Mashhad

Mashhad grew up around the burial site of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia Imam, who according to tradition was poisoned in 818 CE on orders of the Abbasid caliph. A dome was raised over the grave by the end of the 9th century; the site was destroyed by Mongols in 1220 and rebuilt, expanded under the Timurids and Safavids, and has been continuously enriched ever since. Shah Abbas I made the pilgrimage from Isfahan on foot in 1597 and subsequently funded major work on the complex.

The shrine complex now encompasses seven named courtyards, multiple mosques and libraries, and draws an estimated 20–30 million pilgrims a year. Goharshad Mosque (1418), built by Timurid empress Goharshad directly south of the shrine, is one of the complex's architectural high points — and also the site of the 1935 Goharshad tragedy, when government forces violently suppressed a protest inside its walls. A tradition of pre-dawn kettledrums, said to date to 1453, has been performed daily before sunrise ever since.

The bazaars around the shrine are Iran's finest market for saffron — sourced from the surrounding Khorasan Razavi plains, which produce the bulk of the world's saffron crop. Turquoise from nearby Nishapur and Persian carpets from Khorasan's workshops are also sold throughout the market. Mashhad's shrines maintain strict dress-code requirements; chadors are provided for women at the entrance to the holy precinct.

Nishapur, birthplace of the poet Omar Khayyam and the philosopher-scientist Attar, lies about 120 kilometres to the west — its turquoise mines and the poets' tombs make a rewarding day out. Torghabeh and Shandiz, mountain villages just above the city, offer cooler air, orchards and some of the region's most celebrated kebab restaurants. The Binalood mountain range north of the city provides skiing in winter and hiking through wildflower meadows in spring.

Beyond the vast Imam Reza Shrine complex — the spiritual heart of the city and one of Islam's largest pilgrimage sites — Mashhad offers rich day trips. Tus, half an hour away, holds the grand mausoleum of Ferdowsi, author of the Shahnameh and Iran's national poet. The Nader Shah Mausoleum and its museum honour the 18th-century conqueror. Within the shrine complex, the Astan Quds museums hold priceless carpets, manuscripts and astronomical instruments. For nature, the Torqabeh and Shandiz valleys are the locals' escape for gardens and grilled kebab, while further afield the caves and highland scenery of Akhlamad and Zoshk draw hikers.