Howeyzeh Tehran

... occupying Iran.

Location of Alamut Fortress

Remember that during your tour to Iran, it's definitely worth taking a trip to Alamut at the north west of Qazvin city. You should cross the Alborz mountains and drive through 100s of curves on asphalt road for nearly 120 km to get to the fortress. Figures and words cannot express the excitement of this mysterious journey. You keep wondering how people could decide to pick up such a location for their ...

... tranquil escape
surrounded by large trees and a trimming of bright summer flowers. .
Four or five pool men were painting the huge pool in the garden and
the cleaner/nanny Zorah, was darting from room to room with a
list of jobs to do. Nikki and Heath were, as always, the calm amongst
the storm. Nikki had Arlo, their gorgeous big-eyed one year old boy,
planted on one hip as she and Heath directed the comings and goings.
Nikki and I had met whilst studying in Berkley, California more than
10 ...

... and their drivers left their vehicles to watch or take part in the event.


Even though we simply waved and said we were merely tourists (“jahangard”), trying to reach our hotel, we were constantly asked if we were journalists and invited to tell the world what was happening in Iran. A group on a second floor balcony who clearly were journalists, aimed their telephoto lens at the passersby and ...

... but my time in Iran is coming to an end and I'll be flying to Damascus in a few hours. After getting over the initial shock of seeing women in scarves and chadors, strangely enough I almost don't even notice it anymore. Overall it's been an incredible experience I can assure you that the Iranian people are some of the friendliest, most hospitable that I've ever met though you'd never know it based on the news we get at home. And now on to Syria!

... soon discovered that Ali's life revolved around leaving Iran as soon as possible (as much as all other we have met here) and start a new life in Europe. Preferably Sweden of course, according to Ali. Ali showed us many interesting places around Tehran and helped us not to get ripped off from taxis, kebab places etc. One night Ali showed us a really interesting underground cafe where the hip crowds of Tehran youth gathered to drink tea, smoke water pipe and ...

... début d'après midi lundi, après avoir passé la matinée à skier. La banlieue nord de Teheran, c'est une colline qui vire rapidement à la montagne (trois monts, pour être exact, jusqu'à 6000m. oui oui) ; il m'a suffit de prendre un taxi qui m'a déposé (en 10mn) au pied des telecabines. 20mn plus tard j'étais dans le blizzard, à 4000m d'altitude. Inutile de préciser ...

... drive on without slowing down. Simply stepping out when the green walking man appears on the opposite light is likely to get you a stay in the local hospital - or worse! Crossing the road where there is no pedestrian crossing requires a special act of bravery. Jaywalking is too weak a phrase to describe crossing a four lane road, which the Iranian drivers have turned into five lanes all by themselves, where the traffic is still moving. The trick seems to be to make ...

... this week and that I wouldn't be able to travel in Iran because of this. He said that he would photocopy my whole passport and that I could have the original back immediately. In that case, I explained that I could wait a week. He finally directed me to leave his office and wait for a staff member to return my passport to me. While waiting for the passport, I realized that I didn't want to backtrack to Tehran while I was in the south of Iran. I knew I would be there for about 2 ...

... get my Syrian visa today as well. She said that would be fine. I was happy with this as I didn't want to be in Tehran longer than I needed to. When I left the Embassy, Ali was waiting outside. Damn. I really wanted to enjoy the day on my own. I told him what my plans were. He could join me if he wanted to but that it wouldn't be too interesting for him. He said he wanted to tag along. I wasn't surprised with his decision. First, I went to the Indian Embassy to find out what ...

... to live in Canada and if there still was a US Embassy in Tehran there would be a similar line as well. We ended up seeing an official outside the door and I told him what I needed. He explained that the office that provided letters of recommendation was already closed and that I would need to return tomorrow. The good news was that I would get my letter on the same day that I requested it. Ali and I then took a cab to a hotel I wanted to stay at. He wanted me to stay ...