 | Tehran today The city of Tehran is not described as ‘pleasant’ by most but a few days getting to know the place will allow you to unearth unexpected treasures. It is clearly divided into the affluent north and the gritty south. Both parts of the city have experiences to offer the keen tourist. Southern Tehran with its maze-like roads and many impressive squares has many traditional and unique restaurants, teahouses and places to stay as well as interesting museums. The vast sprawl and pollution may be undesirable however. The northern suburbs boast more luxurious housing, parks and galle |
 | Tehran back then ‘Tehran’ in the local Farsi language means ‘at the foot of the slope’ which is obviously a description of the city’s location at the foot of the majestic Alborz mountains. It has been the capital of Iran for 200 years, making one of the oldest and most populous capital cities in Asia. According to geographical writings from the 10th century AD, Tehran was a small village where the people from the neighbouring town of ‘Rey’ fled to in order to avoid capture by the Mongols. The town grew steadily from then on. In the Safavid dynasty, Shah Tahmasb built up the city as an admi |
 | Ferdossi Grand Hotel No.24, Forobhi Ave., Ferdousi St. Telephone: 6719991-3 Fax: 671149, Website: http://www.ferd |  | Laleh International Hotel Dr.Fatemi St., Cross Hejab Telephone: 896 5021, Fax 896 5517 Website: http://www.laleh |
 | Melal Apartment Hotel 68 Naseri st, off Valiasr Avenue, Northern Valiasr Avenue area Telephone: 8879 0543 |  | Simorgh Hotel No. 1069, Corner of Delbasteh Alley, Next to Saee Park, Valiasr Avenue, Telephone: 88719911, Fax: |
 | Tehran Enghelab Hotel Talghani Avenue Telephone: 646 7251, Fax 646 6285 Four star hotel in a central locati |  | Bolour Hotel 191, Qarani Street, in the Valiasr square area. Telephone: 8829881, 8823080. Lo |
 | Dusto-e is a souvenir shop with a large range of items and beautifully crafted ornaments. A good place to pi |  | Ferdosi Carpet Bazaar sells all sizes and shapes of carpet and is a good place to make a carpet purchase without the cha |
 | Tandis Shopping centre in Tajrish contains brand name shops such as Prada, Fendi, Banana Republic, Diesel, Zara, Guess and |  | The Jomeh Bazaar The Jomeh Bazaar or Friday markets are held in the multi-storey carpark on the east side of Jomhuri |
 | Geisha Street, Milade Noor Street Geisha Street, Milade Noor Street and Karim Khan Street have countless Jewellery shops where gold an |  | Jahan Crystal Company is an art and crystal shop located at No.1643, Valiasr Avenue. Telephone: 22668916-9. It is open 9am |
 | Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF) this is the largest exhibition of its kind in the Middle-East with publishers from all around the wo |  | Tehran Short Film Festival organized by the Iranian Young Cinema Society, the festival is held at and encourages the production |
 | Nowruz and Sizdar Bedar the spring festival of ‘Rejuvenation’ starts on the first day of the lunar New Year and is celeb |  | Tehran Music and Sound festival takes place for the whole month of August at the fairground in Tajrish. The festival incorporates tr |
 | International digital media fair and festival usually held at the end of September to the middle of October, this festival showcases the digital t |  | Fajr International Film Festival is held in the beginning of February every year and is quite a prestigious event. It commemorates th |
 | Agha Bozorg Delicious ‘dizi’ is made at Agha Bozorg on 28, Keshavarz Boulevard along with other traditional |  | Alborz Restaurant Telephone: 8761907 North Sohrevardy Avenue, After Shahid Beheshti Avenue. This |
 | Western fast food restaurants similar to McDonalds and KFC are located around Enghelab street and Valiasr Avenue, in the Tajrish s |  | Baba Taher Located in Jomhuri-ye Eslami avenue Serves all kinds of food in traditional décor and surrou |
 | Khayam Restaurant Located near the Khayam metro station. A 300-year old mosque has been converted to thi |  | falafel restaurants In Khordad Avenue, there are some falafel restaurants that prepare excellent authentic food for fair |
 | Fast Facts -Location: Tehran city is located in the central north part of Iran, and is the administrative capital of the Tehran municipal district. It is separated from the Caspian Sea by the Alborz mountain range. -Dialing code: country: +98 : city: 021 followed by an five to eight-digit subscriber number. Mobile phone numbers begin with a three-digit code 91x or 93x. -Emergency numbers Police: 110 Fire: 125 Ambulance: 115 Directory inquiries: 118 Tourist Information Helpdesk: there isn’t a dedicated office for tourism-related enquiries, but some tour operators may be helpful. Iran Touring and Tourism Organisation: 655687154. The Department of Alien Affairs can process visa extensions but is generally very busy: 8904560 Car Breakdown Service: The touring and Automobile Club of the Islamic Republic of Iran: 8958096 Airport Enquiry: Tehran Mehrabad Airport: 21 6693 0934 Imam Khomeini International Airport: 21 5100 6015 Railway Enquiry: 556114 for information and 5382939 for prior bookings. -Population 14 million -Languages Farsi, Arabic, English -Time zone UTC + 3:30; Daylight savings time :UTC + 4:30 in summer -Average January temperatures -1 to 5°C -Average July temperatures 26 to 37°C |
