Blogs from North, Iran, Middle East - page 2

Mazandaran, or Tabarestan in old Persian, was the last Persian stronghold to be conquered by the Arab armies who brought Islam to Iran. Unlike the rest of the Iranian Plateau, the residents of Mazandaran were able to defend their land from Arab invaders for centuries thanks to the natural barriers of mountains and a resilient population known for being warriors. The ancient religion of Persia "Zoroastrianism" was able to hold a majority in the region until the 12th century while the rest of Persia fell quickly to Islam in the 7th century. Mazandaran has many beautiful sites. Within mainland Iran, this area is called "shomal" which literally translates to "north". Many Persians today consider it the most beautiful region of Iran. It's a great area for adventure seekers with lots of jungles, mountains, and of course ... read more

A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.– Sa’adi Uneventful six-hour bus ride to Tehran. Arrived late afternoon and took a long taxi drive to the Markazi Hotel in central Tehran – fine rooms but an uninspired breakfast. One of the first things we noticed about the city, in addition to its size and the traffic, was the way that shops were set up in different parts of town by specialty, like a gigantic bazaar, with shop after shop selling similar items. We were staying the in the indoor lighting area ourselves. We were within walking distance to many of the sights – brave souls! – and thus didn’t have an opportunity to take the metro, reportedly very busy at all hours. We were also fortunate to have some good cafes in the area, and ... read more

ESFAHAN, MARCH 9, 2017 This morning it is bright and sunny but very chilly about 50 degrees. We started out by walking to the Royal or Imam Square. Begun in 1602 to be the jewel of the Safavid Empire.There are two mosques on the square the Masjed-e Shah and the masjed-e sheikh Lotfollah. This is the second largest square in the world, second only to Tiananmin Square in Beijing. It is 512 m. long and 163m wide. The first mosque has a beautiful portal but the mosque itself is oriented towards Mecca. The main sanctuary if covered in beautiful tiles in geometric and floral motifs in blues and golds. As one proceeds to the center on the mosque there is a black stone in the middle of the floor. From this point sound has 49 echoes ... read more

SHIRAZ, MARCH 7, 2017 Last night, after a brief rest at the hotel we went out again. We went first to the so-called “pink mosque”. This was a small mosque with beautiful wooden doors. Inside all of the tile work was in pink blue. It was very intricate with many flowers and curlicues. An interesting feature was that it also had little inset vignettes with painted European style churches. There was a fountain and pool in the center. Off to on side was the prayer room. This had intricate ceilings in the same tile work as the other part of the mosque. In addition there were stained glass windows on one side. After our visit to the pink mosque, we then went to the Nomad market. It was wild there. There were hundreds of people there. ... read more

TEHRAN, MARCH 1, 2017 Today we are going to see the palaces of Reza Shah the first Pahlavi Shah. He was tall and trim and an army man. He had very simple tastes and led a very rigorous life. This is the Sa’ad Abad complex There is the royal way leading up to the palace complex lined with a double row of Plane trees. We saw two of the twenty-seven palaces there. By far the most beautiful was the “Green Palace” so called because of the green marble used in the palace. What made this palace unique was the mirrored reception hall which was beautiful. We met four Iranian girls there who were celebrating the birthday of one of the girls. They had balloons and were carrying a birthday cake with them. They invited me to ... read more