Just a glance at Iran tourism websites and one will definitely encounter the name of Maziyar and his Atashuni guest house. The name of ‘Garmeh’ village is woven into the fame of ‘Atashuni’ or ‘Maziyar’s House’, as commonly known. Atashuni in Persian is defined as gathering around the fire at night to enjoy the time and company of people.
The guest house is famous for the delicious traditional food and its matchless tranquility. A 300-year-old cob house, on the Silk Road, is situated in Garmeh village - a date palm village in the midst of desert in Khur county and Biyabanak in Isfahan Province.
Maziyar Al Davud established home stay in Iran 14 years ago; the new tradition of residing in a local house when visiting a place. In home stay, the traveler can enjoy living with local people in their residences at much cheaper rates, getting to know their life style and customs and accompanying them in daily activities.
Nine years after launching Atashuni in 2008, Maziyar won the title of the best entrepreneur in the province and the country. He has also presided over the village council in Garmeh for two rounds, striving to preserve and revive cultural and natural heritage and expand handicrafts and tourism in the region.
Some of Garmeh villagers now live on handicrafts and food item sales, and also rent their camels for rides in the desert.
Tourist Residence
As Maziyar puts it people in Khur and Biyabanak are encouraged by the large number of visitors travelling to Garmeh and intend to transform their homes into tourist residences. There are 30 houses in the region. Two of the villagers gave their homes to Maziyar to add them to his Atashuni complex.
Now the family and the French wife of Maziyar Al Davud along with two others are helping him run the guest house.
Atashuni itself contains 15 rooms in two residences. Travelers can spend the night on the roof under the starry desert sky. There is no television and broadband Internet connectivity is not yet established. Local music is played by Maziyar himself.
He rented the house from Awqaf organization in 2008 and spent approximately $3750 on renovating the place and recovered the amount within three years of Atashuni’s launching.
Over a period of time and after Atashuni was registered in Lonely Planet travel book, its name reverberated time and again in the global community of travelers leading to more visits by foreign tourists. Maziyar says about 40% of the residents come from outside Iran between the early fall and summer.
Garmeh village is 700 km from Tehran and 200 km from Yazd and is accessible through two routes of Yazd-Tabas, South Khorasan Province, and Semnan-Naeen, Isfahan Province. Among the village attractions are Sassanid Fortress and a lagoon surrounded by tall palm trees.The name of ‘Garmeh’ village is woven into the fame of ‘Atashuni’ or ‘Maziyar’s House’, as commonly known. Atashuni in Persian is defined as gathering around the fire at night to enjoy the time and company of people.
The guest house is famous for the delicious traditional food and its matchless tranquility. A 300-year-old cob house, on the Silk Road, is situated in Garmeh village - a date palm village in the midst of desert in Khur county and Biyabanak in Isfahan Province.
Maziyar Al Davud established home stay in Iran 14 years ago; the new tradition of residing in a local house when visiting a place. In home stay, the traveler can enjoy living with local people in their residences at much cheaper rates, getting to know their life style and customs and accompanying them in daily activities.
Nine years after launching Atashuni in 2008, Maziyar won the title of the best entrepreneur in the province and the country. He has also presided over the village council in Garmeh for two rounds, striving to preserve and revive cultural and natural heritage and expand handicrafts and tourism in the region.
Some of Garmeh villagers now live on handicrafts and food item sales, and also rent their camels for rides in the desert.
Tourist Residence
As Maziyar puts it people in Khur and Biyabanak are encouraged by the large number of visitors travelling to Garmeh and intend to transform their homes into tourist residences. There are 30 houses in the region. Two of the villagers gave their homes to Maziyar to add them to his Atashuni complex.
Now the family and the French wife of Maziyar Al Davud along with two others are helping him run the guest house.
Atashuni itself contains 15 rooms in two residences. Travelers can spend the night on the roof under the starry desert sky. There is no television and broadband Internet connectivity is not yet established. Local music is played by Maziyar himself.
He rented the house from Awqaf organization in 2008 and spent approximately $3750 on renovating the place and recovered the amount within three years of Atashuni’s launching.
Over a period of time and after Atashuni was registered in Lonely Planet travel book, its name reverberated time and again in the global community of travelers leading to more visits by foreign tourists. Maziyar says about 40% of the residents come from outside Iran between the early fall and summer.
Garmeh village is 700 km from Tehran and 200 km from Yazd and is accessible through two routes of Yazd-Tabas, South Khorasan Province, and Semnan-Naeen, Isfahan Province. Among the village attractions are Sassanid Fortress and a lagoon surrounded by tall palm trees.
