Iran - Andrew Burke [125]
Savaris to Ardabil (IR15,000, 1¼ hours) depart from Istgah Ardabil ( 522 2425; Imam St), a yard that’s 300m beyond Imam Sq with its ‘Allah’ calligraphic centrepiece. Savaris to Ahar (IR12,000, 1¼ hours) leave from Razmandagan Sq at the westernmost end of Imam Khomeini St, along which shuttle taxis cost IR500 per hop.
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ARDABIL
0451 / pop 421,000
Ardabil is a logical stopping point between Tabriz and the upper Caspian coast. Ardabil’s magnificent Sheikh Safi-od-Din Mausoleum is by far its greatest attraction but there’s a fair scattering of other minor sights and a truly superb teahouse restaurant. When the chilly smog clears, Mt Sabalan’s snow-topped peak is dramatically visible from Ardabil’s Shurabil Lake. Driving to Alvares ski-slope from the nearby hot-springs resort of Sara’eyn gets you well up Sabalan’s slopes for some lovely summer trekking.
Ardabil sits on a high plateau. The weather is pleasantly cool in summer, but terrifies brass monkeys in winter. Snow is probable from November.
History
A military outpost for millennia, Ardabil was declared a city around AD 470. It was capital of the Sajid dynasty Azarbayjan from AD 871 to 929, and saw independence as a khanate from 1747 to 1808. However, Ardabil is best remembered for spawning two great leaders: the Safavid patriarch and great dervish-Sufi mystic Sheikh Safi-od-Din (1253–1354), plus his later descendant Ismail Safavi. The latter expanded the clan domains so successfully that by 1502 Ismail had become Shah of all Persia. His glorious Safavid dynasty was to rule Iran for over two centuries.
Orientation
The central triangle formed by Imam Hossein, Imam Khomeini and Ali Qapu Sqs is manageable on foot. Beyond that the city expands in three big concentric hoops.
Information
Aryana Currency Exchange ( 223 8747; Sheikh Safi St; 9am-2pm & 4-8pm) Changes many currencies including Azerbaijani manats.
Coffeenet Mohsen (Imam Khomeini Sq; per hr IR4000; 8am-midnight) Downstairs. The best connection of five internet places within 50m.
Miras Ferhangi ( 225 2708; Khane Ershadeh St; 7.30am-2pm Sat-Thu) Excellent free maps of Ardabil, Sara’eyn and the region from a charming little brick courtyard house.
Toraj Coffeenet (Sheikh Safi St; internet per hr IR5000; 10am-midnight) Good connection.
Sights
SHEIKH SAFI-OD-DIN MAUSOLEUM
Though relatively compact, the Safi-od-Din Mausoleum Complex (Sheikh Safi St; admission IR4000; 8am-5pm winter, 8am-noon & 3.30-7pm summer, closed Mon) is western Iran’s most dazzling Safavid monument. The patriarch is buried with lesser notables in an iconic 1334 Allah-Allah tower, so named because the apparently geometrical motif in blue-glazed brick is actually the endlessly repeated name of God. To see the beautiful wooden sarcophagi enter through a splendid little courtyard of turquoise tiling then the Ghandil Khaneh (lantern house) where the intensity of gold and indigo decoration is very striking. To the left, the glorious 1612 Chini Khaneh (china room) is honeycombed with ‘stalactite’-vaulted gilt niches originally designed to display the royal porcelain collection. Most of that was carted off to the Hermitage (St Petersburg) when Russia invaded in 1828, saving the mausoleum’s staff a lot of dusting.
Much of the area around the complex is being excavated and an attractive walled garden (free entrance, access from courtyard) makes a peaceful reading refuge.
OTHER SIGHTS
Sheikh Jebra’il, Sheikh Safi-od-Din’s father, is buried underneath a mildly attractive 16th-century mausoleum (admission by donation) at Khalkhoran, a village-suburb 3km northeast of the centre. It’s an active shrine; remove your shoes before inspecting the murals and multifaceted ceiling.
Ardabil has at least five restored Safavid bridges