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Shiraz, Iran
Prior to visiting Iran, we only knew Shiraz either as a red wine, or the kebab stall along Orchard Road, Singapore. Little did we expect Shiraz to be a romantic city full of poets, literature, flowers and dazzling shrines. It was also the seat of the Zand dynasty in the 18th century, founded by Karim Khan. We arrived in Shiraz after a day trip departing from Yazd, through Pasargadae, Naqsh-e Rustam and lastly Persepolis. We spent a total of 2 full days in Shiraz. Expenses for 2 persons: S$365 (Hotel - S$108, Meals - S$85, Transport - S$36, Entrance tickets - S$43, Shopping -...
Ancient ruins of Pasargadae, Naqsh-e Rustam and Persepolis, Iran
The Persian Empire (550 - 330BC) was the largest empire by percentage of world population in history, and was said that around 480BC, 44% of the world's population lived in the Persian Empire. The full day 500 km road trip (we hired a driver-cum-guide for US$170) departing from Yazd towards Shiraz has brought us through these ancient sites of the Persian empire. Expenses for 2 persons: S$285 (Meals - S$ 20, Transport - S$230, Entrance tickets - S$35) Things to Do / Places to see in Pasargadae, Naqsh-e Rustam and Persepolis Pasargadae was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, the first empire...
Yazd, Iran
The historical city of Yazd in central Iran was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List on July 9, 2017. Known also as a city in the desert, it is famous for its adobe (building bricks made of earth/clay/straw) architecture, Zoroastrian fire temples as well as unique structures that facilitate living in a desert (e.g. windcatchers, Yakchal - structures to store ice in desert during summer). For us, the most amazing experience was to get 'lost' in the maze-like city centre (a little like CounterStrike's de_dust map!), and seeing how cars navigate through these super-tight spaces. We spent a total of 1.5...
Isfahan, Iran
Isfahan, also known as Esfahan, was the capital of the Safavid dynasty in 1598. Famous for its beautiful architecture such as covered bridges, palaces, mosques and minarets, it also led to an old Persian proverb "Isfahan is half of the world". Indeed, the architecture we've witnessed in this first stop of our Iran trip had set the expectations very high. We spent a total of 2 and a half days in Isfahan. Expenses for 2 persons: S$560 (Entry visa - $165, Hotel - S$165, Meals - S$60, Transport - S$70, Entrance tickets - S$50, Shopping - S$50) Things to Do / Places...