dancing01star

Well, I had heard so many bad things about the road down from Penjikent to Dushanbe, whether to go through the tunnel of doom or the pass of many nightmares! It seemed like the choice that Frodo and the rest of the nine walkers had to make, whether to cross the pass of Caradhras or whether to go through the mines of Moria.... (had to get a bit of LOTR somewhere into this blog)! Added to this the road is being mended in the daytime so you can only travel at night... So took a shared taxi down to Denau and then on to Termiz.... It sounds so easy when you put it like that, however negotiating the reality is often somewhat different and much messier! As it often is… Imagine people crowding around all talking ... read more

Have just visited Amir Timur's mausoleum the Gur Emir... it was the end of a vast display of turquoise and midnight blue majolica tile. The buildings were impressive the Bibi Khanum mosque, the Registan with Ulug Beg's madrassah and the Shah Zinda as well as the big man's tomb itself. But somehow I was left slightly cold, it was not how I imagined I would feel being in Samarkand. As you try and dodge the many tour groups, on a trip of a lifetime! Such a hold on our imagination that city has, as somewhere almost beyond the realms of the Western senses. The reality is more prosaic however magnificent. Amir Timur, even though not Uzbek himself, who lived in the land which is now Uzbekistan before the Uzbeks got there, he is the national hero ... read more

Or as they say in Uzbek - Buyuk Ipak Yoli Am in Buchara, Uzbekistan, an oasis in the Kyzyl kum desert, a sbopping place for camel caravans carrying exotic wares, for thousands of years.... There are camel statues round the ornamental pool which is one of the centres of the old town, Lyabi Hauz. Lined with old willows and choikhanas under the trees where dogs, cats and ducks live pretty much in harmony (it was two cats I saw fighting)! There should be a fable in that somewhere.... There are turquoise blue mosaiced iwans (mosque entrance) opposite eachother across the pool, which were glinting in the the sparkling light of the setting sun as I drank my one beer... so shanti and pretty perfect. Getting here was not so difficult for me, luckily, I have not ... read more

In Tashkent you cannot forget the Soviet past, I was taken back to being 18 again and living in Hungary.... it made me realise how huge the Soviet Union was, the reach from Europe into Central Asia. The buildings are angular affairs, tumbledown in the case of the appartment blocks, swish in that of the government buildings. with wide treelined boulevards. It is actually a lot more pleasant than I was expecting... made even better by the lack of cars on the road. I was skipping across with ease instead of taking my life into my hands as every time in Iran. The metro in Tashkent puts the London tube to shame... it is huge, ornate and marble lined, it tells the story of the surrounding city. Built as a nuclear bunker, you aren't allowed to ... read more

It was a shock when I got on the Turkish Airways plane in Tehran, to see the air hostesses bare headed and flashing fleshy legs. I along with all the other women who were wearing scarves under duress took them off as soon as possible. It was interesting to see who were happy to keep them on and who were not. Although I hardly ever drink on planes, I ordered some wine to celebrate new freedoms. Back in Istanbul in the Buyuk Londra Oteli, it was weird for a while to be drinking alcohol on the terrace, surrounded by men and bareheaded women in tight tops and short skirts. These are all obviously all illegal in Iran. What is seen to be morally right and wrong is affected by cultural differences. The next few days were ... read more

We set off the next day after a wonderful breakfast of bread, cheese and homemade -jam to Jolfa on the border with Azerbaijan. I had just finished the book by Kurban Said called Ali and Nino, about the romance between a Muslim boy and Christian girl growing up in Baku at the beginning of the First World War. Apparently this is seen as the national book of Azerbaijan. Fantastic story, romance and history interwoven… After a long drive through Tabriz we arrived in Jolfa, where we had lunch in a great restaurant (sorry don’t know the name) we set off the last few km to St Stephanos along the Aras river, the border with Azerbaijan. On the Iranian side all is calm, road is there and there is nothing wrong with a tour bus going for ... read more

We returned to Takht-e Soleiman the next morning, it was powerful seeing it again, in a different light, just after dawn. Like a person you felt you knew it better, seeing the place at a different time of day. I just sat by the circular lake and dreamed my dreams, while AS told the others the story of the site. In Persian, it was no good to me, and so I enjoyed the time sitting alone. More village life was seen from the bus, shepherds with their flocks and a couple of dogs, a boy riding on a donkey, and a woman standing up from her work, thick waisted and dressed in the Kurdish style. A lonely crater could be seen from Takht-e Soleiman, this was the Zendan e Soleiman, or Soleiman’s Prison. Nothing is left ... read more

In the morning, the bazaar faction won the day, so we visited the bazaar in Kermanshah, there we found Kurdish sparkling clothes galore as well as sweets and cakes. It was great seeing everyone with the bright hats and scarves that they had found in the bazaar all waiting on the pavement for the bus to start. Iranian bazaars are fantastic, proper working places, the large ones are cities within cities. We drove to Sanandaj, the capital of Iranian Kurdistan, where we had lunch. Unfortunately we had no time to see more of it, as I would have liked. The women in the group were impressed with the locals’ fashionable dress and the general air of well being and order in the city. We arrived at Takht-e Soleiman late in the afternoon, as the sun was ... read more

The next day we had been told to be at breakfast at 6.30, early for me! While most of the women were there, none of the men were! Great door knockings and retributions ensued, though all fairly good natured! So we got off a bit later than planned, first stop Takht-e Bostan/ Taq-e Bostan, just outside Kermanshah. This site has three well preserved Sassanian bas-reliefs showing the crowning ceremonies of the rulers. The first shows the kings Ardashir I and Shapur I , Khusroe II is shown on a charger, looking like a medieval European knight, the horse is his favourite Shabdiz, whose name means ‘like the night’. The story goes that Khusroe loved his horse so much that he warned that whoever told the king of his death would be put to death himself. Years ... read more

We met at midnight in a car park in central Tehran and the night was full of the sounds of laugher and friends greeting. I felt alone and excited, as I knew no one except AS, and him only slightly, having met him the day before. He is a friend of F, my contact at the National Museum of Iran. He had invited me on a six day historical trip around north-west Iran. Travelling companions: 30 Iranian students. Interesting as I speak about 20 words of Farsi, but I felt up for the challenge! Travelling by private coach meant that I would be able to see much more than I ever would without my own transport. Very few Westerners spend time in this area, which is full of Kurds and Azeris, so this was also a ... read more