Iran

Tehran's museums, hotels and restaurants are the most varied and well-equipped in the country. But for the true Persian experience, those in the know head south for the mellow teahouses, bustling bazaars and beautiful blue tiles of Esfahan.

Or the wide tree-lined avenues and stunning gardens of cultivated Shiraz. Formerly one of the most prestigious cities in the medieval Islamic world, it's renowned for its artists and scholars, poetry, roses and, at one time, wine.

Vineyards are a distant memory in today's Iran, along with theatres, unisex public baths and anything else that is deemed to contravene the country's strict religious laws.

Fortunately, these do not affect the increasingly popular outdoor pursuits such as downhill skiing in Shemshak, water-skiing in the Karaj Dam, hang-gliding off cliffs by the village of Larijan, or fishing for salmon, mullet and sturgeon in the well-stocked waters of the Caspian Sea.

Iran's wealth of wonders combines both the natural and man-made. In the desert oasis town of Bam, where eucalyptus and date palms embellish the ancient city's steep narrow stairways and ancient outer wall, visitors queue to experience for themselves an extraordinary echoing garrison that is thought to have been an ancient and ingenious loudspeaker system.