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Published: November 18th 2015
Left Tehran on a bus heading north setting on a long trip to Baku, Azarbijon; Tbilisi, Georgia; Yerevan, Armania and back to Iran through Ararat mountain range on the north. I intend to let the photos speak for the themselves, if they say anything at all. As it is virtually impossible to reflect on every step of the way, I reflect mainly on the highlight of my collective experiences.
I spent a few days traveling the norther cities of Iran visiting Bandar Anzali ( old Bandar Pahlavi), Ardabil, Sarayne, and Astara before crossing the boarder to Azerbaijan. It is my first experience being this far north in Central Asia. The village of Sarayne is half hour busride from Ardabil and two hours away from the boarder city of Astara. Saryane is known for it's fantastic hot springs and clean and cold mountain fresh climate, sitting on the foothills of the gorgeous Sabalon mountain range. The bus driver boasted about Sarayne being the place of good people, good food and good climate. Sarayne is famous for it's soup dish of Ash-e Dough; Farsi: آش دوغ. I can tell you that is true. Boiling yogurt, mixing some parsley, cilantro, dill and who
knows of few more herbs. Boil and stir it constantly for seemingly hours and voila! Bon Apatite..delicious. This is the place I leaned that delicious foods all have a same taste everywhere in the world......they are delicious!!
As I travel and wander endlessly, so it seems like, I am reminded of the prodigious of different cultures. It is perhaps quite impossible to record ones travel experiences step by step, but rather the highlight of his collective experience. And I intend to share and convey the essence. Everywhere I go I gravitate toward the people and then places, not the other way around. I have not been able to find an answer as to why. The blog I write in is the venue that I simply vent out my observation of the world around me, and not necessarily what is popular. My travels are relatively inexpensive but time consuming. We can't have both. Flying from one city to another does not bear the same feeling and experience as it does when I sit next to an Azarbijoni, Armenian or an African on the 6 hour bus rides. I learn about his sense of humor, thoughts, family and his views of
A billboard in Tbilisi: Ottoman government's systematic extermination of, at the time, it's minority Armenians.
The Amenian genocide by the Turks in 1915, second only to the horrific Holocaust. The Savage killing and ethnic cleansing of 1.5 million Armenians. The billboard draw a parallel between the Armenian Holocaust during the WW1 and Hitler during the WW2.the world, as some of these co-traveller have become a long term friends of mine throughout the years. There was a young French traveller sitting next to me on a 24 hour bus ride from Yerevan, Armenia to Tehran. It was a great experience. I practiced my French as she did her Farsi. The bus driver would stop at his set designated places for people to stretch, eat or use the facilities every few hours. The weather was cold and snowy while the bus was warmly whistling it's way through the Ararat mountains. During those hours she taught me that traveling the world doesn't have to be expensive, but desired. She was on her way to tour Iran by herself for 30 days. I admired her courage, flare and interest in traveling and learning. Laura is a 25 year old French filmmaker and carries two backpacks, one on the back and one on the front. She owes her outwardness and intellect to her parents not being too protective of her and let her experience the world around her the way she chooses to reflect on them. She became my co-traveler for 24 hours. She was disciplined and slept well on
the go. I don't know if you have ever sat next to someone for 24 hours on a bus. You literally get to know their way of life. It feels like actually living with someone. She ate healthy and self-carried food, so she would have to be subjected to eating something on the road she didn't care for, and slept well on the bus, a major advantage for those on long journeys. She was driven by her objectives not her fears. We exchanged Facebook info and parted as we arrived at the Azadi Bus Terminal in Tehran.
While each village and city and their ethnicities has it's own distinctive characteristics, one thing is the same everywhere; and that is kindness and human exchanges which in any place and any language says the same thing. Along the roads of my wandering journeys I meet good people who strangely but sincerely––with broken but the most understood language, touch my life and are kind without any expectations. I don't feel like a stranger wherever I go. As I hear different languages and accents and eating different food, I feel what it's like to be the Citizen of the Globe. I begin to
Simple and delicious.
Sampling different traditional food of the northern region of Iran in a restaurant. see how we can live locally but think globally. I am learning that the language of humanity and togetherness is spoken the same way everywhere and need not to be relearned. I learn that the language barriers should be the last thing people need to worry about when deciding to travel.
