Khatoon Hotel Esfahan

... hard rock beds". Přesné, postele tvořily kovové traverzy přehozené dekou. Petr si ještě dal za příplatek 5000 riálů sprchu, ve vedlejším hotelu jsme si zamluvili výlet k jezeru Namak na další den (šli jsme tam trapně dvakrát, protože se nám 50 doláčů zdálo moc, ale poté co jsme nic jiného nenašli jsme se ještě rádi vrátili), koupili náhodným výběrem kelímků z chlaďáku snídani a ně ...

... in a nest of carpets, a cup of tea in hand and two men opening every folded carpet in the shop. Admittedly we in the market for carpets but buying from the most touristy shop in Esfahan seemed like a mistake. However, after some time we found a small carpet we liked and were surprised at how reasonable the price was. I firmly said we would come back (as I definitely wanted to scour the other dealers first). James on the other hand was slightly more transparent and although he didn't ...

... located in every major town and city. They are of both religious and social importance and have these characteristics:

- located at least 42km apart to bring people from small villages nearby together

- always next to a bazaar, as this was the traditional source of funding for the mosques

- have either 2 or 4 minarets (not every mosque has minarets)

Esfahan, Iran mikeandfi

... of yesterday wandering around Imam Square and the bazaar around it chatting to the traders of the few shops that are open. Friday is their day off so they were all relaxing and didn't give us the hard sell. In the eveing I went back to the square for a late dinner at a restuarant and the grass was packed with families having eleabourate picnics (something the Iranians excel at). We'd barely sat down with our saffron ice-cream with frozen rice-flour noodles (yum, my new ...

... Everybody wants to talk to you, to find out where you are from and to invite you back to their house for tea. The women are cosmopolitan, stylish and streetwise, and not at all the submissive housewives one would imagine. Most (but not all, granted) of the men are friendly and keen to show you what Iran is really like. It is one of the most amazing places I have ever been, and one of the most interesting. With the upcoming election, everybody wants to ...

... that what they're called) and let rip with the menu. Wonderful food. Relaxed good company and a roaring fire. Sweet. Oh. And you'll never guess who turned up well after we'd arrived. Yes the Separates. Not a word of 'Can we join you'. Oh no, they sat well away from us, although they did acknowledge our presence. Maybe we wouldn't have been up to the level of discussion. Who knows. David and Steven were the only two to come over and ...

... Sortant du restau, ainsi, j'attaquai la visite de la Place "naqsč jahan", véritable tuerie touristique consistant en une place quasi pietonne que bordent trois sublimes monuments et que fontaines et jardins viennent relier en une classe rare. La mosquée Cheikh Lotfollah ...

... talked of politics and the world. We then went to the river to walk around and met an Irish guy who was in Iran for only a week, but who was more than willing to join us on our journeys. We were in six in total now. We sat on the river bank with non-alcoholic fruit beer and enjoyed the cool breeze of the evening. Then we drove around town for a couple of hours and saw all the people driving around doing something similar. It was then cut short as my bus would be ...

... I didn't like option 2 as I didn't want to spend another day in Esfahan even though I liked it. It also meant getting to Masulleh later than I wanted to. I decided option 3 was the best. I would leave at midnight tonight even though I didn't know what the Tehran-Rashdt bus schedule was like. After I bought my bus ticket, I had to (reluctantly) meet the old man I met yesterday at Imam Square. I thought about ditching him but I didn't want him to think Canadians were jerks ...

... I asked him lots of questions about Afghanistan and also about his life at Esfahan University. In turn he asked me about life in Canada. We ended up talking over a dinner of kebabs, followed by sugary tea and water pipe at the popular outdoor teashop at the foot of the Si-o-Seh bridge. As a young man in his early 20's, he seemed as wary of the world and human affairs as an old man. I can feel the weight of the world, or at least of his country, bearing down on his ...