Iran: Mashhad to Shiraz

This morning we began with an exploration of the shrine of Imam Reza, who was the eighth Imam. It is a huge pilgrimage site, and indeed we saw people from all over the Muslim world. Estimates are that over 18 million people a year come to visit here. The site was actually more of a complex of buildings dating back to the 16th century. The tile work was extraordinary. Unfortunately the sun was in a bad place for a lot of pictures but what I've attached are easy to tell which are from the complex: anything that has lots of tiles on it is from there. The complex also holds several museums, including a calligraphy and Koran museum and a carpet museum that had some gorgeous carpets within its walls.

Our next stop was a leather market, since Mashhad is known for their leather products. There were some gorgeous coats but I didn't see anything that screamed for me to buy it. Looking at all that leather, we really worked up an appetite, so we ate a delicious lunch at a nearby restaurant.

After lunch, we headed back to our hotel to finish packing up and check out. Then we packed up the van and headed just out of Mashhad to Toos, which is where the epic poet Ferdowsi is entombed. On our way to the site, we passed by an old man playing the do-tar which is a local two-stringed instrument. The monument itself is square and has verses from his epic poem on it. He died in the 11th century and the monument erected 9 centuries later.

We visited the inside, where he tomb is actually located among several reliefs of scenes from his epic poem. Also on the site, was a museum which contained artifacts related to his work, including artwork, old saddles, old weapons, etc.

Our next stop was the Haroonie Historical monument, which no one really knows why it was built. It had a long row of roses in front and was an interesting looking structure.

We then made our way back to Mashhad, but a fairly nasty thunderstorm had hit while we were out of town, so traffic was very slow moving. We were going to stop at the pilgrim's bazaar, but since we were stuck in traffic for so long, we decided to head straight to the airport to catch our flight to Shiraz instead.

We are dinner at a restaurant in the airport, and then after a slight delay, boarded our flight to Shiraz, which took about an hour and a half. When we landed, we were happy to see our driver from the first part of our trip who had been with us since Tehran and who dropped us off at the Tabriz airport yesterday! Like seeing old friends, he greeted us, we loaded up the van and then made our way to our hotel for the next three nights. Since it was quite late, we called it a night in order to be up tomorrow to explore Shiraz!

Iran: Nishapur

This morning we were up and checked out of our hotel and on our way to the airport for our morning flight to Mashhad. Our flight was delayed, but only by an hour, and after an hour and a half flight, we arrived in the second largest city of Iran, Mashhad.

We stopped on our way out of town at an eclectic little restaurant in a basement of a house that was totally coveted in mirrors and had a delicious meal. It was raining in Mashhad so we did what we could to stay dry. We drove about an hour out of the city to the town of Nishapur, which was once a major hub on the Silk Road and turquoise producer. We stopped by the shrine/monument to a famous Iranian poet, mathematician and astronomer, Omar Khayam. Our next stop was the nearby Imamzadeh Mahroq Mosque, which houses the tomb of Sufi poet Farid-eddin Attar. It was right at dark when we got there and it was wonderfully illuminated.

We then hopped back into the van for the drive back to Mashhad, where we checked into our hotel for the night and had dinner.

Iran: Excursion to Julfa

Today we drove north to the border with Azerbaijan. At one point along the way we stopped at a caravanserai and had tea and a snack. The scenery of the mountains was breathtaking!

We continued on to the little border town, and at one point you could see Iran, Armenia, and Azerbaijan at the same time. As we came to town, we kept going along the river that is the actual border between Iran and Azerbaijan until we reached the monastery of St. Stephanos (I'm not sure if that's Steven or not, but the sign said Stephanos...), which included a 16th-century church which was said to have been originally founded in the year 62 CE. The saint was martyred by being stoned to death. It was a very interesting church and monastery surrounded by beautiful red rock mountains. There were flowers in the courtyard and even a fresh water stream nearby.

We then went into the town of Julfa proper and saw the physical border check-point. We ate a delicious lunch of lamb neck, minced meat and chicken kebabs, and rice! So good!

We made our way back to Tabriz and had a little down time before dinner to pack up, as we have an early-morning flight tomorrow. At dinner, the local football (soccer) team had their dinner at the same restaurant. It was one of the player's birthdays and they had a huge cake for him. He ended up getting his face pushed into the cake, and it was hilarious. Even more funny, as they were serving up what was left of the cake and one of the players was eating his piece, another player asked him how the cake tasted, and he answered that it tasted a little bit like someone's face. They were a funny group.

