http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/East/Mashhad/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Middle East , Iran , East , Mashhad en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:11:07 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:11:07 +0000 Pigeons are sitting on the gold dome of Quds Courtyard it was night and the gold dome was reflecting brightly. The one area that wasnrsquot was the top of the dome where the pigeons have shat all over it. Surely the greatest animal in the world is the pigeon No matter where you are in the world theyrsquoll shit all over itNormally I feel I canrsquot get the full scope of a country until I http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/East/Mashhad/blog-381845.html Reza is working so he leaves me with his friend Mehrdad. Mehrdad and his taxi driver brother Mehdi come to collect me and after a sneaky lunchtime tea behind closed doors so as not to offend the masses we head to the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza. Apparently he was a pretty popular bloke because the sheer size of the Haram is unbelievable. After much confusion since alot of the site is offlimits t http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/East/Mashhad/blog-333461.html Incompetent employees make us stay one more week in IranAlthough we thought that we wouldnrsquot write you anymore from Iranhellip we have to spend an unexpected additional week in very religious Mashhad It seems that everything was going too well for us till now Last Thursday we experienced our first real bad luck during this trip This day we felt that we had enjoyed our 30 days in I http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/East/Mashhad/blog-207702.html Finally this is our next blog entry... it took a while and is short wrap up of our last 10 days in beautiful Iran.EsfahanThis city is the beauty queen of Iran. We stayed 4 nights but could have stayed a lot more. The biggest attraction is the Imam Khomeini Square. The second biggest square in the world the biggest is Tiananmen Square in China is not only huge but it is surrounded by nice build http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/East/Mashhad/blog-203417.html So what is this badgir you talk about Well... It is the worldrsquos oldest form of airconditioning and very eco friendly too Travelling through the desert cities of Iran one can't help but notice them as they are everywhere... We might call them wind towers because that is essentially what they are... Towers to catch even the slightest breeze and then lead it through a column of water to c http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/East/Mashhad/blog-191620.html 'Chador' in Farsi literally means 'tent'. It's the huge plain moonshaped sheet that Iranian women donn themselves with miraculously keeping it in place without the aid of any buttons or duct tape. Now if it weren't for all the practice I got during dorm keg 'n' Toga parties and GreekRoman plays I knew Shakespeare and Sophocles would come in handy everything truly does happen for a reason http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/East/Mashhad/blog-156715.html Hi allRemember how we promised to get things up to date before leaving Iran Well we blew it I'm afraid and a proper rundown of the last 6 weeks in Turkey and Iran as well as KP's foodie post will just have to wait until we hit Uzbekistan. We're in Mashad north west Iran right now and will get up at the ungodly hour of half 4 tomorrow morning 20th April to catch our taxi to the Turkmen bo http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Iran/East/Mashhad/blog-53793.html