelkova

While the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is definitely worth a visit, art connoisseurs and collectors looking for investment opportunities should do a sweep of the city’s top art galleries.
Interest in modern and contemporary Iranian art intensified last year, with record amounts being paid. A work by the late Sohrab Sepehri became the most expensive painting to sell at auction in Iran, fetching about US$800,000 last May. Other works attracting large sums include those of New York-based artist Manoucher Yektai and Vancouver-based sculptor Parviz Tanavoli, as well as pieces by Bahman Mohassess and Aydin Aghdashloo.

 

Artwork by Siamak Filzadeh

It’s also worth venturing off the beaten track to discover the work of Tehran’s law-defying street artists. The most famous and prolific is the Banksy-esque Mehdi Ghadyanloo, who works secretly through the night to transform drab concrete surfaces into surreal magical dreamscapes featuring flying cars, fairies and giraffes.

While the number of people visiting Iran is still relatively low, industry experts predict the country will be the next travel hotspot. Late last year, France’s Accor Hotels became the first Western hospitality group to enter the Iranian market—a hint of a tourism boom to come. So if you want to hold court at a dinner party with exclusive tales of this enchanting country, go now. In the words of the 14th-century Persian poet Rumi, “Travel brings power and love back to your life.” Expect to be smitten. 

Jakki Phillips went to Iran with luxury travel specialist Country Holidays. The tour was part of its Signature Departures collection. countryholidays.com.hk

This article was originally published in Hong Kong Tatler's April 2016 issue