Impressions and Images of Iran: Exit Iran

So, it's been an amazing three weeks. I must say that so far, my trip to Iran has been the best trip I have taken so far, and something I would be more than happy to repeat. This trip perhaps was the richest, the most educational, the most three-dimensional, and the most enjoyable trip I have ever experienced. It took me 8 months to describe and narrate it all, and still I feel like there are portions of it that I cannot put into words. Anyway, after three weeks in the country, it was time to exit, and go back home.

Impressions and Images of Iran: The Abgineh Museum of Tehran

I spent a total of four days in Tehran. It was longer than what most visitors do, but then again, I was traveling slow. And perhaps because I had plenty of time in the city, I saw some parts of it that are normally skipped. Heck, I even found a local who took me around different places of the city, and that was an interesting perspective indeed. Anyway, the last museum I visited the was the Abgineh Museum, also known was the Glassware and Ceramics Museum of Tehran.

Impressions and Images of Iran: The Carpet Museum in Tehran

Almost everyone I know have heard of the Persian rug, or the Persian carpet. It is safe to say that the excellence and high-quality of the Persian carpet is well-known worldwide. So if one visits Iran, a carpet is definitely a good souvenir. It is, however, rather expensive. In fact, a good carpet seller in Iran would have a foreign bank account, enabling buyers to use their credit cards. Iran is otherwise a cash economy, so visitors would otherwise have to bring in cash into the country (which I did myself), but if you want to buy a carpet, your cash might not be enough. Anyway, I didn't intend to buy a carpet, but I did want to visit the Carpet Museum.

Impressions and Images of Iran: On Rhinoplasty, Breast Enlargement, and Cosmetic Surgery

During the three weeks that I have spent in Iran, there was one aspect that I must say surprised me. I saw plenty of women (and even men) who would be walking around public places with a bandage on their nose. At first, I thought that they were punched by someone, but I saw too many of them so that hypothesis was becoming more and more absurd. And that's when I realized that these people actually have a bandage because they just had a nose job. They had cosmetic surgery to fix their noses!

Impressions and Images of Iran: The Golestan Palace in Tehran

Iran might be known today as an Islamic republic, but it used to have a monarchy. In the capital Tehran, there are several buildings in a complex that form the Golestan Palace, or Kagh-e Golestan, which literally means the Palace of Flowers. It is a historic monument and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Impressions and Images of Iran: The Holy Shrine of Imam Khomeini in Tehran

After hiking the Alamut Valley, I headed to Tehran, which was my final stop. I left my hotel early, wanting to take a bus, but since it was Ashura, buses were not running, and the only option to go to Tehran was by shared taxi. So I took a seat, and after waiting for the taxi to be full, we headed off for Tehran. The highway was empty, as everyone else was still not in town. I found myself a place to stay, and after putting down my things, I headed to the south, to see the shrine of Ruhollah Khomeini.

Impressions and Images of Iran: Ashura (or Conversations with an ex-Muslim Atheist)

I have already mentioned Ashura a few times before, and it is finally time to talk a little about it. Ashura is a religious holiday, which occurs during the tenth day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar. In 2016, it fell on October 11. There are events that are held in all towns and cities, and for the most part, the whole country shuts down for two days. On the first day, I found myself hiking in the Alamut Valley. And it turns out that my driver and guide was an ex-Muslim atheist. And he had plenty of things to say about Ashura.

Impressions and Images of Iran: The Alamut Valley

During Ashura, I went up to the Alamut Valley. The whole city of Qazvin was more or less closed, and so I arranged for a car to take my up to the valley to go hiking. By 8 AM I was ready, waiting for my ride in front of the hotel, and we spent the whole day outdoors.

Impressions and Images of Iran: The City of Qazvin

After Shiraz, I flew to Tehran. But I didn't stay in Tehran; rather, I went to the bus station and took a short bus ride to go to the northwest, heading to Qazvin. I figured I still had some days left and so I could still go exploring another area of the country before I needed to head back to Tehran to catch my flight home. So to Qazvin I went, and stayed there for 2 nights. It would be my base to explore the Alamut Valley. Ashura (a Shia Muslim festival) was coming up, and I was timing it such that I would be in the countryside so that I wouldn't be hampered as much.

Impressions and Images of Iran: Masjed-e Vakil and Hammam-e Vakil in Shiraz

The central business area of Shiraz is centered around Shohada Square, where the city's bazaars radiate from. Idling around the bazaar has always been an interesting experience: you see local Shirazis going about their shopping, from fruits and vegetables to textiles, sweets, spices, household items, and jewelry. Whatever you can think of under the sun, there is a shop selling it in Shiraz. Anyway, I did meander around, but when I felt like I needed a break from the people, I went inside two structures: the Vakil Mosque, and later on the Vakil Hammam.

