In Persia with the poets

The Gate of Xerxes at Persepolis. Photo/Vipsai NIyamabha

It turns out that it's all right for Iranian women to laugh in public. On the other hand, women travellers do have to wear a kneelength coat, the manteau, and cover their hair with a scarf.

This is the modesty-ensuring hejab, legally required since the 1979 Islamic revolution, but it's not lacking in style. In the loose tunic and pants I don on arrival in Tehran, I look pretty dull compared to the local women in their chic manteaux and facial cosmetics.

Yes, even though the hair and body must be covered, faces are on view, providing a cherished opportunity to make a fashion statement. Eye shadow, mascara, curled lashes, glossy lipstick - they're okay.

First-time visitors like me tend to nervously pull their scarves tight over the forehead, only to soon realise that Iranian women allow wisps of hair to frame their faces.

And on the streets of Tehran it's common to see people with plasters on their noses. Unlike Thais, Persians prefer smaller noses, so reverse nose jobs are all the rage.

Iran's capital is huge and hectic. Its name means "bottom of a mountain slope", and that's where Tehran lies, at the foot of the Alborz Mountains.

The bustle is centred on the grand bazaar - 10 kilometres of narrow, crowded alleyways jammed with vendors' stalls, a maze for which there are no maps. Trying to find something specific is hopeless without a guide, and finding your way out isn't easy either.

But avowed shoppers simply persevere, browsing for hours among the pricey silks, hand-woven carpets, gold necklaces and television sets. Restaurants and a large mosque add to the vibrancy.

My meagre breakfast of a hardboiled egg and nan bread leaves me ready for a huge chicken kebab with rice in one small alley. Then I head to nearby Golestan Palace to view the glories of the Qajar rulers and the National Museum and Parke Shahr, where the Tehranis relax.

The park is the site of the traditionally decorated Sofre Khane Sonnati Sangalag teahouse, and the sweet aroma of smoke from water pipes floats in the air.

What Tehran lacks in tranquillity, Shiraz offers on the southern plateau, in the province of Fars.

Shiraz was the capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty, from 1750 to 1794, and the region's poetry capital. It has many attractions, including bazaars, gardens, shrines, beautiful mosques and the poets' tombs.

Shiraz is, of course, famous for its eponymous grapes. They were probably making wine here 7,000 years ago, and although today alcohol is banned under Iran's sharia law, there are still active vineyards.

The ruins of Persepolis, the centre of the great Persian Empire, are just 60km to the northeast.

Local and foreign tourists crowd the site, ascending a double stairway to reach the massive terrace in front of the monumental Gate of Xerxes.

To the south, across a vast open space, is the huge Apadana - the Audience Hall of Darius. To the east is the massive Throne Hall, dubbed the Hall of One Hundred Columns, which was begun by Xerxes and completed by Artaxerxes.

Many other structures lay to the south, including the palaces of Darius and Xerxes and the royal treasury.

In Persopolis' heyday it spread across 125,000 square metres and attracted people from throughout the empire, come to pay homage to the Archaemenid kings.

The remnants you see today are just a shadow of that past glory - Alexander the Great burned Persepolis to the ground.

Not far away are the marvellous ancient tomb com¬plexes of Naqshe Rostam and Naqshe Rajab. Detailed carvings in the cliff faces depict scenes of imperial conquests and royal ceremonies.

Our taxi driver delivers us back to our hotel off Shiraz's Zand Street in the early afternoon, giving us more time for sightseeing.

Most of the shops at the Vakil Bazaar are closed, but the Masjede Vakil next door is impressive, with faience panels in floral designs and various hues. The ceiling is covered with small cupolas resting on twisted columns.

Also on the square is Hamame Vakil, a former bathhouse that became a teahouse and then a carpet museum.

We stroll on to the Karim Khani Citadel, with its four stunning huge towers and high brick walls. It used to be the chief residence of Karim KhaneZand and his dynasty. 

After a long walk along Dastgheib Steet behind Vakil Bazaar, we reach the Nasirolmolk Mosque, one of the most elegant in southern Iran.

It was built between 1872 and 1884 by the aristocratic NasirolMulk, using exquisite tiles of a deep blue. Even more stirring is its winter prayer hall, full of elegant stained glass and exquisitely carved pillars.

By the time we're finished, the city's shopkeep¬ers have reopened for business, and will keep up a heady pace from 4 to 9pm.

The Vakil Bazaar has its own beautiful courtyards and old shops that are consid¬ered the best places in Shiraz to buy Persian rugs, spices, copper handicrafts and antiques.

Exquisite, handcrafted silverware and jewellery are also on sale, and the market is far more relaxing and easier to navigate than the one in Tehran.

I enjoy Shiraz immensely, and still have Yazd, Esfahan, Kashan and Qom to explore in my second week. Iran, it seems, poses a delightful difficulty for travellers - which place will you love most?

The end of the day in Shiraz is well spent at the tomb of Hafez, the most celebrated of Persia's lyric poets.

His best-known work, "Divan", is found in most Iranian homes. Many locals can recite his 18thcentury works by heart and regularly quote proverbs from them.

The mausoleum is a small, open pavilion containing a marble tombstone inscribed with several verses.

Lovers of poetry make a pilgrimage here, climbing the steps and reaching down to touch the cool marble with their fingertips as they recite a stanza.

I find a place to sit down and sip tea. Young Shirazis are dressed up for the night ahead, but for now they stroll around the garden teahouse.

The sky turns dark blue, then black. The tea is wonderful. "Life's a riddle - give it up," Hafez wrote. "There is no answer to it but this cup."