IRAN

First let me say we booked our Iran trip through a travel agent in Shiraz, Iran and we booked the “Iran life” style tour. Traveling like an Iranian would, staying in what they called 2 and 3 star hotels, taking public transportation, public buses between cities and hoping to come in contact with ordinary Iranians. Breakfast is included at all our hotels.

Tehran

Mary put on her required scarf and the men’s long sleeve shirt while waiting for the flight to Iran. As we waited we noticed that most of the women did not have on scarves, but as soon as we started boarding our flight they all put on their scarf. We were glad that the flight from Istanbul to Iran was  an uneventful one.

When we arrived we were taken aside, as we were Americans, and first finger printed then moved to a place to sit for 20 min. or so while they ran a check on us. We along with  two other people were investigated and then sent on our way. They were not happy that  we did not have the name of the hotel we were staying in but I gave them our tour phone number and they let us go.

We found the driver who was to pick us up at the airport and take us to our hotel. He spoke no English. During that ride which was 45 minute, I was shocked. We first saw desert and brown, grey sky which looked like it might be dust in the air or bad smog, then shabby buildings, then lots of litter off the highway. (We had just been in very clean Croatia so it was a big change) As we got closer to downtown I thought we would see interesting buildings but as of today we have not seen anything that I would consider architecturally interesting.

Our hotel was two blocks from the Russian embassy on what I call an alley and it was like a hotel in the Soviet Union. Dirty floor, toilet took 15 minutes to fill, towel bar was pulled out from the wall. I wondered what they mean by 2 & 3 stars as this was a NO star accommodation. Breakfast is hard boiled eggs some dried flat bread and tea in Tehran and the waiter asked for some small tip.

Traffic in Tehran is as bad as expected. Lots of pollution, the air was not good. Drivers make their own lanes. Our taxi driver drove as calm as could be, never used a turn signal and when changing lanes I don’t think he even looked in the next lane for cars and came within inches of other cars. Motor bikes drive between cars and don’t observe any traffic law and run red lights dodging the cars coming at them. We learned from our guide how to walk INTO traffic to cross the street. No waiting for stop lights here, most times there are none. The traffic in Bali was very busy but it was like driving in choreograph chaos, in Tehran it’s a complete chaos. When we left Tehran the trunk in the taxi was so small they tied our luggage to the roof of the car. 

We went shopping to buy Mary some woman’s clothing so she could get a cooler scarf and a light weight manteu coat dress to wear. It was interesting to see that all the shops were mens shops on the main streets, no woman’s wear. We found an alleyway with women’s clothes.  It was quite an interesting experience as the windows were full of fancy long evening gowns and modern dresses, then there were the shops that you see the clothes woman are wearing on the street. I think most of the parties are in their homes where they can express themselves and I have been told that the Iranians live two lives, one inside and one outside.

We very much enjoyed seeing the Crown Jewels, the Architectural Museum and the last  Shau of Iran’s residence north of the city and just below the range of mountains. It was cool, clean and green, so different from the center city.

Shopping for clothes not worn in public 

Shiraz

In Shiraz we visited the great Iranian poets mausoleum of Hafez & the mausoleum of Sa’adi. Then we went to the entrance gate of Shiraz where a very old Koran was placed in an archway high above the road so people left Shiraz they would pass under the holy words of the Koran and have a safe passage on their journey.

While at the gate a group of teenagers just surrounded us and tried to speak to us then wanted to stand by Mary and have their picture taken with her. Finally we had to stop and I took a picture of her and once they noticed that was going to happen they surrounded on her like fish coming to feed in a frenzy. It was fun and our first real contact with really friendly Iranians.

We went to Persepolis just outside Shiraz this is a gem of ancient Persia ruins which dates to 500 BC. It was interesting to see how much ancient Persia ruled at that time.

We also visited the Necropolis with three tombs cut in the side of a rock hill.   

We visited Shah Cheragh in Shiraz. There are two entrances at the main gate one for men and one for women. We had to check our bags and cameras as no photos were allowed and I was frisked at the main gate. After the the main gate we again had two entrances for men and women into the mosque. Mary went to the women’s section of the mosque and I went to the men’s section. When I  walked in the main mosque I was so stunned I said out loud a most inappropriate thing ‘holy shit’. The walls of this tall and large mosque were covered with mirrors cut into 1/2” pieces and glued into intricate patterns. It was truly amazing to walk around and admire the beauty of this place, with all the men praying in different areas of the mosque. I could hear a woman wailing in the women’s section. I didn’t think it was Mary we had only been separated a few minutes. When I walked out, I thought this was worth the trip to Iran just to see this astounding place.

The hotel  in Shiraz had a very hard bed and a pillow that felt like it was stuffed with compacted sand. The shower was ‘camper’ style, toilet, sink and shower one room, so when you showered you were also showering the toilet and sink. Breakfast is hard boiled eggs some dried flat bread and tea. This is the “Iranian Life” tour.

