Malek-o Tojjar Yazd

... is renowned for having the best, and certainly the most eye-catching, knockers in the country, if not the world. Before you go too far with that thought, the knockers I'm referring to are those found on the front door of a house... The central and southern regions are the conservative heartland of Iran, and sharia rules are enforced more vigourously here than anywhere else in the country. As a result of the historically strict segregation of men and women each families front door would be ...

... long and straight like Dominion Road, and views over the city. Many of the buildings in Yazd retain their ancient features and what look like large rectangular chimneys are actually mud brick air cooling towers called "bajirs", which work remarkably well at keeping their residents cool in the smothering heat. <br> <br><br>The Water Museum afforded us another welcome respite from the heat and more insight into how people have ...

... in a hostel. The heat was already picking up in Yazd, as it was 40 degrees (made worse by the constant wrapped scarves!) but our hostel was very comfortable and had brilliant showers and air-conditioning, as well as having a very groovy little courtyard! We all tried camel stew and watched the dusty sunset over the mosque from the rooftop terrace. Went in search of midnight ice-cream with Sandra, Luke and Chris before settling down for one last night of comfort.

Poèasi sva se iz Isfahana odpravila v malo pusèavsko mestece Yazd. Po obièajnem motoviljenju s taksisti in iskanju hotela sva pristala v predelani stari domaèiji, ki je vsekakor najlepsi hotel v katerem sem v zivljenju bival. Vendar so imeli na voljo samo eno sobo in se za to ni bilo ziher ali jo bova lahko obdrzala. Je pa bila za tri osebe in temu primerno sva jo pozneje tudi plaèala. Ampak je bila vsekakor vredna ...

... will win re-election in May because he appeals to the poor, uneducated majority. Obama is going to have his work cut out for him. None of them that I talked with think that Israel should be wiped off the map as Ahmadinejad was widely quoted as saying, and they also point out that Iran has the highest population of Jews in the Middle East outside of Israel. Very interesting. Tomorrow we're off for a 4-hour drive to Esfahan - until next time!

... famille mais, à vrai dire, l'excursion "dunes de sable" ne me tentait guère et je me dis que je ferais mieux de gagner Yazd plus tôt que prévu. Ce qui fut fait, un bus plein d'étudiants arrêté sur le bord de la route. J'attins Yazd la nuit à peine tombée. Yazd est une petite ville très charmante, clairement divisée entre sa ...

... beside me, his trophy Westerner. No problem at all obliging his request, although I wonder if I met an Iranian in Belfast on his hols would I want a photograph taken with him? After refreshing ourselves back at the homestead a fleet of taxis whisked the fabulous 14 headed out to the Khan-e 2Had restaurant. To be honest we'd no idea where we were being taken. The taxi headed off on the usual remake of the Whacky Races, only to ...

... the mud and straw, one boy watered the area where the other two boys where stomping their way through the mire. This heady mix is the covering for the majority of buildings in the old city as well as the roofs. You only have to look at the photograph taken from the Amir Chakhmaq Complex (below) to see the colouration of most of the city - sun baked mud. Yes of course there was a camera crew filming a car advertisement aside the ...

... exposed only to the eternal and merciless sunshine. The residents pass through the crooked alleys, archways, dead-end lanes, crickety gates in a dream state, perhaps induced by the blinding light and the naked blue sky. They feel secure in their impenetrable warrens, esconced in a timeless existence whereby a day can be as long as a week, a month, or a year. I spent what seemed like hours walking through little squares, followed by big squares, mosques, prayer halls, long ...

... between "You're My Heart, Your My Soul" and "Sherry Sherry Lady", I accidentally revealed the fact that Modern Talking had its heyday in the mid-1980s and they have long since disbanded. He was dismayed somewhat, but unfazed. It is a little known fact that Modern Talking may be one of the most popular bands amongst Iranian youths. I'd always hear it somewhere, usually in private vehicles, because non-spiritual music is ...