A local form of wrestling, koshti bachukeh is popular across the region, but every year, two weeks after Noruz, the year's championship comes to a conclusion in the gladiators' pit that is Esfarayen's Godeh Zeynalkhan Amphitheatre, with its steep-raked step-seating and curiously desolate location pressing against the nearby badlands.
ÀÏ°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±¼Ç¼'s must-see attractions
9.35 MILES
Backed by a rocky crag, Roein's old section is a stepped village of high, porch-fronted traditional homes, looking rather like a less verdant version of…
3.66 MILES
With nearly 30 towers and a partial restoration of the imposing 11m-high north wall, Belqays citadel is one of Iran's most visually impressive mud…
2.92 MILES
This simple, domed building, with three arched porches at both sides, sits in a lonely field with a few wizened trees 1.3km from Belqays. Up close it's…
7.56 MILES
By the roadside in this low-rise farming village, the extensive, partly crenellated mud-walled citadel here is less impressive than Belqays – but has more…
Nearby Iran attractions
2.92 MILES
This simple, domed building, with three arched porches at both sides, sits in a lonely field with a few wizened trees 1.3km from Belqays. Up close it's…
3.66 MILES
With nearly 30 towers and a partial restoration of the imposing 11m-high north wall, Belqays citadel is one of Iran's most visually impressive mud…
7.56 MILES
By the roadside in this low-rise farming village, the extensive, partly crenellated mud-walled citadel here is less impressive than Belqays – but has more…
9.35 MILES
Backed by a rocky crag, Roein's old section is a stepped village of high, porch-fronted traditional homes, looking rather like a less verdant version of…