This semi-underground tea-house, or chay-khaneh, in Kerman in south-east Iran was built in 1820 within the traditional bath-house of Hamam-e Valik. In 1978, when this photograph was taken, it was a quiet refuge from summer heat and an elegant respite after a day driving over desert tracks. Now it seems to have become a restaurant with live music, and with new blue furniture.
©Edward Burman
I’m not sure about the origins and precedence, but clearly Persian chay and Chinese cha are related, as are the words for tea-house: cha-guan (茶館) and chay-khaneh (چای خانه).