Niloo Apartment Hotel Tehran

... type that had gone down, a Russian made Tupolev Tu-154, was to be avoided if possible. Unfortunately this was exactly what we were about to fly on. Being a nervous passenger at the best of times I wasn't too happy with this turn of events – I had hoped to see a shiny new Boeing or Airbus parked out in front of us. As we walked to the plane I looked for any unusual signs of wear and tear, as if the ground-crew might have missed a m************ in the fuselage ...

... off to the jails for insignificant &#8220;crimes&#8221;, crimes that that we in the west would consider basic human rights. The regime was so stringent on its Islamic principals that this became the law, people were imprisoned by the rules of religion rather than the rules of justice. <br><br>The next day James and I headed just up the road to the Niyavaran park and Summer Palace. It was a beautiful spot with the rocky Alborz mountains not far off in the distance. The palace was ...

... Jewels Museum. It&#8217;s tucked away in the basement of the central branch of Bank Melli and is only open in the afternoon a few days a week (Sat-Tues, 2pm-4pm). <br><br>No cameras or bags allowed and you will be scanned by metal detectors as you enter. If you lean a little too close to the exhibits or touch the glass barriers, you&#8217;ll set off sirens and be promptly told to move away by heavily armed guards. As soon as you walk in, you ...

... pré-1979 ; une visite terrible, tant l'on traite ici du plus sombre. La police secrète du Shah embarquait ici librement tous les opposants, torturant etc. Le musée consiste en l'explicitation de ces méthodes, lourdement illustrée par des mannequins sanguinolant et, dans le fond, la confirmation qu'avant Khomeiny la vie était effroyable. Une propagande aussi peu d ...

... he viewed the self-same revealing videos! Al this whilst driving six inches from the vehicle in front before passing. We loved that guy! The bus dropped us at the entrance to the airport - probably the domestic terminal, the details at this point are not entirely of importance - and minus our pottery (some opted not to entrust our purchases to the Mohammads care and control on the Tehran-Shiraz leg) we hauled our bags into the sauna-like concourse where Mohsen garnered ...

... it's a shame that the natives don't quite feel the same way. Although they are all proud of their most precious history and the famous ancient Persian empire, most of the people that we met hated their President and almost everyone was looking for a way out of Iran. Back to our money problems, which - as you may have guessed by the length of our stay in Iran - pretty much instantly disappeared upon our meeting with the Haghighi household. Potential trips to the British ...

... Two girls came out from the classroom and approached me. They both introduced themselves to me. This was the first time I actually soke with an Iraniam woman so I was in unknown territory. Fatima, the beautiful girl I noticed earlier, introduced herself first and said in broken English "Hello. How are you?" She had this huge smile on her face. You could tell she was excited about meeting a foreigner. Behind her was her friend, Hasti, who didn't know much English either ...

... much of it at this point in Tehran. The problem was that Ali was really hungry. Because it was Ramadan, all the restaurants were closed. I offered for him to go to my hotel and we could eat in the lobby but he said he was too uncomfortable as there would be Iranian people there. The funny thing I have learned while being here is that very few people fast. Many people still eat during the day during Ramadan. But they all eat at home. No one eats outside for a few reasons. One, it ...

... remain open during the day to feed fading foreigners. Saying that, it was bloody hard finding food in Tehran thanks to the sheer size of the city and the lack of anything decent on offer. It is a vast, incredibly hectic place, and the driving is out of this world. There are never more than 3 inches between the car behind, in front or to the side, and a majority of these are the awful environment-damaging Paykans. Thankfully they have ceased production but ...

... and slacks, shuffling old men, school-aged boys and girls, grandmothers clad head to toe in black chadors, all march courageously into the onslaught, and amazingly they all make their way through safely. Seeing Tehran traffic gives me some idea of the Iran-Iraq War. There seems to be an unspoken and unconscious social contract between drivers and pedestrians - everyone has the right to jump in, but everyone also has an obligation to maneuver in a way as to minimize ...