Very chilly
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2007
1
89
150
Trip End
Ongoing
Kashan,
Iran
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
I had a small stopover in Qom which is the 2nd most religious city in Iran and that meant more weeping from the women. I can tell you there is nothing more exciting than sneaking into a shrine and after about 1min releasing that I'm probably sticking out as I'm not praying or weeping but rather just walking around staring at people. Regardless it was an amazing experience.
I also got to experience the chowder - tent in farsi - as all women had to wear them in the shrine. It really looked like they simply got a black sheet and through it over them. This i guessed was something I would see the further I went from Tehran
Kashan was a small city near Esfhan that was famous for it's old houses and bathhouses and i spent a great day looking around an non-touristy town but was nevertheless shown so much warmth and help from the locals especially the
1) old lady who helped me order at the restaurant and tried to have a conservation in broken English
2) the numerous shop owners who brought me out of the cold and feed me free tea and figs - it was very nice not having to worry about where this was going like I had to in India - genuine hospitality
The best thing though was while it was still freezing it was certainly getting warmer as I headed south