Impressions and Images of Iran: Mausoleums and Shrines in Shiraz

Shiraz somehow has plenty of tombs and mausoleums and shrines, basically, buildings that are dedicated to dead people. I visited two of them. But somehow, to be honest, these are some of the places that I understood the least. I visited the Aramgah-e Hafez, a tomb dedicated to Hafez, a Persian poet; and I also visited the Imamzadeh-ye Ali Ebn-e Hamze, the tomb of Emir Ali, a nephew of Shah Cheragh who I was told also died here a long time ago when he was on the way to Khorasan to help Imam Reza.

Impressions and Images of Iran: Naranjestan-e Qavam in Shiraz

Traditional houses abound in Iran. Sometimes they are transformed into museums, as is the case of the houses I saw in Kashan, or they are transformed into boutique or traditional hotels. Shiraz isn't known for traditional houses, but nevertheless there are a few houses-turned-museums that are open to the public. One such house is the Naranjestan-e Qavam, or the Qavam House.

Impressions and Images of Iran: Masjed-e Nasir-ol-Molk in Shiraz

Shiraz was my next stop in my trip. After taking a taxi from Kerman, and visiting archaeological sites in between, I stayed for four nights, exploring the city slowly. As I was traveling for three weeks, I also didn't want to pack every day so for the next four days, I sight-seed and relaxed, reading my book, exploring the city slowly. One of the first things I saw in Shiraz was the Masjed-e Nasir-ol-Molk, or the Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque. This is also known as the Pink Mosque, and is one of the most photographed mosques in the country.

Impressions and Images of Iran: The Achaemenid Empire's Capital in Persepolis

Persepolis is one of the many highlights of my visit to Iran. I went there one day by joining a tour which I arranged from my hostel. So one morning, I woke up early, ate breakfast early, and met my group who then drove us about an hour north out of Shiraz, to Persepolis. Persepolis is the capital of the Achaemenid Empire: Cyrus the Great chose the location, but the palaces weren't built until the time of Darius I in 520 BC. And when the Achaemenid Empire finally was destroyed in 330 BC by Alexander the Great, it was Persepolis that was destroyed the last, with Alexander the Great burning the whole complex to the ground.

Impressions and Images of Iran: The Tombs of Darius I, Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I, and Darius II in Naqsh-e Rustam

Naqsh-e Rustam is just across the highway from Persepolis, and it happened to be the last stop in my long taxi ride from Kerman to Shiraz. I must say that it is one of the most impressive archaeological sites that I have visited. This site contains the tombs of four Achaemenid kings: that of Darius I (Darius the Great), Xerxes I (Ahasuerus), Artaxerxes I, and Darius II. Their tombs are gigantic temples carved into solid rock on the face of a cliff. It is definitely an impressive sight.

Impressions and Images of Iran: The Tomb of Cyrus the Great in Pasargadae

Most visitors in Iran head to Persepolis when they are in the vicinity of Shiraz. Shiraz was indeed my next destination, but since I had chartered a taxi to take me from Kerman to Shiraz, I was able to stop by other places along the way, places which not every visitor opt to visit. One such sight is Pasargadae, an archaeological site about 50 kilometers north of Persepolis. It's quite a bit of a drive to get here if you're coming from Shiraz, and indeed some visitors tend to skip it given that it isn't as majestic as Persepolis. And yes, if I were not with my own vehicle, I probably would have skipped it as well, but since it was on the way, I figured it was a good idea to check it out.

Impressions and Images of Iran: The Troglodyte Village of Meymand

After the southeast, I headed back to the center of the country. My next destination was Shiraz, and again, thanks to the guys in my hotel in Kerman, I was able to arrange a taxi to take me from Kerman to Shiraz. It's a little expensive doing it this way as opposed to taking the bus, but I at least would be able to see a few sights on the way, which are otherwise hard to reach if I was just going with public transportation. One of these sights is Meymand, a troglodyte village, in the middle of nowhere.

Impressions and Images of Iran: Aramgah-e Shāh Ni'matullāh-i Valī and Bāgh-e Shāzdeh in Mahan

Mahan is a small town about 35 kilometers away from Kerman. I visited two sites here when I went to the desert. After spending the night in the desert, I went here with my car, before heading out to Kerman. Mahan is actually a leafy town where well-to-do Kermanis escape their city. So one morning, I checked out a shrine of a Sufi mystic, as well as another Persian garden.

Impressions and Images of Iran: Color Mountains and the Sandcastles of Dasht-e Loot

My visit to the Dasht-e Loot (Desert of Emptiness) is perhaps one of the most memorable parts of my trip. The Dasht-e Loot is a large salt desert in southeastern Iran, and is the world's 25th largest desert. It is also one of the world's hottest and driest places. Of the 21 World Heritage Sites in Iran (of which I have seen 9), this is the only site that is inscribed under the natural criterion.

Impressions and Images of Iran: The Citadel of Rayen

When I went to southeastern Iran, I didn't visit just one adobe citadel, I visited two. I visited the Bam Citadel, as shown in my previous post, and I also visited the Citadel of Rayen (Arg-e Rāyen). This one was apparently relatively unknown until recently, after the 2003 Bam Earthquake destroyed Bam Citadel, and then suddenly people started paying attention to its neighbor.