Blogs from Iran, Middle East - page 40

Crossing the border from Pakistan was no trouble at all and I was ushered through in less than an hour, it was once I was in Iran however that things started to get more complicated. I was issued with an army officer and told that from now on for my own safety he would travel with me. This didn't make much sense because it is far more dangerous on the Pakistani side and I had no guard there, but I had no choice in the matter so off we headed. On the way to Zahedan (The first big town on the Iranian side) we passed a number of checkpoints and at each I was issued with a new guard along with the accompanying paperwork which meant a lot of standing around on my part. Finally arriving ... read more

We arrived in Yazd from Isfahan on the 6th June. The bus journey was good, a nice air conditioned very punctual bus. We're staying at Kohan Kashana traditional hotel, which means courtyards, fountains and general lovely atmosphere, all for 300,000 rials a night (twin room, inc. breakfast, en suite). I've managed to get ill, by eating a camel burger on the 6th. Severe stomach cramps and all the usual food poisoning joy followed, until finally last night I decided I'd better go to a doctor (the LP says to seek medical attention immediately if suffering abdominal pain as well as, erm, bad stomach-ness). We duly headed off, saw a doctor who spoke just about enough English, and then went to find a pharmacy. He had prescribed a syrup to treat the actual bug, some fairly strong ... read more

Well, we've made it in one piece. Journey out with Air France went smoothly, and immigration was much quicker than last time - we landed at the new airport, which looks good. A driver from Firouzeh Hotel picked us up. The hotel is ok - clean (enough), cheap (240,000 per night for the twin room including breakfast) with an en suite shower though toilets are shared, and mostly squat. The manager/receptionist has been extremely helpful, booking our train tickets, next hotel etc. Our lack of pre-planning has hit us slightly, as we appear to have arrived just before a holiday, and transport to Shiraz is not possible. So we are heading for Isfahan first, tomorrow. We will be staying for the first night in Iran Hotel (286,000 rials for twin room with breakfast and en suite ... read more

The royal jewels of the Pahlavi and Qajar dynasties are held in The Treasury of National Jewels in Tehran. It is highly secured and no photography is permitted, but purchased and public domain photos are included here in order to share a rare view of these breathtaking pieces. The video-add feature refused to upload a montage I created of the jewels and crowns through their history of being worn - please see a 2-minute video at Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrALU7dAYlw The "museum" is located behind thick steel doors, and entered via carefully guarded and escorted tours. Even an accidental brush against a thick case causes an alarm to be set off. The jewels contained there are legendary; the value of the pieces combined can hardly be estimated - and this is curiously not mentioned. One is under ... read more

Still Shots of the Alborz Mountains The still shots you are seeing were taken from vantage points that were in no way still. Some of them were through the front windshield, zoomed in to crop out the steering wheel. A breathtaking snapshot of graham-cracker folds of earth jutting out into an intense blue sky is the result of an illusion created by the blue strip on the windshield. When at one point I leaned out of the window to film a magnificent pass, I saw in front of me a line of cars, arms protruding from the windows, all holding digital cameras and aiming in unison at the undulating pass. The video clip, if I am able to upload it, contains a a few short motion clips that were the essence of the incredible journey (and ... read more