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Isfahan - the city of Shah Abbas
Few Western tourists visit this regal Iranian city, despite its majestic Islamic architecture
The Iranian city of Isfahan should be a city-break destination to rival Istanbul or Marrakesh," says Sarah Barrell in the Independent on Sunday. Yet thanks to the political situation in Iran and the country's awkward visa process, few Western tourists come to admire its "regal river spanned by sculptural bridges, its countless gardens" and its "soul-stilling" buildings – perhaps "the most majestic collection in the Islamic world".
The city's jewel is Imam Square, the legacy of the 16th century ruler Shah Abbas, star of the British Museum's current exhibition. Second only to Beijing's Tiananmen Square in size, it is surrounded by "fresco-filled palaces" and "gold and turquoise onion-domed mosques", their interiors adorned with "intricate murals of birds and curling arabesques of flowers".
Cox and Kings (0207 873 5000) offers an eight-night tour of Iran from £1,505pp incl. flights. ·
