Travel Program IRAN October 2-17, 2010 Contact the with questions. Email: travel@wachouston.org Phone: +1 (713) 522-7811 TOUR COST: Estimated Costs: Tour Cost: $3,650 International Airfare: $850 Airport Tax Estimate: $400 Total: $4,900 (prices subject to change) Other Estimated Costs: Visa $130 Tips $115 Single supplement $540 Travel Insurance Personal expenses IMPORTANT DATES: Date (2010) Due June 27 $500 deposit June 27 Commitment form faxed to (713) 522-7812 August 20 Trip balance Sept 15 Tips (guide, driver) PRICE INCLUDES: 13 night s hotel accommodation based on double occupancy Daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner with three special meals English speaking professional tour guide All entry fees to places mentioned in the itinerary Transportation with AC 32- or 45-seater bus One domestic flight in Iran 1 P a g e
NOT INCLUDED: Personal expenses Drinks with included meals (except tea or coffee for breakfast) Gratuities for guides and drivers (collected by Council prior to departure) Visa for Iran Travel insurance (can be provided by Tourcom on request) FLIGHTS: TBD QATAR AIRWAYS Date Route Flight Departure Arrival October 2 Houston To Doha QR 78 8:30 pm 7:40 pm (next day) October 4 Doha To Tehran QR 484 1:40 am 4:05 am October 17 Tehran To Doha QR 485 5:05 am 6:30 am October 17 Doha To Houston QR 77 9:50 am 6:10 pm HOTELS: TBD City Hotel URL Tehran Laleh Hotel www.lalehhotel.com/ Shiraz Pars Hotel www.pars-international-hotel.com/us/index.html Yazd Dad Hotel www.hoteldadint.com/?lang=english Isfahan Abbasi Hotel www.abbasihotel.com Abyaneh Hotel Abyaneh www.hotelabyaneh.com ITINERARY SUMMARY: DAY 01: Sat, Oct 2: FLY FROM USA DAY 02: Sun, Oct 3: FLIGHT DAY 03: Mon, Oct 4: ARRIVE IN TEHRAN AT 4:29 AM SIGHTSEEING TEHRAN DAY 04: Tue, Oct 5: TEHRAN SIGHTSEEING FLY TO SHIRAZ DAY 05: Wed, Oct 6: SHIRAZ DAY 06: Thu, Oct 7: SHIRAZ DAY 07: Fri, Oct 8 SHIRAZ - YAZD DAY 08: Sat, Oct 9: YAZD DAY 09: Sun, Oct 10: YAZD - ISFAHAN DAY 10: Mon, Oct 11: ISFAHAN DAY 11: Tue, Oct 12: ISFAHAN DAY 12: Wed, Oct 13: ISFAHAN DAY 13: Thu, Oct 14: ISFAHAN - ABYANEH KASHAN - GHAMSAR DAY 14: Fri, Oct 15: GHAMSAR - KASHAN QOM - TEHRAN DAY 15: Sat, Oct 16: TEHRAN DAY 16: Sun, Oct 17: FLY BACK 2 P a g e
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DAILY ITINERARY: Day 01: Sat, Oct 2: Fly to Tehran, Iran Day 02: Sun, Oct 3: Flight through Doha Day 03: Mon, Oct 4: Tehran Travel: Activities: Overnight: Arrival in Tehran at 4:29 am, transfer to hotel for breakfast. A short tour of Tehran including the Qajar-period Golestan Palace/Museum Complex dating from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. We will also visit to a women s center or think tank. Tehran Day 04: Tue, Oct 5: Tehran-Shiraz Activities: Today will be a full-day tour of Tehran, including the Jewelry Museum as well as a visit to a film studio and meeting with a director. Travel: Evening flight to Shiraz Overnight: Shiraz Day 05: Wed, Oct 6: Shiraz Activities: Full day tour of Shiraz including visits to the Eram Garden, the tomb of the great lyric poets Hafez and Sa'adi; the pink-tiled 19th century Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque; the Arg-e- Karim Khani citadel; Visit the Madrassa Khan Theological School for interaction with teachers and students; the Qajar-period Narenjestan Garden/House; the Vakil Bazaar of Shiraz; the Masjed-e Vakil and the Holy Shrine of Shah-e-Cheragh. We will have the option of walking through the bazaar with the tour guide. Overnight: Shiraz Day 06: Thur, Oct 7: Shiraz Excursion to Persepolis Activities: Full day excursion to Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid kings. Visit the ruins of the palaces of Darius the Great, Xerxes and Artaxerxes, as well as the Ka'be-Zardosht fire temple/sanctuary, the Royal Tombs, and several Sassanian rockreliefs. There will also be a visit to the rock tombs of Naqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab. Overnight: Shiraz Day 07: Fri, Oct 8: Shiraz to Yazd Travel: Travel to Yazd via bus (400 km, 6 hours). Activities: On the way to Yazd, visit Pasargadae with the Citadel area, Palace area, tomb of Cyrus and surroundings, and the Sacred Precincts. We then continue to Abarkouh where we will visit the Ice House and the Gonbad Ali Dome. We will have a meeting at a 4 P a g e
