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!!!
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