Taj Mahal AP Hotel Tehran

... in some other parts of the Alborz. When the soft fresh green grass covers the curvy hills and reflects the sunshine in a mild climate, you take pleasure in inhaling plenty of pure oxygen in the air and enjoy the invigorating scenery.<br><br>The climate changes so dramatically during your ride from Qazvin to Alamut that you get to see rice paddies low in the plains close to the river although snow-capped peaks of the region still raise their heads above ...

... us to a lovely restaurant in the middle of the Park-e Shahr. One thing that surprised us about Tehran was how many wonderful green parks there were everywhere. I had expected Tehran to be a dirty, polluted urban sprawl but was pleasantly surprised by the poplar tree lined streets and manicured public spaces created in the city. Compared to cities like Beijing, Delhi or Hong Kong I didn't think pollution was bad at all, though perhaps we'd arrived at a good time or it was because we ...

... ended with a terse &#8220;what the hell were you thinking?&#8221; What a day.<br><br>We settled into our twin single beds room (sigh), but with the added inconvenience of having our bathroom located across the hallway. Not such a big deal I thought, until I went for a shower. Nothing takes long to dry in this climate, so I was in the habit of washing my limited Iranian wardrobe each evening and hanging it up to dry ...

... Il y a beaucoup à évoquer. Les musées, déjà cités. J'ai visité en 48h plus de musées/places historiques que j'ai du probablement le faire depuis le début du voyage. Teheran a normalisé cette formidable démarche qui consiste à parquer dans des bâtiments clos un pans culturel assez dense pour les baptiser "musées" et en faire payer l'entrée. Puisque la synthèse a ...

... bus most of the day back to Tehran, there was no point in whinging. Didn't stop some though!! It was off to Liljan and a pottery shop. That doesn't narrow it down though for Liljan would appear to be the centre of pottery making in this area. Both sides of the streets lined with pottery shops and the further from the centre of town you get the smaller the pots etc. That said there were some really kitsch pieces in some of the shops. Gaudy Egyptian pharoh heads. You get the ...

... previous day for the first time. After eating we headed downstairs to the Mehrva Gallery, owned by the very lovely Mehrva Arvin. The exhibition featured black and white paintings with fish involved in them. Not my cup of chay at all. Edging ever closer to the exit Gisella spotted the said Mehrva in her office. I was spotted being nosey as to the much more enticing paintings in her office and was cordially invited in. Well. What a treasure trove. I fell in love with an ...

... asked me "Dino, do you think any of these people understand what we are saying?" It was a good point. I felt more comfortable talking to him about politics after he said this. Majid taught me a lot about the restrictions people were faced with. Examples: -A man cannot be seen in public with a woman if they are not married to each other -In University, the only girls you are supposed to be allowed to talk to are those that are in your class. All conversations should take place in ...

... for their lingerie. I laughed but I knew he was serious at the same time. He then directed us to another section of the bazaar that sold spices and copper. We didn't stay for too much longer. Before we left, I bought a notebook for my journal. The vendor was asking Ali all kinds of questions about me. Ali loves it when people ask him about me. On our way back to the Canadian Embassy, I spotted a few policemen on the streets who were dressed differently from the other policemen ...

... enough for me already. Ali could see that my demeanor changed. It was clear that I was uncomfortable. He asked if I was "suffering" because of him. I said I was fine. I was just tired and wanted to get something to eat and go home. What else was I going to say? We finally found a small fast food restaurant. Ali and his friends treated me to a plate of mini kebabs. So much for me treating them to dinner. After dinner, they drove me back to my hotel. I was more relaxed at ...

... for some local handicrafts. I picked out a number of fans and baskets woven out of palm leaves. I also got a red Bandari face mask as a souvenir. The lady selling the masks laughed with embarrassment when Abbassi asked her on my behalf about the right way of securing it on one's face. No Bandari man would be caught dead buying a women's mask, much less asking about the proper way of wearing it. Desperate to get out of Bandar Abbas, I checked out ...