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Many people check their calendars before they decide about visiting a country or a particular city. In other words, they care about their time and they want to spend their time in the best way possible. How do YOU define ‘best’ here? Do you care about the entertaining aspect of your travel? Do you think high of the culture of a country? Do you like to participate in cultural festivals and ceremonies of a country? If your answers to the questions above are yes, we can assure you in your travel to Iran that you will never get bored. Follow us in the next paragraphs to get familiar with 5 main festivals in Iran.
Nowruz
The best-reputed of all festivals in Iran is Nowrouz holiday which literally means "new day" and is the name of the Iranian or Persian New Year, celebrated worldwide by the Iranians. It is on the 1st of Farvardin on Iranian calendar. Therefore, it will be on 21st of March or the previous or following day of the same date depending on solar observations. Nowrouz is, to some extent, rooted in the previous Iranian religions such as Mithraism or Zoroastrianism. Almost all festivals or rituals in these religions have had a close interrelation with the sun and its movements and of course its effects on harvesting or sowing the seeds. Regardless of this crucial element, Zoroastrianism is the primary monotheistic religion with a strong belief in good and evil and the necessity of a connection between humans and nature. Families gather together at the exact time that the sun crosses the celestial equator and celebrate the New Year.
“Haft Seen” is one of the main traditions of Nowrouz. It is the arrangement of seven symbolic stuffs on table linen. These stuffs all start with the letter “S” or “س“ in Persian alphabets and imply significant concepts:
- Sabzeh (سبزه) - seed sprouts are grown in advance which represents rebirth.
- Senjed (سنجد) - dried Persian olive which shows love.
- Somaq (سماق) - or sumac which signifies sunrise.
- Seeb (سیب) - or apple which is a symbol of beauty and vitality.
- Samanu (سمنو) - wheat pudding which is a sign of abundance.
- Sekkeh (سکه) - or coin which indicates wealth.
- Seer (سیر) - or garlic which demonstrates health.
Other supplementary additions to Haft-seen may vary from different traditions or religions. However, there may appear a holy book (Quran or Avesta), a mirror, candles, goldfish, painted eggs, hyacinth flower, a poetry book (Divan-e Hafez or Shahnameh), and Persian pastries (Shirini Nokhodchi or Nan-e Berenji).
Sizdah Be-dar
Sizdah Be-dar (Nature Day), the 13th day of Nowruz (April 2), when Tishtrya (the goddess of rainfall) beats Apaosha (the demon of drought)! On this very special national festival, people go out into nature with their family and friends to enjoy the last day of Nowruz. It is really a fun festival since almost everybody in Iran attends it. People play different games, eat delicious foods (like Kebab & Ash Reshteh) and enjoy being in nature.
Like any other Iranian cultural events, Sizdah Be-dar has lots of rituals and superstitions! It is believed that if a young person (especially a girl) knot the greenery on this day, she will find her partner soon!
Golab Giri
Golab Giri (Rose Water Distillation) is held in May and June after picking Mohammadi Rose blooms in rose gardens. There are so many cities which perform this ceremony but the most famous one among them is Qamsar and Niasar in Kashan. So many tourists from all over the world go to Kashan to watch this festival. Golab Giri is the process of distilling fragrant roses (Called Mohammadi) into rose water which is used for medical and culinary purposes. They also use the decoction of the rose as a perfume. Additionally, they use it in Iranian religious ceremonies. The rose water is called “Golab” in Persian. Rose Water is classified depending on their purity degree. Rich Golab (first-class) comes from 30 kilograms Mohammadi rose distilling in 40 liters of water. Light Golab is the product of distilling 15 kilograms Mohammadi rose in 40 liters of water.
Chaharshanbe Soori
If you are visiting Iran on the last days of the Persian year, you really have to make sure that you take part in one of the oldest Iranian festivals on the sunset of the last Tuesday of the year (so it is not a fixed date and has to be checked on the calendar every year). The festival is called Chaharshanbe Soori in which people gather bushes or wood logs in piles and set into the fire, and people jump over the fire in turns while singing traditional songs. They also eat nuts and candies together with their loved ones.
