Discovering the Ancient City of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

After a hectic morning of trying to get to the bus station in Tehran, first in the over-crowded metro and then in a taxi, we caught a bus to the city of Kashan, located 240 km. south of Tehran. The bus was a huge positive surprise, as the comfort level and service was really good, even better than western busses in my opinion – and it was cheap as well! I slept most of the way, but when I woke up in between, I was surprised to see the landscape change from long stretches of desert to mountains in the distance with snow on the top. Iran is indeed very beautiful.

Kashan is the first destination on the typical backpacker route in Iran, if you can even call it typical. For our first few days of travelling along this “typical” route, we met the same backpackers over and over again, although I’m sure we only noticed them because there are so few of us in Iran – too few, considering how amazing the country is.

Kashan is an ancient city, and the name of the city comes from the Kasian, who were the original inhabitants of the city. The remains of the Kasian people are found at Tapeh Sialk near the city, which dates back 8000 years. Kashan has a lot to offer and its popularity with tourists is fully understandable. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).