The gate to Shiraz

Everyone wants their picture with Mary

The Nomads

There are an estimated one million nomads living in Iran, with many tribes and clans.

Nomads moving their camp

We left Shiraz for a 4 1/2 hour drive to the nomad camp in a very small car with 5 of us in the car. The driver, our guide, a nomad guide, and Mary and I. We met many nomad caravans along the way that were on the move to another camp. When we arrived at the nomad camp, our new home for the next couple of nights, we were greeted by our host and his family, his son was our nomad guide and lives in the city. At all of our usual accommodations we go to the front desk to check in with the clerk but with the nomads there is no front desk, here we must first sit down and have tea. No chairs so we sit on the handmade carpets they had made and placed on the ground in the shade of their tent. After tea came the water pipe for everyone to share, Mary passed but I tried it as least long enough to have a picture taken. The mother sat down with us and as she sat she would be spinning wool for rugs. She had something that looked like a top that she would spin and twist the wool into yarn. She did this whenever she was not working and even when she was walking tending the goats and sheep.

Our nomad camp

Their tent home was covered on three sides and roof with a fabric they had woven out of goat hair that looked something like burlap and was open on one side. This is where they ate, entertained, and slept. They had another tent made of canvas that was used as a kitchen with a propane burner, but most of the cooking was done on an open fire.

When you arrive at the nomad camp you are offered tea and a water pipe

Our nomad hosts

The nomads wear different clothing than what is seen in the city. Colorful dresses and scarfs. Mary was happy to find out she didn’t have to wear a scarf or her manteau, though who knows what they really thought.

Our hosts daughter and a neighbor

A neighbor

We had chicken for dinner. First kill the chicken, pluck it, clean it, cut it up and cook it. They had made it into a stew and was served with rice and a flat bread. At meal time a plastic table cloth was put on the ground and plates and silverware were given to everyone. The food was good and we enjoyed it. The mother and daughter did not eat with us, later I found out they ate in the canvas kitchen after serving us. After dinner we sat around and they sang songs for us. The father would sing a song then the daughter, then the son. Once the son and daughter sang a duet each singing a verse. They also did a short dance for us and used their cell phone to play the music to dance to. It was an enjoyable evening.

Our tour guide brought a tent and sleeping bag for us. They put a couple of rugs on the bottom of the tent so we wouldn’t have to sleep on the hard ground but it was still hard ground and we are getting to old for this type of camping. Breakfast is fried eggs some very thin flat bread the mother had made and tea with the Nomads.

Mary and l went down to the river where there was a small pool to cool off and to take a bath and washed our hair. Here we are in our late 60’s skinny dipping in a river in the middle of Iran, what a site!

The next day  was to be a big day because there was going to be an engagement party. A young man had asked to marry the daughter. The engagement is quite a process taking up to a year and starting with a young man asking for permission to marry. Tonight we were going to find out if the father had approved of the young man.

The young suitor came with his father, mother, sister and her two children. When they arrived it was the usual, we all sat around and had tea, and then came the water pipe.  Dinner was lamb they had slaughtered  earlier. The daughter served us tea and brought the water pipe and served us the dinner but never talked to the suitor or sat down with us. Her and her mother ate out back in the canvas kitchen. The meal was served so late Mary and I went to bed. The next morning we found out the father had turned down the suitors offer of marriage. We don’t know why but the young man was not a nomad.

The women eating in a separate tent

The government of Iran brings the nomads fresh water which they store in large plastic tanks and while we were there the water truck arrived with fresh water. When the truck arrived the first order of business was to have tea. After tea all the paper work was signed and the driver unloaded the water. 

The nomad’s son took us on a very difficult, high, steep and treacherous hike up goat trails to the top of one of the mountain ranges. Mary said her feet were bigger than the goat feet and we were barely able to stay on the trail. It was straight up, it was very hot and there was very little shade The view was incredible and we got to see that back inside the mountains it is green and land available for the nomads to take their goats and sheep. They take them out twice a day, first light in the AM then bring them back and take them out around 4 PM in the evening until right before dark.

 The top of our climb

 The nomad winter home

The nomads we visited were considered Turkmen and speak a Turkish dialect but they also speak Farsi the official language of Iran. Several men came to visit the father because he was considered a wise man and could tell fortunes by flipping through the pages of the Koran for inspiration and he would write down their future for which he got paid.

Getting paid for predicting the future

This morning we were to leave the nomads and go back to Shiraz and when we woke up we found our guide very sick. Mary and I felt lucky that is was not us. They made a home made goat cheese that they laid out in the sun with nothing covering it. The flies all did their thing on it and our guide invited us to eat it but we said no thank you. They served it on the table with the lunches and dinners and we felt lucky that we saw, ahead of time, how they processed it. On the drive back we had to stop at a clinic because he was getting dehydrated and he had to have a transfusion.

The neighbors generator (think cell phone)

Making bread and Mary waiting for breakfast

The bread is a very thin flat bread