Days 1-2: Tehran — Women in the Capital
Day 1: Arrive Tehran. Day 2: Golestan Palace with a female historian — focus on Qajar-era women’s quarters and the role of women in the court. Visit Tehran’s contemporary art galleries led by women directors. Afternoon: Tajrish Bazaar with a female food guide — learn about women-led spice cooperatives and taste traditional sweets from female vendors. Evening: dinner at a women-only restaurant where female musicians perform Persian classical music. Overnight Tehran.
Days 3-4: Kashan — Rose Water & Artisan Women
Day 3: Drive to Kashan. Visit Fin Garden and the merchant mansions (Tabatabaei, Borujerdi). Afternoon: rose-water distillation workshop — learn the centuries-old process from a women’s cooperative that produces Kashan’s famous golab (rose water) from May-blooming Mohammadi roses. Day 4: Nushabad underground city. Afternoon: meet female carpet weavers at a village workshop — each knot carrying generations of women’s stories. Drive to Isfahan. Overnight Isfahan.
Days 5-7: Isfahan — Female Artists & Tile Painters
Day 5: Naqsh-e Jahan Square, mosques, and Ali Qapu Palace. Day 6: Exclusive visit to a female-led tile-painting atelier — try your hand at painting Safavid-style tiles under a master craftswoman. Afternoon: Jolfa Armenian Quarter and Vank Cathedral. Visit a women-run cafe and bookshop. Day 7: morning visit to a women’s hammam (traditional bathhouse) for a ghamooshti (traditional wash and massage). Afternoon free. Evening: home-cooked dinner with an Isfahani family — the mother and daughters prepare a traditional feast. Overnight Isfahan.
Days 8-10: Shiraz — Nomadic Women & Poetry
Day 8: Morning flight to Shiraz. Afternoon: Pink Mosque, Narenjestan-e Ghavam. Evening: Hafez Tomb — join Shirazi women for poetry and divination. Day 9: Day trip to a Qashqai nomadic women’s weaving cooperative — learn about kilim and gabbeh weaving, share tea in a black goat-hair tent, and hear stories of nomadic life from the women who live it. Day 10: Vakil Complex, Eram Garden, women’s spice and herb market. Afternoon: Persian cooking class with a Shirazi chef — learn the secrets of kalam polo and Shirazi salad. Farewell dinner with local women musicians. Overnight Shiraz.
Days 11-12
Day 11: Free morning. Afternoon: visit the Tomb of Saadi and Shah Cheragh Shrine (women’s section). Evening: final gathering at a rooftop cafe overlooking Shiraz. Day 12: departure transfer to Shiraz Airport.
