Blogs from Iran, Middle East - page 9

GONBAD REST DAY 31 AUGUST, 2016. Blue sky, HOT, 42c. Left hotel early to walk to the UNESCO World Heritage listed Goloshon Tower, 5 kms away. Built in 1006, it is famed for its cylindrical design, which became a core islamic architectural feature. It was 58 metres tall, constructed of brick. I always find it amazing how past builders built these large constructions without the modern tools available today. The town is largely forgettable, dry, crumbling, busy, built after 1929. I doubt the construction will last past 2029!! Stopped at a bakery, amazing colourful cakes and sweets slices. Had 4 biscuit size cakes/ slices and a strong lemon drink- $1-. Delicious. Now back in AC thinking about tomorrow. No other sites to see here!... read more

Some Uzbek photos. Hopefully you haven't seen. I cannot recall what I have posted!!... read more

My time in Iran was quickly winding down. It was my final full day and we left Esfahan early, on our way to a historic village known as Abyaneh. The village itself has been in existence for the past 2500 years, back to a time where Zoroastrianism prevailed in this region. The village is situated about two hours north of Esfahan and is on a mountainside. Red sandstone is the main construction theme here and gives Abyaneh a distinct look. Predictably, many Iranian tourists could be found here. We walked the narrow alley ways and some of the locals were dressed in very traditional garb and were selling food and wares. Kurush, of course, gave us some historic pretexts about the place. I was then free to go around. The others with me decided on checking ... read more

Shiraz is old and beautiful, with plenty of sandstone structures and historic monuments. About two million people live here. The hotel was situated in the old city, within a maze of sandstone alleyways that kind of reminded me of the old city of Jerusalem. We walked the streets on our own and explored the area before finding a local Iranian restaurant for a late dinner. The room was quaint and comfortable and we had tea at the rooftop cafe before enjoying a pleasant sleep. Karl and Rebecca were truly British and required tea breaks every few hours. I was happy to oblige. Karl was fiending alcohol, but since this was a dry Islamic country and we didn't know any locals, there would be no way of getting any here. Not that I'm drinking much at this ... read more

Day 50 Tuesday 8th March 2016 - Qazvin Booked out of the hotel and got the same hotel driver that drove us to Kandovan to take us to the bus terminal, after a bit of negotiation with the price of course. As we saw the terminal from a distance we got excited as it is a huge modern building but as we got closer realised that it is not opened yet. The moment we got out of the taxi we were harassed by aggressive ticket sellers quoting a ridiculous 800,000 rials ($40 AUD) for both of us for a bus journey to Qazvin, so we pushed through to get to where the buses were parked. There were even more around the buses so we just keep saying “Qazvin” and one pointed to the bus ... read more