Blogs from Iran, Middle East - page 58

Day 42 - Friday 2th March My sleeping bag was soaked with condensation from the sportsman blanket, which I had used as added protection to keep out the cold - sadly no much chance of that but at least it had added a few degrees. My stomach had started to be affected by the deteriorating quality of the diet - with a bit of luck two tablets would be enough to help me survive the day (lets face it, there would be distinct lack of comfort breaks on the bus journey). I had been taking vitamin tablets to add some vitamin C to my diet but alas where was the bottle ! My cold was still pretty bad and a significant number of the passengers on the bus seem to be suffering with the same problem ... read more

Day 40 - Wednesday 22nd March Heather is feeling better and so John and myself will try and buy tickets for the 7pm train to Mashad. The train station was situated at the southern side of Teheran. The journey to the train station was courtesy of a very old double-decker bus but only cost 2 rials. It was disturbing at one point as the majority of passengers came across to our side of the bus. Sadly someone had been knocked over and lay motionless in the road - nasty. We met two Americans who had just bought their tickets - good news to follow as they had the ticket requirements written in Persian. There was approximately 48 people in front of us in the queue, which was a relief because the bus stations were thronging with ... read more

Day 38 - Monday 20th March Could not be bothered to get up early as it was still snowing. However no point in just lounging around in the cold room. I walked to the Ethnological Museum but alas there was no sign of an entrance (it would appear that the museum is actually with the Golestan Palace complex). I walked around the Golestan Palace (and so in retrospect I was in the right vicinity) but refrained from taking photographs due to the intimidating presence of the army. During my walk back to the hotel, I had a lucky escape as a taxi brushed the back of my legs as I crossed the square - naturally the driver just waved his fist at me. Heather was feeling better but intended to stay in bed all day. John ... read more

Day 36 - Saturday 18th March I awoke at 6am and went outside to check for activity - there was none and so assumed that journey might start at 7am. The coach eventually left fairly late but even so it was without four passengers who did not turn up. The road was fairly straight for most of the way. Initially we drove through snow and later through drizzle. The plain was completely surrounded by mountains and the land looked uncultivated. The villages looked slightly more westernised but still the majority of homes were mud huts. As we moved east, the number of coaches and lorries on the road increased. For long stretches of the road, the tarmac was one vehicle wide. The vehicles drove on this central section before moving across to the side as another ... read more

In the summer of 1971 I traveled to Iran with the Los Angeles Geographical Society. A Pan Am flight took us from Los Angeles to London for a connecting BOAC flight on to Tehran. A long flight, but I was very much up for seeing this storied land. Upon leaving Mehrabad Airport for the transfer to downtown Tehran, the first sight to be seen was the then-new Shahyad Tower (now the Azadi Monument) constructed in a large traffic circle. The imposing monument had just been built to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire. Certainly it gave the observer the impression of permanence to the Palahvi dynasty. First impressions were of the modernity one encountered in cosmopolitan downtown Tehran. An English-language newspaper carried ads for telephone answering machines. That was cutting edge technology in 1971. ... read more