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Esfahan
Entry 25 of 40 | show all | print this entry |
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Itinerary : Esfahan
Date : 18th November 2007
Mileage in Iran : 2100 km
Mileage so far : 13800 km
Today was another relaxing day! Like I said in my previous entry, I think that the adventure is becoming a holiday! So I had a bit of a chat with Kev to convince him to harden the Iran part as it is too nice and comfy...Actually to harden the whole trip again! Kevin agreed and so we headed for the coffee shop with my map to have a cup of tea and discuss the next 3 weeks of the trip...Well there was nothing much to discuss as my itinerary was already all planned a long time ago in Singapore. The great news is that we are a little bit in front of our schedule and the plan to go to Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, that I had put on standby, is back on track! So starting today, it's going to be riding every day for the next 3 weeks! The difficulty will be raised starting tomorrow, where we will be hitting the north western part of Iran and then eastern Turkey. It will be difficult in terms of riding mileage, of weather and lodging. But I'm looking forward to it and nothing scares me after the Kashmir experience...I know I can ride at -15 and still be ok...But it's going to be a real test for Kevin...Apparently there is snow in those parts of the country at the moment...Then, once in Syria, we will be back to reasonable mileage again and the weather is going to be warmer...
Once the meeting ended and the next 3 weeks itinerary finalized, we headed back to Esfahan's Emam square to have this time a daytime view...So nothing really different and the pictures are the same as yesterday night except that the background is Gray instead of black...The main highlight of the day was entering a mosque for the first time...And I'm lucky because it's known to be one of the most beautiful mosque in the world...
I have not mentionned anything up to today on the rules applied to women in Iran and I would like to share with you a few of the scenes I have experienced since I arrived in Iran. First I would like to say that I find Iran relatively relaxed in term of clothing. Although they have their big black cloth hiding most of their body, they all have their face exposed. Moreover, I noticed that they all wear jeans underneath and put a considerable amount of make-up. On the other hand, it's surprising to see how men and women are separated in almost everything...When waiting in the bus stops or when queuing in front of the pastry shops, men and women are separated and there are 2 separate queues. Even in the bus, the women are all sitting in the rear of the bus and the men in front. Those are some of the example and there are a lot more...Those rules make me feel a bit uncomfortable and I don't know what are the limits...Can I talk to women? Can I ask direction to a woman? Yesterday, I was weirdly stared at by a group of men passing by while resting on the bus bench and I realized today that I was sitting in the women's bus bench! Last night, while I was in the bazaar walking around, I young women looked at me and said hello but I looked down and completely ignored her not knowing what I was suppose to do or allowed to do! I heard some stories and I'm a bit paranoid...Probably for nothing but I don't want to take any risk...I still have 7000-8000 km to do! Even today, when on my way back to the hotel, I flagged down a taxi to bring me back to the hotel and when I saw that there was someone in the back, I turned back to look for another one...But the taxi had stopped and was waiting for me, so I jumped in the back beside this lady that was of a certain age and said hello but she didn't even look at me...Felt very uncomfortable...I realized that this was nomal and that taxis pick-up several customers at the same time. Then, maybe a km down the road, the taxi stopped again and this time there was 2 young iranian women...Oh shit I told myself...What do I do now? I'm going to be stuck between those 2 women in this taxi and I don't think it's a good idea...Then the driver gave me a hint and told me to seat in the front seat to let the 3 ladies sit behind...Hmm...That's how it works...Well, like I said ealier, didn't want to do anything stupid and wasn't sure to have understood the driver properly, so I gave a dollar and jumped out to walk back to the hotel...I later realized that when I first jumped into the taxi and saw the lady sitting behind, I should have probably gone to sit in front straight away...So it was not the lady being a grumpy old grandma...
It's very difficult for me to take pictures to show a bit of this part of Iran and I heard that 2 weeks ago, a french couple on holiday was put separately in jail for 2 weeks because they were suspected of spying... Probably just taking the wrong picture at the wrong time...I'm not very keen to discover Iranian prisons, so sorry guys but no "macho" pictures...
Tomorrow going to Qazvin, then Masuleh and Tabriz, before crossing to Turkey on the 23rd of November.
PS : Celine, I have scheduled to pass to Amman and would be glad to see you and your husband (and sleep for free, haha!). Is your offer still on? I scheduled to be in Amman between the 28th of November and the 1st of December.
Latest Comments (11)View all comments
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Re: salut branleur (reply)
Nov 26, 2007 14:46 EST by caprile
Philippe! merde tu me connais comme si tu m'avais fait! En effet, je te feraý un resume verbal complet sur la situation des iraniennes lors d'un de nos entrainements...