Another great day, and tomorrow we will be flying to the second largest city of Iran, Mashhad! Can't wait to see what it's like there!!!

Tabriz, Iran

It was a chilly, windy morning, and we set out for a day of exploration of Tabriz, which has a population of 1.6 million people. It is located in the northwest part of the country not too far from the border with Azerbaijan.

First we visited Masjed-e Kaboud, or the Blue Mosque, which is known for its splendid tile work. The original structure dates back to the 15th century and much of its original grandeur remains, including the intense color of the tile. An earthquake destroyed most of it, but what remained was quite spectacular!

We then walked next door to the Azerbaijan Museum. Tabriz is actually the capital of Azerbaijan Provence in Iran, which explains the name of the museum, which housed everything from archeological artifacts to carpets to 19th century glass jewelry boxes.

Our next stop was an underwhelming citadel (or ruins thereof) from the 14th century called Arg-e Tabriz. I didn't even take a picture of it because I thought it was ugly.

We then walked through the maze-like bazaar of Tabriz, which has over 6 km of covered passageways and 16 caravanserai attached to it at various locations. Tabriz was one of the most important stops on the Silk Road and was one of the largest trading centers for centuries.

We had lunch in a restaurant in the bazaar and then continued our touring by visiting Constitution House, which was a privately owned house that has been converted to a museum displaying pictures and memorabilia from the turn of the 20th century when Iran underwent a constitutional revolution forcing the king to obey the will of parliament. An interesting tidbit of history that I learned was about an American named Howard Baskerville, who is a hero here in Iran. He was a teacher who took up the cause and eventually died for it.

We then tried to visit the calligraphy museum but it was closing just as we arrived (at 3pm). To abate our disappointment, our guide took us to a local confectionary, which was like walking into heaven. They had some amazing candy and baked goods there. One thing we tried was a delicious cookie that was made with walnut flour and topped with all sorts if nuts like almonds and pistachio... So good!!!

The rest of the day was spent wandering the streets of Tabriz, which normally would have not been something I would have particularly enjoyed, but the people here are so friendly and curious. We were approached by strangers who wanted to know where we were from and welcomed us to their country. They have a lot of street cats here, so I bought a thing of sausage to feed cats that we passed, and a group gathered as I was feeding two of them, and they were so appreciative that I was feeding the cats (they love cats here, it is after all where Persian cats come from...). I just can't say enough about how friendly and caring and welcoming the people here are. I had such a great afternoon doing nothing but walking, laughing and talking with strangers on the street.

Eventually it was time to head back to our hotel, where we had diner at the revolving restaurant on the 12th (top) floor. It was a great birds-eye view of the illuminated city at night. A great day!!!

Iran: Drive to Tabriz

Happy birthday, Mom!!!

Today was a long day in the car. We checked out of our hotel, packed up the van, said goodbye to Zanjan, and hit the road on our way to Tabriz. It was noticeably colder this morning, and you could see your breath in the cold morning air. Thankfully the van was warm, and we drove about two hours towards Tabriz when it started snowing!!! We stopped and had some hot tea and snacks along the side of the road and took the opportunity to capture the scene with our cameras!

We got back on the road and drove another thirty minutes or so to the only site we saw today which was Takht El-Suleiman, or the Throne of Solomon. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and dates back to over 500 BCE. It was an important site that was visited by each potential king of Persia for hundreds of years. It is believed to have originally been the site of the famous Azargoshasb fire-altar and the birthplace of Zoroaster. In the central part of the complex of ruins is a natural pool made of minerals deposited from ancient volcanic activity (and water, of course!).

Although the weather was very cold and the wind was pretty fierce, we left no stone unturned in our investigation of the ancient site. Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch at the base if the hill upon which the complex sits, and then began the rest of the trip to Tabriz.

We made one more stop along the way for tea, snacks, and restroom break. We stopped at a lovely bend in a river. The views along the way were spectacular, and made up for the long day of driving.

Eventually we made it to our hotel for the next three nights, got all checked in and had about an hour before dinner. I posted blogs, checked and sent emails and then got settled in my room. We had dinner in the hotel and we tried a local dish that was a giant meatball that had plum and other delicious things and spices in it! So good! I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!!!

Iran: To Zanjan

This morning we were up and checked out of our hotel and back in the van for the drive to Zanjan. A couple hours into the drive, we stopped near a lake to enjoy some tea and snacks. Shepherds walked by tending their flocks as we enjoyed the view and the delicious treats.

