From Tehran to Boston

The day that never ends…. 6:00 am up, 7:00 am on the bus.

Then we drove west along the Caspian shore through Rasht to Masule , a small mountain village with house built into the hillside. We walked around the town for an hour.

The route – Tehran to Karaj along the River Rud-e Chalus. Then to Rasht to Qazvin via the Sarfid River.
We arrived in Tehran at 7:30 p.m. with just enough time to shower and change for the plane. We left the hotel at 10:30 p.m. for our flight at 2:00 am. We had a delay of 1 1/2 hours, which gave us just enough time to buy some dates in the duty free shop.
We made it through customs, just barely. We bluffed our way through as a group. Then, packed Ahura in John’s dirty clothes and checked him through to Boston.
A 5-hour flight…. no more scarves…and the best wine and beer we’ve ever tasted…
Breakfast in Frankfurt courtesy of Lufthansa…and a place to hide for the long layover.
2:00 p.m. departure to Boston…
We all (Ahura included) arrived safe in Boston....

Drive to the Caspian Sea…spectacular scenery.
Lunch was trout and Wiener schnitzel…
* NO MORE KEBABS… the standard meal for both lunch and dinner is bread, yogurt, barley soup, salad and kebabs. You can have your choice: lamb kebab, chicken kebab, beef kebab, minced kebab, mixed kebab, fish kebab…. but it’s all KEBAB!
* The new phrase on the tour, “pulling a John and Debbie”
Yet another 70’s former luxury hotel (ex-Hyatt) in Chalus—that could use a little upkeep.
I joined Andrea in the search for the Khomeni teapot…. to no avail.
Our gala graduation dinner
* Top 10 things heard in Iran: # 3 “Has anyone seen John and Debbie?”
Power failure during dinner.

Another day in Isfahan

More time in Isfahan


























We visited the Royal Square (Maydan-e Shah). On the north side, the Royal Qaysariyyen Bazaar; on the east side, Lotfallah Mosque; on the west side, Ali Qapu Palace; on the south side, the Shah Mosque.
At the the Shah Mosque (Masjed-e Emam), 400 years ago, they built it with tremendous ability for amplification…at one spot, you can hear 7 echos.

Lotfallah Mosque (Masjed-e Lotfallah) – constructed between 1603 and 1617 as a private chapel for the imperial family, they have a peacock figure in the dome, with the tail illuminated by the sun, always pointing toward Mecca, no matter what the direction of the sun.
Kakh-e Ali Ghapu—a 7 story palace.
Shopping afternoon—we found a brass hanging lamp, 2 Ayatollah plates and a pair of scissors (for Ahura’s box). After a greasy kebab lunch at the local dive, we grabbed a taxi back to the hotel.
I continued the shopping for an hour; John enjoyed the local tearoom with some Iranian students.
Cyrus told us of a famous miniaturist near the hotel…. $450 later, we owned an original. (according to the artist, it’s based on an Omar Khyam poem. with men drinking wine, “but not too much”)

Isfahan to Tehran

We drove to a small village, Abuaneh. It was a search for the “green doors” (the toilets) – way too much driving, too much coffee…
We visited the mausoleum…Mecca facing “paradise”.
We saw the local tailor who tried to sell us pants.

A local woman invited us into her house. The view from the roof was spectacular. Then, she invited us for tea and brought us biscuits, bread, candy, and fruit. She explained (through Hosseni) that she has no family, her only son is a teacher in Tehran.

More mosques, more private homes in Kashan (believed to be the city from which the 3 Wise Men set out for Bethlehem)

Lunch at Fin Gardens, built by Shah Abbas I, in Kashan. We tried their local ice cream sandwich (rose water ice cream) and rose water noodles.

Knives are not normally available at restaurants, napkins only occasionally (they use Kleenex)
Kurdish expression: “It’s better to fight than to do nothing”
“Iranians love Americans, Americans love Iranians, but the governments are Great Satans”
We drove through Qom, home of Ayatollah Khomeni ( Qom = “fulla mullahs”)
Our final stop was at the Khomeni Mausoleum. We were one of the first Americans to see it. John and Dorothy added a US dollar bill to the offering.

Exploring Isfahan

We made an early start to walk the streets of Isfahan. The local guard let us into the Madrase-ye Chahar Bagh (entry is usually only allowed to Muslims).

We walked up and down the main drag, Chahar Bagh Street. We paid 500 rials for a used cardboard box for Ahura. bought gaz and tape.
We visited the Palace of 40 Columns (Chehel Sotun), the reception hall of Shah Abbas and saw a “tear holder” in the museum”.

Next, we headed to the Friday Mosque (Masjed-e Jame), one of the most impressive sites, representing over 500 years of Persian religious architecture (from 11-18th C) In one mosque, you could see all 3 divisions of Islamic architecture (brick, stucco and tile).

We blew off lunch and took a taxi to a woodworking shop.

