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By Root 1734 0

is anything like ours, you’ll shake several hands, drink some tea, be asked how you like Iran and after about 10 minutes be issued with a stamped slip of paper, kheyli mamnun. The bad news (which we can also report first-hand) is that buses to Bushehr have an unhappy habit of arriving in the middle of the night. For us, no amount of pleading at mosaferkhanehs or at the Amaken worked. Our taxi driver even suggested we sleep in his car until 6am! Nice offer, but we grudgingly forked out for the grossly overpriced midrange option instead…The three cheap options are near Enqelab Sq; go to the Amaken first.

Mosaferkhaneh-ye Pars ( 252 2479; Enqelab Sq; dm/s/tw IR20,000/60,000/70,000) This ultra-basic place has small, clean rooms and shared bathrooms and a rooftop dorm overlooking the old town. The dorm is big, bright and noisy, but cheap – not great for women. Welcoming manager, but no English.

Mosaferkhaneh-ye Hafez ( 252 5783; Nader St; r IR60,000) Two-storey place with rainbow-coloured sign in Farsi; no-frills rooms (some with four beds) and shared bathrooms.

Hotel Sadi ( 252 2605; Nader St; r IR200,000-300,000; ) More comfortable than the first two, but the foreign price (IR200,000 without a bathroom!) is ridiculous; a bathroom costs another IR100,000.

Hotel Siraf (Hotel Reza; 252 7171; Imam Khomeini St; s/d with breakfast US$40/50; ) The large, tired rooms need an overhaul and could be much cleaner. They’re not worth the money, but are better than the Bushehr Tourist Inn. Bargain as hard as you can.

Bushehr Tourist Inn (Sadra Inn; 252 2346; cnr Valiasr & Khalij-e Fars Sts; r US$42; ) Great location, pity about the rooms/price ratio. Your last resort.

Bushehr Tourist Hotel (Delvar Hotel; 284 0910; delvar@ittic.com; Komite-ye Enqelab-e Eslami Sq; tw/ste with breakfast US$70/119; ) Rising like a modern-day ziggurat out of central Bushehr, this is easily the best place in town. Most of the semi-luxurious rooms have Gulf views, the restaurant is reasonable and rooms on the second floor have wifi.

Eating

You can usually find simple, cheap food along the Bushehr waterfront, particularly near the seafront building housing the Farid Coffee Shop (Khalij-e Fars St; noon-2.30pm & 5-10pm), where the view is better than the coffee, and in the park near the Ghavam Restaurant. This is a great area for people-watching, especially on Thursday or Friday evenings when the whole of Bushehr seems to be promenading along the esplanade with the cool sea breezes.

Salon Ghaza Khoreid Faghid ( 252 5755; Novvab-e Safavi St; meals IR15,000-30,000; 7.30am-8pm) There isn’t an English sign and there’s nothing fancy about this little place near the bazaar, but the local speciality ghalye mahi (a richly flavoured fish stew) is delicious.

Sahel Restaurant ( 252 1279; Khalij-e Fars St; meals IR20,000-45,000; 11.30am-2pm & 7-10.30pm; ) The Gulf-side location makes Sahel a good place to interrupt your Old City wanderings. And the kababs, fish and ghorme sabzi (stewed beans, greens and mince, served with rice) are pretty tasty.

Pizza Negin ( 258 0079; Delvari Sq; large pizzas IR35,000; 11am-11pm; ) This trendy place, inside a concrete boat ‘sailing’ along the seaside esplanade, is super popular and the pizzas are relatively good.

Ghavam Restaurant ( 252 1790; Khalij-e Fars St; meals IR35,000-65,000; noon-3pm & 7-11pm) Once a cistern used to store Bushehr’s water, Ghavam is now one of the best restaurants on the Persian Gulf coast. The underground location offers relief from the heat, and the vaulted ceilings, antique photographs and live traditional music (dinner only) create a warm, convivial, enjoyable atmosphere. The menu includes a range of local specialities, including boiled rice with broadbeans and fish.

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ARABS

About 3% of Iranians are Arab and most of these live in Khuzestan, Bushehr and Hormozgan provinces, near or on the Persian Gulf coast. They have traditionally lived in the Gulf ports (known as bandars) and are often called bandari. Arabs in Khuzestan are mostly Shiite, many having arrived from Iraq during the Iran–Iraq