The Historical Texture of Damghan

Damghan is one of those places you might find yourself passing round on its by-pass without realising that it contains a relatively minor TWHS which justifies a quick diversion off the highway - No 44 in this case (A part of AH1 from Tokyo to Istanbul!), which you are going to use between Mashad and Tehran (and also possibly as a faster route back from Gonbad-e Qabus than the Caspian route?). In 2016, on the last day of our Iranian tour, we had a 580km/7 ¼ hour drive back from Gonbad to Tehran Airport but were still able to pick up this TWHS (together with 2 others at Abr forest and Bustami) on the way with, in this case, an addition of under an hour. We may not have fully covered the site, but, in our minds at least, got enough out of it to justify the time spent!

The UNESCO description lists 5 items as comprising Damghan’s “Historical Texture”  

Hesar Tepe. This is a prehistoric site just south of the town. We were pretty “teped out” and, having already visited Sialk Tepe, with which the UNESCO description compares this site (without a conclusion!) we gave it a miss! It could have been worth doing with more time?   
The Mosque (Tarikhaneh) of Damghan, This is said to have been a Zoroastrian Temple going back 2300 years (though I can’t say that we were able to discern any remains from that past!) and, following conversion to a …