We had 3 guys leave their lunch and make a pair of Ahura Mazda legs for us for $1.00.
Late lunch at Shahrzad Restaurant.
We visited the Armenian Quarter and the Cathedral in Jolfa (Vank Cathedral).

Then it was on to one of the many bridges in Isfahan.

The Pol-e Shahrestan – the oldest, built during the Sassanid period
The Pol-e Khaju – constructed by Shah Abbas II in 1650
The Si o Se Pol (Bridge of 33 Arches).

Teahouses are located beneath the bridges.

We smoked hubble bubbles and had tea with a group of high testosterone teen-age boys. Lots of laughs, lots of photographs. All the boys kissed John and I got my butt patted by an 18-year-old.

On the way to the hotel, we met a group of Iranian students studying German who walked us back to the hotel.
Dinner without the group in the beautiful hotel restaurant.

Yazd to Isfahan

We dubbed ourselves the “Mosque-eteers” and started to sing to the tune of the Mickey Mouse Club…
Drive to Na’in—and saw a Seljuk mosque (Masted-e Jame).
Drive to Ardestan and saw the Jame Mosque.
We had tea by the side of the road 15 miles outside of Isfahan.

It was so frustrating to be able to see the city while we stood by the side of the road drinking tea and inhaling truck fumes.
We finally arrived in Isfahan and found ourselves staying at a converted caravanserai, the Abbassi Hotel…at last a real bed.

We blew off group dinner at the hotel and found an Indian restaurant with hot, spicy food.

Yazd and Taft

In the morning, we visited the Aleshkade, a Zoroastrian site with a sacred flame that has been burning since 470AD

Then we visited the Old Bazaar in Yazd and watched the local Iraqi Arab’s hanging around.

Then it was on to the former governor’s house and learned about Wind Towers.

And then, another Jame Mosque… we escaped from the group and walked around town on our own.
We caught the bus and headed to the restaurant from last night.

* We separated the group into “Knowledge Peacock” (the ones that always want to challenge the guide and show how much they know) and the “Belt Notchers, a.k.a. “Been There”.
* Courtship: The girl sends a pumpkin to the guy to say “No”

On the road to Taft, a Zoroastrian village.

We saw “Ahura Mazda” in their original fire temple and managed to walk away with their wood carving for a donation of $10.00. It needs a little work and a replacement leg….
Sunset at the Zoroastrian “Towers of Silence” – we climbed to the top.

The Zoroastrians, believing in the purity of the elements, would not bury their dead- they believe it pollutes the earth; and would not cremate their dead- they believe it pollutes the air, so they left their bodies at the top of their “Towers of Silence”. The local priest watches over the body as the vultures devour the flesh. If the vulture eats the right eye first, you’ll go to paradise, the left eye, to hell.
We climbed down to share tea with a local guy and his donkey and watched the local kids try to get their motorcycles to the top of the hill.

We got a few hours in the bazaar. John and I tried to find a local restaurant. We christen Yazd “The town with no restaurants” and reluctantly joined the group for dinner.
As part of the “Kebab free Iran” program, we ordered fried fish. It arrived, uneatable. As we were stuffing our fish into our dinner napkins for cat food, Edgar projectile vomited at the table. We escaped in the confusion with our cat treats. Outside, we found a cat and tossed it a piece. Immediately, the bushes rustled and 30+ cats, obviously well fed from the remains from the restaurant surrounded us.

Kerman to Yazd

Kerman
Gombad-e Jamaliya Mosque.
* The peacock = happiness
* Thumbs up = the finger
We wandered through the bazaar.

While we bought a brass “Fatima”, we had a crowd of 30 people helping us with the negotiations.

We wandered into the Afghani refugee section of town and did some serious people watching.

We shopped for an Afghani outfit. When we told them we were American, their face dropped (John s said, “It’s like I farted”). We finally bought an outfit and started telling people that we’re Canadian.
A local guy invited us into his teashop, a true local Afghani dive.

Then it was time for group lunch at the Tea Room, the former public baths (Chaykhune-ye Bakil).

A group of students surrounded us with questions.

Back on the bus to Yazd…driving through Rafsanjani, home of the current President of Iran and we had another tea stop at a caravanserai en route.
Hotel “Safaiyah”.
We dumped our bags and found the English speaking restaurant owner in the hotel. He told us that the food isn’t that good in the hotel…. but could get us a taxi to a good local place. He sent us to “Hamid Shadmanfar Restaurant”, a traditional Iranian restaurant. Taxi costs us 3000 rials, one way ( $ .75).
We were saved by a lovely Iranian couple who helped us with ordering and invited us to join them for dinner. He learned English 15 years ago in high school and still did pretty well. He has 2 jobs (a TV/radio repair job from 7:00-1:00, then works from 2:00-8:00 as an accountant. Then, he goes home to do house chores while his wife watches TV. She’s a student studying water purification and is “very clever”. We bought them dinner—4 huge dinners for $25.00.
Back to the hotel…yet another state run facility…boy scout beds again.