Sputnik - The country�s first "flying" restaurant, offering diners a gourmet experience 40 meters off the ground, has opened in the city of Shandiz in the Khorasan Rezavi Province on the east of Iran.





The unusual restaurant can accommodate up�to 28 guests, along�with 10 members of�staff "on board." With the help of�a crane, the 6.5-ton construction rises 40 meters above�the ground. Each session lasts exactly one hour. According to�safety rules, visitors are secured by�safety belts, which must be kept on�throughout the experience.

?The opening ceremony of�Iran's first "flying restaurant" was attended by�Hosein Zarsefat, the head of�the regional department of�Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization of�Iran, Parstoday news agency reported.

About 20 billion Iranian Rials (US $600,000) were invested in�the new gastronomic attraction, according to�Zarsefat. The restaurant was built solely by�the forces of�Iranian engineers, although previously the monopoly for�the construction of�such eateries belonged to�specialists from�Belgium. There are about�40 of�them around�the world, and the Shandiz high-altitude restaurant has outmatched all of�them by�the novelty of�the technologies used and by�the maximum height of�the ascent.


?Contrary to�Belgian's "flying" restaurants, the Iranian one also has a special cooker, which can heat up�to 40 dishes simultaneously. Moreover, visitors of�the restaurant can do bungee jumping there from�a height of�35 to�40 meters.