Ardabil is a cold, high city on a plateau beneath the volcanic bulk of Mount Sabalan, and at its heart, a few steps from busy streets, lies the shrine of Sheikh Safi al-Din. He was a Sufi master who died in 1334, and his order grew so powerful that his descendants founded a dynasty: in 1501 Shah Ismail I, of Safi's line, made himself ruler of Iran and established the Safavids, who turned Shia Islam into the state religion. Ismail is buried here too, and the whole ensemble, with its tombs, prayer halls, courtyards and kitchens, became a World Heritage Site in 2010.
The building that makes people gasp is the Chini Khaneh, the china house, a hall whose walls are honeycombed with hundreds of niches shaped to hold individual pieces of porcelain. Shah Abbas I donated a great collection of Chinese ceramics to the shrine, and much of it later went to museums elsewhere, but the empty, gilded niches are almost more beautiful without it. The shrine also gave its name to the Ardabil Carpet, one of the most famous Persian carpets in the world, woven in the sixteenth century and now in London. Wander slowly; the tile work, calligraphy and painted ceilings reward patience.
Ardabil sits at around 1,350 metres, so even in summer the evenings are cool and winters are properly cold, with snow. The region is famous for honey from the meadows of Sabalan, for hot springs at Sarein, a short ride west, and for hearty food built for that climate: thick soups, kebabs and sweet halva. Locals are mostly Azeri speakers, and the welcome is warm.
For a rider the jewel of the area is the road east to Astara on the Caspian, over the Heyran pass. It climbs through open upland and then plunges through dense Hyrcanian forest in a long series of bends, with mist hanging in the trees and the Azerbaijan border close by. Traffic can be heavy on holidays, and fog and rain on the Caspian side make the surface greasy, so take it easy. Westwards, the roads around Sabalan offer high, empty country with snow on the summit well into summer.
Ardabil is a big city with plentiful fuel, workshops and food. As elsewhere in Iran, foreign riders need a carnet and should check current visa and travel conditions before setting out.