Blogs from Esfahan, West, Iran, Middle East - page 2

Been exactly a month since I last updated. Reason being was that I had been too caught up with school and such, and well, second year in university isn't exactly that smooth-sailing. And the term's just started! Nonetheless, I shall try to meticulously update because I really really have lots of things to share with everyone, so, here goes! Though the Iran adventure ended approximately 8 months ago, whatever happened remains vividly in my mind. I guess that's the advantage of being young? You tend to recall these experiences better than, say, a 60 year old unless you record it down somewhere, like a videocam or something. Esfahan They said that Esfahan is half of the world, and too right it was! Before I left for Iran, I read all about Esfahan and it sounded like ... read more

Juz prawie miesiac, a ja nie opisalam ostatnich dni w Iranie. Skonczylam wieczorem przed kolacja w armenskiej knajpie, gdzie potem spotkalismy MS, naszego lokalnego przewodnika. Spotkanie z Mehdim zaczelo sie troche sztywno, w sumie tak, jak wszystkie nasze spotkania z lokalnymi, ktorzy pozniej okazywali sie super mili. Ale po chwili, od slowa do slowa, dowiedzielismy sie, ze jego rodzina od kilku pokolen zajmuje sie produkcja perskich dywanow. I zapragnelismy od razu zobaczyc, jak takie dywany sie tka. Nastepnego dnia zabral nas do swojej manufaktury. Okazuje sie, ze prawdziwy perski dywan, tak jaki i wszystko inne - moze byc podrobiony w Chinach. A cene osiaga nawet do pol miliona dolarow i ma w sobie 9 milionow wezelkow. MS powiedzial, ze potrzebuje zgody rady nadzorczej, zebynas zabrac do manufaktury, a na zdjecia pozwolil nam tylko na dwa na ... read more

Each day in Iran you start your day leaving your hotel as if you are a taxi driver. Not knowing where you’ll go, where you’ll end up and which characters you’ll meet. Esfahan is no different. Many Iranian people holiday here because its one of the Islamic worlds finest cities. It definitely is the cleanest I’ve seen. I decided to walk down to the river and felt safe enough to fall asleep in the full sun that shone my first afternoon. When I awoke I needed some liquids to fix my dry mouth. There I met Lazza (changed name) a 27-year-old guy and his two friends. He asked me to sit with him and from then on I knew I was in for the long haul (3-4 hours.) He was highly religious and the conversations would ... read more

The overnight bus to Esfahan is made easier by the fact that I steal four seats near the back of the bus and lie across them, resulting in a great sleep for me but inconvenience for the attendendant, who has to continually jump over my legs. I arrive in Esfahan and a brawl nearly ensues amongst the waiting taxi drivers, once again proving that I am probably the most popular man in Iran. I check into the Amir Kabir and crash for a few hours. When I awaken I explore the city, and it dawns on me that I am really, REALLY over looking at mosques. This is a shame, as Esfahan has an assortment of beautiful mosques, buy, y'know, they get a bit same-ish after the fifty millionth one. Instead, I choose to explore the ... read more

Esfahan fully deserve it's title The Diamond of Iran. Our hotel was right across the (very congested and dangerous looking) road from the Allah Verdi Khan Bridge, which is absolutely gorgeous, especially when it's lit up at night. There are also a lot of beautiful historic landmarks we failed to find on the first night (look, I wasn't navigating okay) and a lot more that we passed, including lovely parks, a really ornate old university building and somewhere that may or maybe not have been Iman Hossein Square. ... read more

Here I am in the middle of Iran, in Isfahan. But first let me take you back to my arrival in Tehran at IKA airport, because you have some catching up to do. Sitting on the flight, wondering what was awaiting. The stories some people told, women never travel on their own, you will not be able to get about without a driver and interpreter, and of course, is Iran safe?, all are easily batted away with facts and figures when on solid land, but once in the air there was no going back. I was sitting next to an Iranian woman, hijab already firmly in place, though manteau folded neatly on her lap and a blond looking westerner. We started talking and I learnt R and her husband B, who was from Ireland, had lived ... read more