Baku, Azerbaijan , باکو، اذربایجان
Arrived in Baku after a 6 hour bus ride from the Astara on the boarder of Iran and Azerbaijan. During the trip, I met Ali an Iranian man from Rasht. We ended up wondering around Baku during the few days I was there. Azerbaijan sits on the shores of the Caspian Sea with a population of about 9 million. The city is pretty lit up at night and the lighting on the Soviet era constructed buildings are magnificent at night and comparable to the night lights of Paris. The city is relatively expensive with it's currency Manat being almost at rate of one to one with Dollar. This is where income for many ordinary jobs is under $500 per month while the coast of a 4 to 5 star hotels in town could reach $400 to $500 per night. The
income disparity is high. The language is a mixture of Turkish and Russian. I found my limited and broken Turkish language helping me somehow to get around a lot better than I thought.
Tbilisi, Georgia طفلیس، گرجستان
It was almost a 10 hour bus ride here from Baku. Gorgestan or by it's new name Georgia seems to be the frontier of West and Easten culture and civilization. It is a progressive country of only 4 million with a promising future. It owes it's current status to the change of the second language studies in schools from Russian to English 10 years ago. People are friendly and cordial as I met Kole a very nice local young guy and some of his friends and spend a few hours talking and touring the city together. The ancient and majestic churches with artistic spot lighting making city's nightlife very attractive. Tbilisi has about 1.5 million population with the total population of Georgia being under 4 million. It is a relaxing place with the beautiful Mtkvari river running through it. Average income is about $250 per month. The spoken language is a mixture of Georgia and Russian. This region collectively
is still socio-economicly under the influence of Russia, particularly when it comes to their national security. Georgia is producer of great wines, particularly I enjoyed the various reds.
Yerevan, Armenia, ایروان، ارمنستان
Arrived in Yerevan on a 5 hour bus ride from Tbilisi. My visit here coincide with the 100th year anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide committed by the then Turkish Ottoman government. The Armenian Holocaust and their ethnic cleansing by the Turks ( Known traditionally by Armenian as Medz Yeghrn: Great Crime) is only second to the horrific Jewish holocaust and the second largest crime against humanity in the 20th century. The highlight of my experience here is my visit to the Armenian Genocide memorial site and museum. The emotional and the psychological aftermat effects of the barbaric massacre of over 1.5 million Armenian 100 years ago today, during and after the WW1, still weighs heavily on the hearts and the minds of the Armenians all over the world. The population of Armenia today is just over 3 million making the genocide a major prevention of it's potential population growth compared to other societies in the world.
Tehran, Iran
The
Police Harassment Of Women
Despite the current more moderate government in Iran, the young women are arrested often enough on the streets of Tehran for apparently no reason. highlight of my return visit in Tehran is my attending a two hour lecture on Iranian views on the subject of atomic energy given by Dr. Ali Soltanieh, the former Iran's ambassador to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), at the university of Tehran. The attendees were mostly the senior doctoral degree candidates of International Law studies at Tehran university. Apparently the new policy of the Iranian government is to strengthen and expand the country's International Law studies and the placement of advanced curriculums in the university's law school programs throughout the country in an effort to strengthen it's future legal negotiating power and representation skills at the UN and other international organizations. In this challenging endeavor the drawback I see is the student's weakness and command of the English language, which is due to conflicts in the government's overall anti westernization policies in teaching English as a second language in the country's school system.
On the political front, despite the current more moderate government in Iran, the young women are still arrested and harassed by the police often enough on the streets of Tehran for apparently not complying with the government imposed religious doctrine including Hejab; the Islamic
Sign of a supressed nation
The Iranian nation remain a nation who's people are striving for their basic Human Rights under the Islamic Republic government. imposition of dress code for women. In the photo you see a young woman being arrested by two black wearing (چادر سیاه) women police officers supported by a couple of male police officers on the motorcycle on Enghelob square, میدان انقلاب a major cross point in the city. If Iran hopes to play a meaningful role among the measuable international community, it has to stop it's supression of women in the society and allow more social freedom to it's citizens.
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MFazeli
non-member comment
Great Pictures
Indeed!