The most beautiful city in the world

  Esfahan, Iran
Wednesday, May 10, 2006

After the chaos of Tehran, it was a pleasure to move onto the quiet and tranquility of the beautiful Esfahan. I am not exagerrating when I say that Esfahan has to be one of, if not THE most beautiful city in the world. Truly. Just look at the photos! (and i'm shite at photos). The weather was fantastic, the people friendly, and most places accessible on foot. It's the must see highlight of Iran. I was guided around the city by a friend of Maryam's (who I stayed with in Tehran) - Gohsan. A fantastic guide he was!

The city centre is dominated by the huge Eman Khomeini Square. It is 500m long and about 250m wide. In the middle of this square is a fountain, across from the fountain is the very photogenic Sheikh Lotfollah mosque.


Around the square are thousands of small (mostly tasteful) tourist shops - housing carpets, tiles and minature paintings.


At the far end of the square is the amazing Eman mosque. One of the most holy and most beautiful mosques in Iran.


A short 10 min walk away from the square is the Chehel Sotun Palace, the shabby feel to it and its gardens just adding to the charm of the place. Here we came across a group of high school girls all to eager to laugh and talk to me, insisting I join them for a photo. I was most happy to oblige!


In the evening, a walk along the Zayande river is a 'must'. Its where all the Iranian young folk and families hang out - walking along the river or having picnics in the grass. We walked along the river for perhaps 2km, past 4 of the wonderful bridges. On some of these bridges are teahouses which I wasn't allowed in (tea houses means waterpipes which are illegal for females).


It is possible to see the city in a day or two, but it has such a wonderful vibe to it that 3 days minimum is recommended! I just loved hanging out in the many gardens, reading, or just wandering the streets aimlessly.

Gohsan however had other plans and invited me to visit his family...