TEHRAN - Many travelers to the central Iranian plateau opt to bypass Kashan on their journeys between Tehran, Isfahan, and Yazd, but this delightful oasis city on the edge of the Dasht-e Kavir (aka the Great Salt Desert) is one of the most alluring destinations.

The ancient city of Kashan not only boasts a cluster of architectural wonders, an atmospheric covered bazaar, and a UNESCO-registered Persian garden, but it also offers some of central Iran's best traditional mansions, some of which turned into boutique hotels now.

During the reign of the Seljuks (1051–1118), Kashan became famous for its textiles, pottery, and tiles, reaching high levels of accomplishment in each of these industries. Today, Kashan and its surrounding towns and villages are also widely known as a major center for the production of rose water, which is sold at outlets around the main tourist attractions and at dedicated stores in the local bazaars.

The prehistoric Tepe Sialk, which is situated near Kashan, has yielded remains of settlements dating to the 6th millennium BC. Kashan was also the center of Persian ceramics, producing decorated pottery and glazed tiles exported throughout the Near East. Its lusterwares were especially famous, while its woolen and silk carpets are among Iran’s finest.

Under travelers’ eyes

Here is a select of comments that visitors to the oasis city have posted to TripAdvisor, one of the most popular travel websites in the world:

“Day trip in Kashan”

Just a couple of hours from Tehran. Very nice place with a lot of fountains in the middle of the desert. The atmosphere was amazing! Really worthy! (Pantelis A from Kavala, Greece)

“Great day trip”

Hossein makes the best of our day trip in the Kashan area, with our amazing driver Jafar and our guide Fatimah we had a wonderful day to the [neighboring] slat lake and desert with food and water provided. We recommend to skip the visits to Kashan city and directly go outside and enjoy around. You can visit inside Kashan on your own. (SalimosDeBilbao form Spain)

"Amazing one day tour of Kashan”

I booked to do a one-day city tour with them & it was fantastic! I arrived 1h later than the expected arrival time from Tehran (with no way to inform them as I hadn’t had the chance to get a local sim card yet) & they were very gracious about it. I really enjoyed my tour with Alex, it was informative & packed with interesting historical facts. I learned a lot about Iranian architecture & culture from him. (EmG from Melbourne, Australia)

“Excellent tours”

We did a tour around Kashan, where we saw most highlights including the salt lake and a desert sunset, without feeling rushed….

The next day we visited Abyaneh with Ibrahim, who is also a very nice and funny guy, and then traveled to Barzok for an overnight stay in this mountain village. This was less of a sightseeing trip but more laid back talks with the nice villagers, eating with a local family, a short walk through the mountains, visiting an artisan carpet workshop,... Saeed guided us so well here! (Evelien B from Antwerp, Belgium)

“A wonderful courtyard house with a romantic history”

This [the centuries-old Borujerdi House] is another very fine courtyard house, very close to the Tabatabaei House, unique in having an extraordinary domed public salon of great beauty, but also in having a romantic past - the wealthy owner of the Tabatabaei supposedly refusing to permit her daughter to marry to the love of her life until he could provide for her a house as magnificent as that of the father. 10 years the lovers waited while the Borujerdi House was being built and then the father relented. The house was worth the wait - I hope the marriage was, too! (Peter K from Sydney, Australia)

“The remains of a 5,000-year-old ziggurat may not be for everyone”

For me, a history and culture nut, this place is terrific. It's on the outskirts of Kashan and there is nothing else there but the remains of the archeological dig and a tiny museum but, wow, at 5,000 years it's one of the oldest permanent religious buildings on the planet.

There are only a few exhibits in the one-room museum, but they are truly excellent, and some date to well before the ziggurat was built, indicating a permanent settlement maybe 6,000 to 7,000 years old. Wow. For those who like that sort of thing. (Peter K from Sydney, Australia)

“Beautiful and technical!!!”

One of the beautiful gardens in Iran. It (the UNESCO-recognized Fin Garden) is not only beautiful and relaxing but also technically interesting. But you'd better go there off-peak season as there are always many tourists and local visitors and crowded. (Junojules from Braunschweig, Germany)

AFM/MG