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In reply to:
Merci pour ton blog, je ferai un petit résumé ce samedi avant le match contre les Latinis. Je ne sais pas si c'est un hasard, mais depuis que... show all
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Re: See you soon! (reply)
Nov 24, 2007 16:27 EST by caprile
Thanks Celine! Skip the food, the shower and the warm bed...Just take out the beer! I haven't had a single drop of beer since the 15th of October in Nepal! Kevýn has been secretly drinking...So if i fall asleep after the first bottle don't be surprised! Steph gave me your number and will ring you when approaching. Thanks agaýn for your ýnvitation! I think I will stay longer than planned...haha!show all
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Re: Pour repondre a tes questions (reply)
Nov 24, 2007 16:18 EST by caprile
On reconnait tout de suite le Marseillais! je te demande des news et tu me fais un telefoot! Genial!
Je peux continuer mon voyage peinard maintenant...
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In reply to:
Mon gars
Je ne sais pas si ta question est relative a l'Olympique Gaulois ou a la ligue 1?;-) je repondrai au deux.
Pour l'olympique Gaulois, tres... show all
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Re: News from Singapore (reply)
Nov 24, 2007 16:16 EST by caprile
Florent, je ne rentrerai qu'en solex uniquement si tu montes derriere et fais le voyage avec moi...
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In reply to:
Salut Christophe,
Je suis ravi de voir que tout se passe tres bien etant donne que tu es probablement dans la partie la plus ' craignos ' de ton voyage.
Vu ce que tu as accompli jusqu'a maintenant... show all
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Re: Kaninahhhhhhhhhh làààààààààà! (reply)
Nov 24, 2007 16:13 EST by caprile
Salut lolo,
je sais que la mosquee est ouverte, elle me reveille tous les matins a 5h00 du mat depuýs 3 semaines!
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In reply to:
Heureux de voir que ton trip se passe bien Chris!
M'enfin, ces photos d'Iranienne, on les zora...ou on les zora pô!
Si tu cherches asile en France à ton arrivée hésites pas, la mosquée est ... show all
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Kaninahhhhhhhhhh làààààààààà! (reply)
Nov 24, 2007 10:28 EST by lolo56
Heureux de voir que ton trip se passe bien Chris!
M'enfin, ces photos d'Iranienne, on les zora...ou on les zora pô!
Si tu cherches asile en France à ton arrivée hésites pas, la mosquée est ouverte..!
Bonne continuation,
Ton meilleur coach sur Philip Island ( ICR Nov 04)
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News from Singapore (reply)
Nov 23, 2007 03:51 EST by florenthuchet
Salut Christophe,
Je suis ravi de voir que tout se passe tres bien etant donne que tu es probablement dans la partie la plus ' craignos ' de ton voyage.
Vu ce que tu as accompli jusqu'a maintenant, je pense sincerement que le reste du voyage se passera sans souci...jusqu'a ce que tu te fasses agresser par des racailles a ton arrivee a Lyon.
C'est une bonne chose que tu ... show all
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Pour repondre a tes questions (reply)
Nov 21, 2007 06:51 EST by simon83
Mon gars
Je ne sais pas si ta question est relative a l'Olympique Gaulois ou a la ligue 1?;-) je repondrai au deux.
Pour l'olympique Gaulois, tres peu de victoire mais je ne suit pas trop car je n'ai pas eu le temps d'aller a beaucoup d'entrainement et n'etant plus dans liste je n'ai des nouvelles que par Vincent.
Pour le foot, Marseille est toujours en bas du classement mais... show all
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salut branleur (reply)
Nov 21, 2007 03:26 EST by philippevo1
Merci pour ton blog, je ferai un petit résumé ce samedi avant le match contre les Latinis. Je ne sais pas si c'est un hasard, mais depuis que t'es parti on a pris pas mal de taules, tu reviens quand?
Je vois que tu es presque en Europe, c'est fabuleux de faire cela. On est un paquet à te jalouser, crois-moi! J'attends que tu sois en Turquie pour me dire la vérité sur les iraniennes, à mon avi... show all
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BIEN SUR QUE JE SUIS TON BLOG (reply)
Nov 20, 2007 20:07 EST by simon83
Salut ma poule,
J'ai bien recu ton SMS et a la question: 'est ce que tu suis mon blog', ma reponse est: EVIDEMMENT!!!!!
Et d'ailleurs Bravo pour cette mise a jour en reelle, cela nous permet de te suivre et accessoirement d'etre malade de jalousie ;-)
J'etais un peu inquiet lors de ton passage au pakistan, mais apparemment tout s'est bien termine. Je peux voir que tu es un peu plu... show all
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