Iran - Andrew Burke [162]
Hezaroyek Shab (1001 Nights; 824 5217; Farhang St; local mains IR15,000-35,000, European dishes IR35,000-50,000; noon-3pm & 7.30-11pm) This cosy if slightly garish restaurant is quite a trek from the centre (IR5000 dar baste taxi) but there’s a wide Irano-European menu and owner Pari Bakhtiyari speaks fluent English. Call ahead.
Kaktus (Buali Sq; meals IR30,000-70,000; noon-3pm & 7-10.30pm) Down easy-to-miss stairs, Kaktus remains one of Hamadan’s most popular middle-class kabab restaurants. It’s tastefully lit if not imaginatively decorated.
Shopping
Hamadan region is famous for its leatherwork, wooden inlay, ceramics and carpets. Try contacting the Union of Carpet Co-operatives ( 252 8622) if you can’t find what you want in the rather tatty carpet bazaar. Several pottery shops (Baba Taher Sq) sell colourful, locally famous pottery from Lalejin, 32km away.
Getting There & Away
AIR
Kish Air flies to Tehran (IR195,000, twice weekly). Tickets are sold by Ali Sadr Travel Agency.
BUS
All long-distance bus services start from the new Tehran terminal (Enqelab Blvd), but most companies have city centre ticket offices ( 7am-noon & 3-7pm) near Imam Khomeini Sq. Seiro Safar ( 252 2860) and Iran Peyma ( 252 1213; 7am-noon & 2-7pm) are either side of the Ordibesht Hotel. Asre Iran ( 252 5376) and Iran Alvand ( 252 5763) face each other across Ekbatan St.
Useful bus departures:
Tehran buses take either the expressway via Takestan or the more direct road via Saveh, but few go via Qazvin. Expect delays after fresh snow.
MINIBUS & SAVARI
There are two minibus terminals. Use the Main Minibus Terminal (Zaman-e Hamadani Blvd) for Kermanshah, Sanandaj (maybe changing in Qorveh), Bijar (at 11am and noon via Qorveh) and Ali Sadr (several daily). Use Terminal Qadim (Ekbatan St) for hourly minibuses to Tuyserkan, more frequent services to Malayer (and thence Nahavand or Borujerd and on to Khorramabad), and to Asadabad (for Kangavar). Savaris to Malayer wait outside.
Savaris to Kermanshah (IR40,000), Kangavar (IR15,000), Sanandaj (IR35,000) and Tehran (IR120,000) leave from relevant points near Sepah Sq. The Tehran savaris are well-organised with a sign-up booth ( 423 8669).
Getting Around
Shuttle taxis run along the spokes of Hamadan’s cartographic wheel for IR500 (one block), IR1000 (longer hop) or IR5000 (dar baste). Shuttle taxis to the bus and minibus terminals leave from Ekbatan St.
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AROUND HAMADAN
Ganjnameh
Literally translated as ‘Treasure Book’, Ganjnameh is so named because for years its cuneiform rock carvings were thought to be cryptic clues to help find caches of mythical Median treasure. Belatedly translated, the texts turn out instead to be a rather immodest thank you to the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda from the Achaemenid monarch Xerxes (486–466 BC) for making him such a very, very good king. To emphasise the point the message is repeated in three languages (Old Persian, Elamite and neo-Babylonian) on rock faces some 2m high. A second panel similarly commemorates his dad, Darius.
The site is in a rural mountain valley at Hamadan’s westernmost extremity, some 8km from the centre. From the parking area the carvings are a very obvious two-minute stroll passing a row of tatty teahouses, souvenir stalls and snack bars. Just beyond is a 9m-high waterfall that becomes a popular ice-climbing spot when frozen in winter. At weekends the site can get crowded and messy with rubbish but several long-distance paths lead directly up the peaceful fore-slopes of Mt Alvand making for relatively convenient