Blogs from Iran, Middle East - page 29

Yazd pics... read more

Persepolis lies about 40 km outside the city of Shiraz (origin of the wine grape). It’s an amazing archaeological site dating back to 512 BC. It takes some imagination to get a full appreciation for what the place used to look like because it was burned to the ground by Alexander of Macedonia and hasn’t had much reconstruction done since it was rediscovered in the 1930s. It was really neat to see, but we’d recommend visiting at a different time of year when it’s not so hot during the day.It was a bit tough with the group travel thing since it was mid-morning when we arrived at the site and it was already getting pretty hot. The lighting wasn’t very good for photos but our guide was really knowledgeable so we learned a lot about the ... read more

First impression of Iran - the people, they have been absolutely wonderful and very welcoming. We crossed the border on Friday, August 13th and headed towards Kandovan where we did a homestay thing. Driving into the city/villiage was amazing, most people seemed to wave, or smile as the big Dragoman truck drove by. The following day we stopped briefly in Zanjan to visit the bazaar and have a look around. We split off from the group and just wondered around. Sadly we only brought out our small camera to take a few photos. We found that so many people seemed excited for us to take their photo (quite different than many other countries we've travelled to). For example, we walked by a bakery and the guy making bread motioned for us to come in and take ... read more

After leaving Hamid and his brother in Dezful I got in a taxi which then took me to a shuttle taxi stop. Not really a stop but where 5 cars were parked underneath a tree on a siding beside the road. My intention was to get to Khorramabad which had a famous fort above the city. Fortunately Hamid had relayed my destination and instructions to the taxi driver who then relayed them to a shuttle driver. Amusing the local drivers somebody dumped my bad into the boot of a care and told me to sit in the back. I got the poor seat option again and was put in second next to young guy with a bandage around his head. A third man got in front and then the fourth got in next to me. We ... read more

In the care of the kings of hospitality It is safe to say that my time in Bushehr had refreshed me; the warm hospitality; a clean environment; the unexpected social gatherings; time away from paid hotels, the dirt and concrete pillows and the unknown content/cleanliness of bedding. It was also a holiday away from my own ‘holiday’ the not-really-doing-anything in particular; the lack of any need to do ‘tourist’ stuff. It was great. But my visa was for a month only and I was already beyond the half way point, so regardless of the genuine (or not) invitations to stay longer I had to continue my journey north bound to the ‘deeply historic’ (Lonely Planet) city of Shushtar. But before I left, 'Fatima's' sister ‘Farahnaz’ surprised me by a farewell gift of an embroidered colourful ‘ ... read more