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century-old Tabriz icon. It’s only open to the public during occasional exhibitions. Follow Tabazan St down its western flank then take the second lane to the left to find the Measurement Museum (Sanjesh Muze; Map; 554 2459; admission IR2000; 8am-6pm Sat-Thu, 9am-1pm Fri) hidden amid very ordinary apartment blocks. The brilliantly restored 160-year-old Qajar mansion is more interesting than its display of rococo German clocks and commercial scales. Two blocks further south a trio of impressive 230-year-old mansions with two-story colonnades and decorative ponds now comprise the Architecture Faculty of the Islamic Arts University. Two more blocks further is the house museum of much-loved Tabrizi poet Ostad Shahriyar exhibiting the loveably ordinary settee and TV set that he used till his death in 1987. Shahriyar is now commemorated much more ostentatiously with the strikingly modernist Poets’ Mausoleum (Maghbarat al-Shoara, Maqbar al-Shoara; Map; Seyid Hamzeh St). Its angular interlocking concrete arches are best viewed across the reflecting pool from the south. The complex also commemorates over 400 other scholars whose tombs have been lost in the city’s various earthquakes. Take bus 116.

Around 350m southeast of the Poets’ Monument (but with no direct road between them) is the elegant Qajar Museum (Amir Nezam House; Map; 523 6568; Farhang St, Sheshgelan; admission IR3000; 8am-6pm Sat-Thu, 9am-1pm Fri) within the palatial 1881 Amir Nezam House, Tabriz’s most impressive Qajar mansion with a split-level façade. It’s oddly hidden between a school and a children’s hospital.

Outer Tabriz

About 4km east of Abaresan Crossing is the wealthy if architecturally neutral Valiasr District. While hardly SoHo, it’s the nearest Tabriz comes to an entertainment district. The city’s gilded youth sip espressos around Valiasr’s Karimkhan (Bozorg) Sq and make a nightly passeggiata along pedestrianised Shahriyar St, misleadingly nicknamed Champs Elysées. In just a few minutes here we met Iranian punks, tuft-bearded Metallica fans and even spotted a transvestite waggling his/her hips far more provocatively than any woman could dare to.

Elgoli (Shahgoli) Park, 8km southeast of the centre, is popular with summer strollers and courting couples. Its fairground surrounds an artificial lake, in the middle of which a photogenic restaurant-pavilion occupies the reconstruction of a Qajar-era palace.

Activities

When there are sufficiently large groups, ALP Tours & Travel Agency (Map; 331 0340; fax 331 0825; Karimkhan Sq; Dec-Apr) can organise Friday skiing excursions to Mt Sahand. The cost for transport is IR50,000, lift pass (IR40,000) and ski rental (IR50,000 to IR160,000) are extra. ALP can also arrange climbing guides for Mt Sabalan.

Sleeping

Summer camping is possible at designated sites, such as in Elgoli Park and near Tabriz University.

BUDGET

All rooms share communal squat toilets unless otherwise indicated.

Darya Guesthouse (Map; 554 0008; Mohaqqeqi St; s/tw from IR4000/6000, with bathroom IR120,000/150,000) This friendly family guesthouse has well-tended rooms in a sensibly graded variety of qualities. The tirelessly helpful owner looks uncannily like Louis de Funes and delights in retelling tales of his 1970s trips to Europe. There’s a useful travellers’ tip book.

Bagh Guesthouse (Map; 555 2762; Ferdosi St; s/d/tr IR47,000/70,000/90,000) Brighter and cleaner than most mosaferkhanehs, rooms here are fairly small but five of the 12 have double beds, unusual at this price range.

Mahmoodi Mehmanpazir (Map; 554 1744; Imam Khomeini St; s/tw/tr from IR50,000/70,000/90,000) The cheaper rooms are simple but quiet off a rear courtyard mini-garden with free communal shower. Rooms with private shower are better-painted but poorer value and suffer from road noise. Handy for the museum.

Park Hotel (Map; 555 1852; Imam Khomeini St; s/tw/tr IR70,000/90,000/120,000) This offers slight olde-worlde charm and there’s a vine-trained rear courtyard garden. Large rooms have washbasins but somewhat tatty carpets.

Many basic mosaferkhanehs along Ferdosi