Yalda Night
Let’s, for now, move toward the last festival. Yalda (or “birth”) Night, another important Persian festival, is held on the last evening of autumn that is on Azar 30 or December 20 or 21 to celebrate the longest night of the year. As ancient Persians used to be the followers of Zoroastrianism, there was a common belief that evil forces were dominant on the longest night of the year and that the next day belonged to the Lord of Wisdom, Ahura Mazda. Iranians gather together with their families and enjoy eating fruits like watermelon and pomegranate that are the symbols of Yalda Night. They also read some poetry from Hafez and make an ever-lasting memory.
Iranian Visa FAQ ...
Normally online Iranian visa processing takes 3-5 working days. As soon as you complete payment for your tourist visa, we will submit your visa request to MFA.
Iran visa for UK, USA, and Canada Passport holders:
For US, UK and Canada passport holders, visa processing may take longer time and some extra documents (including CV) is required by MFA. The CV should be sent to visa@apochi.com.
From 15th March till 28th March due to Iranian new year holidays, Iranian visa processing may take longer time by MFA. Please take this period to the consideration.
Iranian online visa application processing costs 55 EUR per person for all nationalities. For groups over 8 persons, we offer 1 free visa processing. Price for child, adult and infants are the same.
Please take it to the considerations that visa processing fee is different from entrance fee (Stamp fee) which government (Or Iranian embassies / consular) charges each traveler depends on their nationalities.
For UK, USA and Canada passport holders, visa processing costs 110 EUR. Some extra documents are needed. For more details please contact our visa experts via visa@apochi.com.
Each traveler can pick up his/her visa from Iranian embassies or consulars all around the world.
Most of the nationalities have this option to collect their visa in Iranian airports, upon their arrivals. This service is available in Isfahan International Airport (IFN), Kish International Airport (Kish Island), Mashhad International Airport (MHD), Dayrestan Airport (Qeshm Island), Shiraz International Airport (SYZ), Tabriz International Airport (TBZ) and Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA).
Passport holders from Colombia, Somalia, USA, UK, Canada, Bangladesh, Jordan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan are non-eligible nationalities for Iranian airport visa.
All visitors must hold a passport valid for at least 6 months. Citizens of Israel are totally banned from entry to Iran.
Iranian visa services upon arrival to the airports are available in Isfahan International Airport (IFN), Kish International Airport (Kish Island), Mashhad International Airport (MHD), Dayrestan Airport (Qeshm Island), Shiraz International Airport (SYZ), Tabriz International Airport (TBZ) and Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA).
Visitors to Iran must obtain a visa from one of the Iranian diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries or countries eligible for visa on arrival.
Citizens of the following countries can visit Iran without a tourist visa: Armenia 90 days within 180 days, Azerbaijan 30 days, Turkey 30 days, Bolivia 30 days, Georgia 45 days,
U.S. passports are valid for travel to Iran but all travelers need to get a tourist visa before arrival.
All US, UK, and Canada citizens should book hotels and set English language guide (Authorized from Iranian foreign ministry) before applying the visa (We will take care of this part). It’s necessary to show a full itinerary with all details to Iranian foreign ministry. It takes around 30 days for US citizen.
For UK, USA and Canada passport holders, visa processing costs 110 EUR. Some extra documents are needed. For more details please contact our visa experts via visa@apochi.com.
Basically anyone can apply for single or double entry tourist visa to Iran. But MFA make final decision about single and double entry tourist visa.
As a rule of thumb, at the moment, it’s not possible and all nationality can get only single entry visa but you can re-apply or extend your visa after your first trip to Iran
Iranian tourist visa is valid for 3 months and you can stay maximum 30 days. Don't forget that you can extend your visa while you are in Iran for extra 30 days.
Iranian tourist visa extensions are time-consuming and must be filed at least one week in advance of the expiration date. A foreign national and anyone accompanying him/her will pay a fine between 300,000 and 350,000 rials (IRR) or between 30,000 and 35,000 tomans per day for each day of unauthorized stay in Iran.
In order to apply for an Iranian tourist visa, you should fill out the online visa application form, submit the scan of passport (high quality) and a personal photo.
Iranian visa for the UK, US and Canada passport holders:
For UK, USA and Canada passport holders, some extra documents are needed. For more details please contact our visa experts via visa@apochi.com.
Iranian Tourist Visa - Apply online
Contact our visa experts to arrange your travel services:
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