Blogs from Urmia, North, Iran, Middle East

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Middle East » Iran » North » Urmia June 22nd 2007

Although I am japanese (ie Asian), meaning that I can't dance for bloody hell, I still try and make the best out of it by compensating with my bellydancing skills. Whether it be NYC or Maku, i've been swimming in bling! This turned out quite promising with my booty-shaking and techno playing ipod, as like a popular cheap whore, money was thrown at me like hotcakes.I even did the 'dishwashing' and 'lawn-mowing' routine' that I learned from a gay classmate. I had the opportunity to encounter a jolly old wedding in the little town of Maku in the Western Azerbaijan by the Turkish border. It was random, as I was just returning from my visit to St Thaddeus' church a few miles away. We saw the event going on in the middle of the streets ... read more
Maku wedding
Maku wedding
Maku wedding

Middle East » Iran » North » Urmia June 3rd 2007

I always knew my headscarf would never be approved by the government, but never thought I'd be dragged into a room by kurdish girls who'd strip me of my clothes and dress me up in local formal garb! On the way north, we stopped by a little village called Sanjud, who'd rarely seen foreigners. Let alone a mere toilet stop... Farsi is still the official language, and I asked if we could take photographs...a girl told me that all of us foreigners were invited to her little home for chai (tea)! and voila, we walked in...tho it bloody cost me my clothes. I screamed in surprise. Entering an open room with a handsome carpet, I examined the contents of a Kurdish home. A central living room containing no western furniture, but cushions all around the ... read more
Sanjud
Sanjud
Urumieh

Middle East » Iran » North » Urmia June 2nd 2007

30 bedbugs bites were worth lighting myself on fire with scotch and a zippo lighter. But alas, as i wrote in my last blog, the self-bitch-slapping became a way of life as I toured western Azarbaijan to learn about Iran (e.g. random info like why small dogs aren't popular in Iran - mullahs/'teachers' preached that life is better without toying with stupid little bitches, hence it is a rare sight to see any poodles on the street, even in Tehran). Scratching my ass in the village of Takab, I ventured off to the famous sites of Takht-e-Soleiman and Zendan-e-Soleiman nearby. They're remarkable, and worth the bugs. You can even go on donkey rides for $2 climbing up the suicidal steep hills to see the crater of the Zendan, where tourists plummet to their deaths every ... read more
Takht-e-Soleiman
Zendan-e-Soleiman
Takht-e-Soleiman

Middle East » Iran » North » Urmia June 1st 2007

Kurdistan. You're ready to take more sexy daily snapshots. But locals drop everything they're doing just to see you get off your bus. Their jaws drop when you light a cigarette. All school classes come to a halt as kids pour out of their classrooms to see if you're really a fellow human being. Masses of youngens approach you for your autograph while others timidly just snap out there camera phones. Only if you're Eastern Asian in Iranian Kurdistan. I've never been stared at like I had a tulip growing on top of my head, but anything's possible here I learned, alongside uber-cheap gasoline, tulips and illegal whiskeys. Feeling like Elephant Man tiring of crowds, I was 360 degree camera-phone conscious with kids tearing at my clothes while they mimicked Street Fighter Oriental 'Achooooooooooooou' karate ... read more
kids at a Kurdish village
kids at a Kurdish village
Falak-ol-Aflak




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