Blogs from Esfahan, West, Iran, Middle East

So, these are the photos that went with the previous blog... assuming the internet is being more cooperative here!... read more

The city of Esfahan has been the highlight of our short time in Iran so far. Emam square is the second largest in the world after Tiananmen square in China. The architecture is incredible, it's too bad they didn't light it up very well at night. Our favorite part of Esfahan was walking along the river by the old bridges that were built back to the 1600's. The pathways and parks were full of families setting up their picnics for breaking the fast at sunset. So many strangers approached us simply to find out where we were from and what we thought of Iran. All of them greeted us with smiles and good wishes. An older lady even offered to take us to her home for dinner. It's really too bad we had to leave the ... read more

Chang and I arrived in a hot Esfahan in the middle of the afternoon. We entered Kavan bus terminal to find out the departure times from Esfahan. But if you don’t read Farsi (which is in Arabic script) things are difficult to find in Iran. Luckily we immediately saw a desk manned by young women with headscarves and copious amounts of makeup. She spoke decent English and helped us on our way. However, outside the terminal were the wolves - otherwise known as taxi drivers. Surrounding us as they jostled with each other and shouting out English words whilst trying to grab our bags; my guard was immediately up. This time I kept quiet and watched Yang do the talking. One guy started off by offering 5,000 Tomans (5 dollars) to our hotel before adding “very ... read more

(Dienstag) Nun, ich bin im Iran. Alles ist hier furchtbar normal. Die Einreise ist entspannend-unspanned. Nur eins fehlt: Mein Rucksack. All meine Befürchtungen werden war. Er ist in Kuwait oder Dubai, oder, inshallah, in Lampukistan. Würde man in Europa jetzt wohl einen hübschen Bericht ausfüllen, fällt es hier schon schwer, jemanden zu finden, der Englisch kann und sich einem annimmt.Mit Hilfe eines netten Grenzpolizisten und dem Iran-Air-Station-Manager kommen wir zu dem Schluss, dass mein Gepäck wohl am Donnerstag Abend in Shiraz sein könnte. Eher ein frustrierendes Erlebnis. Ich wünschtre, ich wäre Ryanair geflogen und hätte mich dazu gezwungen, alles feinsäuberlich in mein Handgepäck zu stopfen. Ansonsten mache ich das beste aus dem Abend in Esfahan. Die Stadt ist gewaltig, und das was ich im Dunkeln sehe, ist allemal vielversprechend. „Esfahan ist die Hälfte der W... read more

We drove over 440km from Shiraz to Esfahan, passing pastures and arid mountains resembling parts of Southern California. Although Iran has one of the highest accident rates in the world, it is well developed in certain aspects. When buses or trucks travel between major cities, they have to register with the police and get a GPS card, with which the speed can be tracked. At gas stations, refueling is done with smart cards, where each personal car is allowed three liters per day to curb over usage. Esfahan nesf-e jahan; Esfahan is half the world. The ancient proverb given by western travelers still holds truth. Once known as the richest city in the world, Esfahan rivaled Rome, Paris, and Florence. Even with wars ravaging the city for over 1,000 years until the end of Iran-Iraq war, ... read more