🛍️ Iran: souvenirs
Iran's bazaars are among the world's great shopping experiences - carpets, miniatures, saffron and turquoise traded in halls built for exactly this. Here is what travellers bring home from Iran, where the good versions live, and the export questions worth a look - alongside our 127 written places.
🛒 The classic buys
Persian carpets
From Tabriz silk to tribal Qashqai wool - buy in the bazaars of Tehran, Esfahan or Shiraz from dealers who explain knots and origin; small rugs make legal, portable buys.
Saffron
Khorasan grows the world's best - buy sealed, graded boxes from reputable shops; the price per gram is a fraction of Europe's.
Miniatures and khatam
Painted miniatures on bone or paper and khatam marquetry boxes - Esfahan's workshops around Naqsh-e Jahan square are the centre.
Turquoise from Neyshabur
The historic mines still supply the bazaars - buy set stones from established jewellers.
Ghalamkar and termeh textiles
Block-printed cottons and woven termeh cloths - Esfahan and Yazd respectively.
Pistachios and sweets
Rafsanjan pistachios, gaz nougat and sohan brittle - the edible layer of any Iranian gift.
⚠️ Check before you buy
- Carpets and handicrafts have export size and quantity limits - dealers know the current rules and arrange paperwork for larger pieces.
- Antiques and anything over roughly 50 years old need permits - buy new.
- Check what your home country lets in - rules on goods from Iran vary widely and change; keep receipts for everything.
- Payment is cash-based for foreign visitors - plan purchases accordingly.
✗ Better left behind
- Antiquities and old manuscripts - export is illegal.
- Caviar outside licensed shops - restricted trade.
Markets shift, workshops close and open, and the best souvenir is still the one with a story you were there for. Buy from makers where you can, keep receipts for anything substantial, and when a deal feels too good, it usually is.