Sunset in Persepolis. [Photo by Tan Yingzi/China Daily]

Despite the shortness of our stay we had enough time to visit the National Museum of Iran and a few other tourist attractions: Golestan Palace, Teheran Bazaar and the National Jewels Museum. As we headed out of the city in our hired van at about 6 pm, we discovered the hard way that Teheran, like Beijing, is plagued by traffic jams; it took us nearly two hours to get out of the city to reach the highway that would take us to Kashan, 250 kilometers to the south.

Kashan is a place that the great bulk of tourists just pass through on their way to more popular destinations such as Yazd or Isfahan, but we planned to buck that trend and stay there for two days. It turned out to be an inspired decision, because this small city boasting beautiful ancient public bath houses and traditional houses and famed for its carpets turned out to be the highlight of the trip for me. That evaluation is helped in no small part by the two nights we spent at Manouchehri House, a historic traditional house-turned-boutique hotel.

The hotel, opened in 2011, has only nine guest rooms and perfectly combines traditional and modern elements, providing the service of an international standard. The six of us enjoyed the largest suite, with a dining room, a living room, three bedrooms and a mini study.