Blogs from Shiraz, South, Iran, Middle East - page 2

Sunnuntai 14.6. Shiraz Aikainen aamuherätys ja pikainen aamupala, jonka jälkeen pakulle. Paku oli täysi romu ja vauvan turvaistuin oli tyyliä muovilaatikko henkseleillä. Turvavyöt eivät olleet olan yli eli L:n turvaistuin oli ihan turha. Jotenkin sen kuitenkin siihen virittelin, mutta aika epämukavaa oli. Ja kun lähdettiin matkalle, niin S:n takapuoli kastui penkistä. Vaihtoi ikkunapaikalle, jossa kävi minuutin päästä sama homma. Kuski ja apukuski eivät ymmärtäneet, mikä on ongelma. Apukuski tarjosi kasvopapereita, mutta kun avuksi otettu A:n peppupyyhekin oli jo ihan märkä, niin tuskin ne olis paljoa auttaneet... Lopulta apukuski kaivoi aurinkosuojat, mutta tulihan niistäkin vesi läpi. Pyysin S:ää ajattelemaan positiivisesti kun oli pitkä reissu edessä, mutta sitten myös mun penkki alkoi kostuttaa hanuria. Vaikeaa olla positiivinen, kovin vaikeaa... Tässä vaiheessa kuski alkoi hokea,... read more

Geo: 29.602, 52.5313This is a bit of a cheat because I didn't see these places in this order - but it makes sense to group them together this way.In the 7th century BC the king of one of the Persian Tribes, Achaemenes, created a unified state in Southern Iran, thereby giving his name to what became the First Persian Empire. By the time his great-grandson ascended the throne in 559BC it was already a potent force, Cyrus the Great, as he became known, rapidly built up a huge military force and killed his grandfather, the king Astyages of the Median empire, at Pasargadae north of Shiraz. Within 11 years Cyrus had conquered much of modern Turkey, modern Pakistan, and the Babylonians. He built his palace at Pasargadae. He was finally defeated, though, by Tomyris - queen ... read more

Wake up at 0530, couple of hours until breakfast! Enjoy a communal breakfast with Javier, a Turkish guy and a Persian couple who live in France. Nice way to begin, and this breakfast has got watermelon, and the best feta to date. Head off before 0830, the Mosque-e Molk is supposed to open then. It is less than 5 mins down the road. Javier was there yesterday afternoon but is also keen to see the morning light. This has been on my list since planning the trip to Iran- I have been anticipating the light and colour for months and months. We get there, pay the 50 000 IRR ($1.80) and head in. The central entrance courtyard and algal green pool is just beautiful, there is restoration work going on at the southern end. The tiles ... read more

We started the morning with a super early flight to Shiraz. Iran airlines was great, smooth check in, great food, and comfy seats. I sat next an old Iranian couple and exchanged life stories in a mixture of English, Farsi, head nodding, hand waving and lots of smile-and-pretend-you-understand-what-they-are-sayings. Foreigners are rare, and mixed marriages are even rarer, so mixed marriage foreigners with little kids simply reason for frantic jaw-dropping. We were met at the airport by our guide and driver. Due to visa requirements, we were forced to book a tour guide, and since there were four of us, a van, which meant a guide and a driver ie. we were going to have to be grandma travelers. I wasn't looking forward to days of being escorted, spoken for, pampered, directed and left without the opportunity ... read more

Salam dear readers, Salam. And a merry Christmas to you all. I am sure you are all busy with various preparations, I hope you have a nice day. This will be quite a long old entry with many pictures, think of it as my Christmas present to you, a special bumper addition! This is one of those blog posts I find myself writing and rewriting to attempt to achieve a degree of balance, and to present this Country in its true light after only three weeks and limited knowledge. However here goes….Iran. When I find myself describing Iran in my head I keep returning to one word. Civilized. I can hear you all cry in unison “of course it is civilized John, it’s the birth place of civilization, you crazy fool!”. Well, yes it is, but ... read more