Gilan
گیلانThe rainiest corner of Iran: rice paddies, tea gardens, the lagoon of Anzali and the stepped village of Masuleh.
Gilan lies on the south-west shore of the Caspian with forested mountains behind it. Rice and tea are its crops; the first tea gardens were planted at Lahijan in the early twentieth century by Kashef al-Saltaneh, who brought the plants from India.
Its capital, Rasht, is a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. In the mountains, the village of Masuleh is built so steeply that the roofs of one row of houses are the street of the next.
Cities and towns
Rashtرشت
The provincial capital, a city of food and markets
Lahijanلاهیجان
Where Iranian tea began
Bandar Anzaliبندر انزلی
Port and lagoon on the Caspian
Landmarksبناها و نشانهها
Masuleh
ماسولهA stepped mountain village where roofs are streets
Poets of Gilanشاعران
Hushang Ebtehaj (Sayeh)
هوشنگ ابتهاج (سایه)Writing as Sayeh, he was the great master of the ghazal in the 20th century and an editor of Hafez.
Stories from hereداستانها
The Caspian tiger
The tiger of Mazandaran vanished from Iran in the mid-twentieth century. It lives on in a name, a hero's cloak and a genetic surprise.
Sturgeon and caviar of the Caspian
Armoured fish of an ancient lineage, whose eggs made the Caspian famous and whose decline turned a luxury into a conservation emergency.