Tabriz is the capital of East Azerbaijan province in northwest Iran and the country's fifth most populous city. Azerbaijani Turkish is spoken here, so a visitor from Turkey faces almost no language barrier. The Tabriz Historic Bazaar, covering more than a square kilometre, is the largest brick vaulted bazaar complex in the world and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2010. Another emblem is the fifteenth century Blue Mosque with its tilework, badly damaged in the 1780 earthquake and later restored at the dome and the entrance front.
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See flights to Tabriz →When to visit Tabriz
April to June and September to October are the best windows, with daytime temperatures between 18C and 28C. The city sits at 1,350 metres, so winters are hard and snowy with sub zero nights. July and August are dry and hot, though humidity stays low.
Things to do in Tabriz
Tabriz Historic Bazaar
Brick vaulted corridors are divided into sections for carpets, spices, gold and shoes, each with its own name and courtyard. Mozaffariyeh, the carpet hall, is the grandest part and forms the core of the area inscribed by UNESCO.
Blue Mosque of Tabriz
Built in 1465 under the Qara Qoyunlu, the mosque takes its name from its deep blue and turquoise tiles. Sections that collapsed in the 1780 earthquake were rebuilt, while the entrance front where the original tiles survive was left as it was.
Arg of Tabriz
The huge fourteenth century brick wall is in fact the surviving part of a mosque structure that collapsed. It rises alone in the city centre and is the historic building visible from furthest away in Tabriz.
El Goli Park
A pavilion stands in the middle of the artificial lake southeast of the city, linked to the shore by a walkway. Laid out as a reservoir in the Safavid period, the grounds are now the most used park in Tabriz.
Azerbaijan Museum
The museum beside the Blue Mosque holds one of Iran's most important archaeological collections after Tehran's. The display runs from prehistoric finds of the region to the Islamic period, with a contemporary sculpture hall on the lower floor.
Kandovan
In this village about 60 kilometres southwest of Tabriz the houses are carved into cones of volcanic tuff and some are still lived in. They were formed by the same geological process as the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia.
Flights from Turkey to Tabriz
A direct flight from Istanbul to Tabriz takes about 2 hours 30 minutes. Pegasus flies from Sabiha Gokcen and Turkish Airlines from Istanbul Airport. Tabriz is also reachable overland through the Gurbulak border crossing.
Tabriz FAQ
How many days do you need in Tabriz?
Two days cover the bazaar, the Blue Mosque and the museums. Adding Kandovan and the villages around it makes a comfortable three day programme.
How far is the airport from the city centre?
Tabriz International Airport is about 8 kilometres from the centre. Taxi and metro options are available and the journey averages 25 minutes.
What should you know about language and money in Tabriz?
Azerbaijani Turkish is widely spoken and is largely mutually intelligible with the Turkish of Turkey. Foreign bank cards do not work in Iran, so spending is in cash and you carry your currency with you.
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