Today is actually the Islamic holiday of Eid, which is a day of sacrifice. Traditionally, lambs are sacrificed with a third of the meat going to the family that made the sacrifice, a third going to their relatives, and a third of it going to charity. However, we were told since that can be expensive and messy, it's not done much anymore (unless you went to Mecca last year? Not 100% sure about this -- our guide wasn't exactly clear on this point). In fact, in the whole day I only saw one slaughtered lamb.

Our main stop of the day was in Soltaniyeh, which contains a UNESCO World Heritage site if the 13th-century mausoleum of Oljeitu, who was sultan way back in the day. The structure was built of brick and is very tall, made even taller by the presence of the large blue dome on top! The Kufic calligraphy and tile work inside were spectacular. Unfortunately most of the inside is under restoration, so the scaffolding was all over the place, but at least you could see what was left of the original artwork. We climbed the 100+ stairs to the top floors, which were fabulously painted brick ceilings in tones of rose, ruby-red and vermilion. An amazing site, to be sure!

We then picked up a passenger, the curator of the site, who needed a ride back to Zanjan, so we all piled into the van, and made our way the 40 kilometers to Zanjan, dropped off our new curator friend, and then made our way to an old caravanserai that had been converted into a restaurant for an amazingly delicious lunch. (It was a local dish called dizzy which was mashed with a pestle in a earthenware container which the lamb, chickpeas, potatoes, etc had been cooked in!)

We then drove to our hotel and got checked in before making a late afternoon excursion to an ethnological museum which was located in the old school "laundromat" and showed the way of life before plumbing.

Our final stop of the day was at Zolfaghari house, a gorgeous mansion which had been turned into a museum, containing old relics and artifacts. One of the most interesting things found here were two bodies dating back 1700 and 2500 years found in a nearby salt mine. Since they were preserved by the salt, the quality of the preservation of the clothing and of the bodies themselves was remarkable!

We then tried to go to a local tea house to have some tea and listen to some local music, but unfortunately it was closed due to the holiday. We drove around people watching, and eventually made our way back to the hotel where we had diner and then called it a night. Apparently we have a long travel day tomorrow!

Iran: Day trip from Hamadan

Today, after 13 hours of much-needed sleep, it was time to take a trip out of the city. But first, we stopped at one more site of Hamadan that we tried to visit yesterday, but was closed: the Alavian Dome. It was once a Dervish monastery and then was later turned into a mausoleum. The entire facade of the building was stucco decoration in high relief. It was a neat old building, but no longer has a dome (it collapsed several centuries ago). Next door was an artesian shop, where this local guy made jewelry and other goods out of carved stones and gems. I am not the biggest jewelry wearer, but I saw a silver ring with a huge sapphire (my birthstone) in it, tried it on (it fit perfectly), so I bought it (the price was ridiculously cheap for what it was)...

After our shopping spree, we all piled into the van for a long drive to Kermanshah, where we had lunch. It rained along the way, but we were able to enjoy the scenery regardless! Once we arrived in town, we stopped at the local bazaar, where we were tempted with a local cookie just about everywhere we went. They were made of rice flour and colored with saffron and were so light they literally melted in your mouth! So good! We then made our way to the restaurant where we had lunch.

After lunch, we walked the short distance to the Taq-e Bostan, or the Arch of the Garden, which were two grottos featuring beautiful carvings and bas-reliefs cut into the mountain. The sculptures represented various scenes of hunting, coronation ceremonies, adoration of Ahuramazda, and more. They dated back 1500-1700 years.

We piled back into the van and then drove to Bisotun to the UNESCO World Heritage site, which is a unique bas-relief dating back to 480 BCE. The carving represents Darius and his royal prisoners, and the carving itself is located a few hundred feet high up the mountain. There are inscriptions above and below in cuneiform in three languages of Babylonian, Elamite, and Old Persian, which explain how Darius captured his enemies. However, when we reached the site, we saw that due to restoration, scaffolding had been erected in front of the relief so it was impossible to see. With a little sweet talking of our guide and a promise of a "donation for restoration", we were able to gain permission to climb up the side of the mountain and the stairwell to the top of the platform and view the relief from literally a foot away. Normally, the closest you can get to the carvings is a couple hundred feet, but because of the restoration and the resourcefulness of our guide, we got to see the thing close up. It was literally like being in an Indiana Jones movie... Truly a once in a lifetime experience.

After that experience, we had tea and cookies from the bazaar before getting back into the van for the ride back to Hamadan. We had dinner at the hotel not long after arriving back, and then called it a night!