Mashhad is the holy heart of Iran and one of the great centres of Islamic civilization — the Imam Reza Shrine, the Goharshad Mosque and the Quds Razavi Museum contain the finest Islamic art in Iran. Neyshabur, one hour away, is the birthplace of Omar Khayyam.
600,000 m² of courtyard, mosque, museum and tomb — the holiest site in Iran, receiving 30 million pilgrims annually.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe finest Timurid mosque exterior in Iran — turquoise and gold tilework at the level of Samarkand's Bibi-Khanym.
The Imam Reza golden dome in the evening light — the most extraordinary architectural sight in Iran.
Northeastern Iranian cuisine — saffron rice pudding and lamb kebab with the Khorasan spice tradition.
The shrine complex at midnight, when the long-distance pilgrims arrive. The most intense religious atmosphere in Iran.
Timurid illuminated Qurans, Safavid carpets woven for the shrine, 1,000 years of Islamic metalwork and textiles.
The finest saffron in the world, sold at source — also zereshk, dried lime, pistachios and Khorasani spices.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLamb and chickpea in a stone crock — broth drunk first, solids mashed. With fresh sangak flatbread from the bakery. Eaten since medieval Persia.
One of the great cities of medieval Khorasan — the birthplace of Omar Khayyam and the source of Persian turquoise.
The 1963 modernist tomb of the author of the Rubáiyát — mathematician, astronomer and poet. In a rose garden.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe mine that supplied the Silk Road with the finest turquoise for 4,000 years — tour plus workshop.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideWalnut-pomegranate duck stew and barberry saffron rice — the two greatest dishes of Persian cuisine.
One last hour at the gold-domed Imam Reza Shrine at night — the most sacred and most moving sight in Iran.