Overnight: women s center or writer s workshop Khan - Aghazadeh. We will talk to villagers and go to a local school (subject to conditions). We will have lunch with the locals. Yazd Day 08: Sat, Oct 9: Yazd Activities: Sightseeing tour in Yazd, the center for Iran's small Zoroastrian community. Upon availability, meet and speak with members of the Zoroastrian community. We will also visit one of the two 17th-century Zoroastrian Towers of Silence, until recently used for disposing of the dead. If possible, we will have a peak at the modern Zoroastrian cemetery nearby. We will also see the Zoroastrian Fire Temple, Ateshkadeh, whose fire has been burning for 1500 years. Other important sites will include the Friday Mosque (with the highest portal and minarets in Iran), the Seljuk Shrine dedicated to the 12 Shi'ite Imams, the Ziaieyeh Theological School, Bogheh-ye Seyed Roknaddin, Khan-e Lari, Amir Chakhmaq Complex, Yazd Water Museum, and Bagh-e Doulat Abad beautiful pavilion set amid quiet gardens. Overnight: Yazd Day 09: Sun, Oct 10: Yazd to Isfahan with stops at Na in and Meibod Travel: Travel to Isfahan via bus (300 km, 4.5 hours) Activities: Enroute we will visit Na in with its traditional architecture and restored with restored traditional houses dotting the town. We will visit one of them, a 17th century private house. We will also visit a clinic. En route, there is another town, Meibod, which offers interesting places to visit such as the pre Islamic Castle of Narin, mud brick icehouse, and the most complete ancient caravanserai complex of Robat. Overnight: Isfahan Day 10: Mon, Oct 11: Isfahan Activities: Full day tour of Isfahan the 17th century Safavid capital. Visit the famous bridges of Sharestan/Khajou/Sio-se-pol; the Cathedral of Vank in the Armenian quarter; and the grand Maidan-e-Naghsh-e-Jahan Square that houses a palace and two impressive mosques. We will visit a university, a hospital and Ali Qapu Palace. Finish with a visit to the Qeisarieh Bazaar. Overnight: Isfahan Day 11: Tue, Oct 12: Isfahan Activities: Another full day of sightseeing including the Friday Mosque, considered a museum of a thousand years of Persian architecture. Also, visit the Harun-e-Valayat Shrine, the Ali Minaret, and the 17th century Sotun Palace. Finish with a stop at the 1670 Hasht Behesht Pavilion, also known as the Pavilion of the Eight Paradises or the Palace of the Nightingales. Overnight: Isfahan Day 12: Wed, Oct 13: Isfahan Activities: A short excursion to visit Atashgah Fire Temple, Menar Jonban "Shaking Minarets," 5 P a g e
Overnight: Marbin Bridge, and the newly restored Hammam-e-Aliqoli Khan, which now houses an ethnographic museum displaying the customs and rituals of traditional bathhouses. We will return to the Maidan for walking and interaction with locals, for whom the Maidan is a favorite evening destination. Isfahan Day 13: Thur, Oct 14: Isfahan-Abyaneh Travel: Travel to Abyaneh (140 km, 1.5 hrs) Activities: We will drive to Abyaneh, one of the most fascinating villages in the country. Recognized by UNESCO for its antiquity and uniqueness, the village provides the perfect antidote to the bustling cities. Overnight: Abyaneh Day 14: Fri, Oct 15: Kashan, Holy City of Qom (Hazrat-e Masumeh Shrine) to Tehran Travel: Travel to Tehran with stops in Kashan and Qom (Kashan-Qom: 100 km, 1.5 hrs), Qom- Tehran 146 km, 2.5 hrs) Activities: In the morning, we will continue to Kashan. We will visit this very old town with it s city walls, traditional houses (Khan-e Tabatabaie) and the Fin Garden (Bagh-e Tarikhiye Fin). Then we will continue to Qom, the holy city. Today it remains one of the most conservative places in the country. We will see the Hazrat-e Masumeh Shrine from outside. Then we will continue to Tehran. Overnight: Tehran Day 15: Sat, Oct 16: Tehran Activities: Morning visit to the Sa ad Abad Complex to see the Green and White Palaces of the former Pahlavi Kings. In the afternoon, we will visit the National Museum, Glass and Ceramics Museum, and Carpet Museum. Overnight: Tehran Day 16: Sun, Oct 17: Tehran USA DEP: 5:05 AM Travel: We will depart on an early morning flight to the USA via Doha. 6 P a g e