Mashad Tehran

... September and October could be other months of the year that you can take a trip to Alamut as the weather isn't unpleasant yet. Winter is the time when nobody recommends you to go there. Typically, any tour to Iran will be more or less about this time period.

In April or May, depending on the temperature and in the actual Spring, the breathtaking beauty of the mountains will make the long journey short for you. You don' see very rugged mountains ...

... mosaiced buildings and
palaces set around a perfectly manicured garden. We visited Ivan-e
Takht-e Marmar with the most stunning mirrored interior, it was like
standing inside a glitter ball. The mirrored entrance and staircase
led to a palatial entertaining hall. This was an ostentatious room
used for ceremonial occasions. We also visited the Aks Khaneh, the
historic photography museum, depicting the Shah's life in a wonderful
series of black and white photos.



After
the Palace ...

... 15 hours behind the wheel and Steve still held his cool, although he may have run out of cigarettes!


We finally arrived at the peace and quiet of the Atlas Hotel and gave a collective sigh of relief. Steve had several text messages from Head Office after ‘Kristina’ was spotted on the BBC News, right there in the thick of it all. I gather the messages started off asking if everyone was ok ...

... the powder skiing made the legs go like jelly. Skiing belongs to the upper class of Tehran and the ski slope is the best place to see how free young Iranians really can be, with the latest burburry jackets and the hair uncovered. yesterday evening we took the night train down to the city of Yazd in the middle of Iran, being of of the oldest cities on the earth. Getting away from the bustling Tehran is great and the calmness here really helps you calm down a ...

... dernier), la puissance du Caire (quasiment pas de "quartiers" à proprement parler) ou le charme d'Alep (pas de ruelles!) ; elle cumule pourtant en sa seule moitié sud, hier centre de la ville, une quantité de musée dont le nombre et la qualité forcent le respect. Elle est, en son vacarme, sa taille et ses capacités touristiques, une capitale de calibre occidental ...

... He was most pleased that I wasn't in Iran on business and he said he hoped I had a very happy time in Iran. The Golestan Palace was next on the agenda. This is a complex of fine buildings with ornate decoration and tiling which according to LP is a "monument to the glories and excesses of the Qajar rulers." It was all very impressive and good to photograph but my lack of sleep was ruling my enjoyment of the day. I did enjoy the Ethnographcial Museum within the complex ...

... with a big smile and shook my hand and wanted to know all about what happened inside the embassy. The rest of the afternoon was reserved for sightseeing. We first went to the old US Embassy (referred to as the US den of espionage by the local people). Anti-US and anti-Israel posters could be found against the wall surrounding the former embassy. I was scared to take photos of these posters as there were cameras everywhere but I Ali said it should be ok as there were no signs ...

... as it would be easier and cheaper. We ended up spending 90 minutes in the Bazaar. There were people everywhere. Everyone was dodging workers who were carrying products from parked trucks to individual shops. You couldn't walk more than 30 seconds without someone whistling indicating you should move out of the way and let them push their over-filled wheel barrels by you. It was a fun game to play. You also had plenty of women covered in their black chadors. About 10 minutes into ...

... I decided to wait until tomorrow to do some sight seeing. Being on a bus for 36 hours definitely takes a lot out of you. I did end up going for a walk around my hotel and I even spotted the hostel I initially wanted to stay at. It was just down the street from where I was staying. I decided that I would switch hotels tomorrow as this place was much cheaper and had more foreigners that I could meet. Nice Guy Ali came by at around 8:15 with his friend, Shayse, who had a car ...