Blogs from North, Iran, Middle East - page 7

Sleep in - 5am, it's nice and quiet. By comparison, at 7am the breakfast room is not. I have to sit at the table under the cups- it's a dangerous spot, significant risk of falling china. Enjoy my last Golestan breaky and make my plan to visit the park and Golestan Palace (Take 2). The park is only about 800m away- I get there successfully! Park e-Shahr is an exciting little green oasis amongst the busyness of Tehran. There are a few different entrances- I came in by the Si Tir St one. The first thing I see is the central fountains and long rectangular pool, there are benches all around and there are a lot of Tehran's elderly male population relaxing. The next standout feature is about 8 birdcages holding parakeets, pheasants, pigeons, flamingoes, geese, ... read more

Spend the morning having breakfast then getting ready for the start of my trekking programme. The next 2 days are acclimatisation days and we are going to climb Mt Tochal at 4000m. My guide is going to meet me in the lobby at 1100. So, pack, unpack, repack... Seems heavy for just 1 night. Back down to the lobby to pay; USD $88, they have a room tomorrow if I need it- $31 with shared bathroom. Amir arrives and goes through my gear- get rid of a couple of things- 1 top, 1 cardi, 1 pr Merrells- all the stuff you'd change into post trek to eat and sit around- doesn't look like this is how it's done here- no problem, less weight. He then rejects my trekking shoes- not good enough! No ankle support. I ... read more

With no trepidation whatsoever I think that I am finally ready for this journey that has been a very long time in the planning. Pretty much since the Nepal trip last year I have been shaping this one. I think I would have just as happily gone back to Nepal to explore a new region but felt I should try to break, or at least dampen, my "addiction" to the country that has unleashed a different part of me. Iran has been on my list for some years. In 1994 I read the book, "Nine Parts Desire" by Geraldine Brooks, the book is an examination of women from different parts of the middle east in order to try to understand what shapes them and their role in society. It was intriguing and it sparked my interest. ... read more

Alam-Kandi summers & the Shahsavan nomads of Iran Yes, visiting the nomadic tribes can be amazing especially when they, mostly, do not speak the official language of your own country! :D but seems that translators are everywhere like these beautiful children. :) P.S. I hope that you know the name of official language in Iran is FARSI which is very different from Arabic! ;-) Fortunately, this time we could catch these wonderful nomadic in Alam-Kandi summers ;-) It is always interesting to hear about their lifestyle, drinking tea with them, eating fresh dairy products while being in their tented accommodation! I am very lucky that I had the opportunity to meet a great variety of very kind and friendly people there. These Azeri-Turkish speaking pastoralists migrate between their winter quarters, qishlaq, and their summer quarters, yeylaq! ... read more

Village of Imamazade (Shazdeh) Ibrahim, village of colorful wooden buildings In this village, the houses feature a particular type of carpentry that uses timber in various patterns and colors in a play of light and shadow, congenially permitting individual identity within the collective harmony of the village’s form. Architecturally, the village contains delicately crafted, fragile, and unique multi-storey wooden buildings that are largely intact The houses are normally two floors. Their floor is made of wooden and mud-and-straw logs. The ground floor is used throughout the winter; while the upper floor and balcony are used in the summer and ceiling mounted colorful curtains are used to divide the room. This exceptional place embraces the Shia shrine of Emamzadeh Ebrahim who was poisoned by an old woman during the Abbasid dynasty! And in fact, these houses tra ... read more