Greetings from Tehran, as you
are all aware the capital of Iran. Just to fill in the gaps what happened
between here and last news. Went to Anakara, Turkey's capital. Although there is
not a huge amount to see there, it is of some interest. I am often curious to
see the capital cities of a country, can tell you something about the place. The
main thing I did there was to go to the Anit Kabir. Ataturk's mausoleum. The
structure is rather impressive, being very large, set in a park in the centre of
Ankara. The inside is not so fascinating. however the museums are quite amusing.
In one where they have Ataturk's personal belongings there are some photos of
occurrences where his likeness can be seen in the clouds, shadows from mountains
etc. I find it amusing how a country can deify there leaders (this place did
that a bit as well you may recall). As I was getting a bus that evening to
Diyarbakir, some locals I was talking to asked me what I thought of the
earthquake that morning. This was the first I had heard of it, I think I must
have been asleep during it, but apparently the destruction wasn't so widespread.
From Ankara went to Diyarbakir,
about halfway to the Turkish/Iranian border, another town without a huge amount
to see, but interesting nonetheless. Diyarbakir is predominantly Kurdish,
heartland of the PKK and not very popular with the Turks who don't like the
Kurds (Q: Is a Turk Kurd a turd?). However the people were very hospitable, the
police were giving me advice where to go and what to see etc. The locals just
wanted to talk, the place was generally rather nice, but not necessarily
attractive.
From Diyarbakir did another
overnight bus to Dogubeyazit (or Dog Biscuit as it is known amongst the
travelling community). Stayed in a funny little place, but with great views. The
snow capped Mount Ararat (where Noah is supposed to have parked the Ark after
the flood) is just up the road, so makes quite a sight and the Ishak Pasha, an
impressive old fortress/palace was a couple of hundred yards away. The beer was
cold (my last chance for a while) and there were some other good folks there to
chat with. Including one Kurdish Sean Connery doppelganger pissed off his face
with three guns and a hundred US dollars he was determined to lose gambling with
me, I won it from him several times, but returned it each time as I thought it
might be imprudent to take it from a well armed drunkard.
Thus far, haven't seen much of Iran except through a bus window. Got over the
border yesterday at about midday, depending on which time Turkish or Iranian.
Went down to the bus station, booked a ticket and then came overnight to Tehran.
It has come to my attention that
I appear to be leaving a trail of destruction in my wake, during these travels.
Starting from the beginning: just two days after having gone through the Caprivi
Strip in Namibia three French tourists were killed; Zimbabwe has descended to
riots and gun law; Uganda discovered mass murder/suicide (the jury is still out
I believe) graves after my departure; I almost got shot on a bridge in Ethiopia;
the previously monotonous Ethiopian/Eritrean conflict has just got very serious;
In Wadi Musa the village by Petra in Jordan - there were apparently full scale
riots and several fatalities (there has been a total media blackout on it)- the
day I was there, or the day I left; President Assad in Syria has fortunately
died; finally, for the while, there were earthquakes and floods in Turkey. My
conscience is clear though, I did not cause or create any of these events,
furthermore the facts show that the safest place to be is with me or ahead of
me. Still, it keeps the whole thing a bit more interesting.
So now I'm going to see what
havoc I can wreak with the rest of the world.
__________________
*** missing bit *** them for
some food, and we tried to make conversation, despite the lack of a common
language. Still, it was interesting nonetheless and proved the stories about
hospitality of some of the locals.
The following day I went to see
some of the sights of Hamadan itself, chief amongst these is the mausoleum of
Esther and Mordechai. In days gone by a Jewish pilgrimage site. When I got to
the place the custodian (who could speak French showed me about, so I
embarrassed myself with my French, which is not only rusty, but downright
dilapidated) and explained some of the history of the site itself. The place was
built in 252 BCE and contains a small synagogue as well as the mausoleum of
Esther and Mordechai. There are stars of David and Hebrew writing throughout.
Something I was surprised to see tolerated in such an Islamic country. When the
custodian asked me my religious persuasion, I told him I was Jewish and he was
delighted. He was too, and he went onto to say how there is quite a large Jewish
community in Iran, although only 35 in Hamadan. I asked him what it's like to be
a Jew here. To which he said there was no problems, the government leaves them
alone to do their own thing, just recently a new synagogue was built for the
community in Hamadan. I took these as positive signs, made a small donation and
went on my way.
So from there I got a bus to
Esfahan, where I am now. Haven't seen any of the place yet. So am off to do so
now.
___________________
Greetings from Kerman, in the south east of Iran.
I have now seen most of what I
wanted to in Iran and will be heading to Pakistan in the next couple of days.
A little addendum to my previous e-mail. In Hamadan I also went to the museum,
where there are stuffed representations of much of the fauna that exists here.
Many don't realise how diverse this fauna is ranging from European animals such
as the bear, boar, etc. to African - lions, armadillos, leopards, etc. To Asian
- Tigers, cobras, etc. Apparently the variety to be found here is a unique mix,
but unfortunately is not only threatened by progress, but does not have any kind
of reservations where one can go in search of these animals. Although not nice
to see them stuffed, it was interesting to see the range of four legged
inhabitants.
As I mentioned in my previous
e-mail, I went to Esfahan next. Esfahan is quite a large city, but still quite
laid back. There are a couple of stunning mosques set off the main square, one
of the largest town squares in the world. One of these mosques - Masjed
E-Sheikh-Lotfallah, is unusual in so far as it does not have a courtyard, nor
somewhere for ritual ablutions before prayer. It is however very impressive,
with a massive onion shaped dome, covered with light coloured tiles with ornate
patterns, that change colour during the day depending on the light. The other
mosque is bloody massive and is reckoned to be the most impressive mosque in
Iran, and one of the most impressive anywhere in the middle-east. This one now
called the Masjed E-Emam, previously the Masjed E-Shah, is bloody massive, with
two pairs of minarets, that are attached to the main structures. Almost the
whole thing is covered in Blue or Green ornately decorated tiles with floral
patterns. Those areas that aren't tiled are generally large pieces of either
plain or intricately carved marble. This place really is unbelievable, even the
internal arches, with ribs and cornicing are covered with these tiles. What's
more the thing is bloody massive. All in all a rather impressive structure. Aso
on the main square is the Ali Ghapu palace of the shahs. Unfortunately this has
not been well preserved, and many of the visitors have carved graffiti into the
frescoes on the walls and ceilings. One can see to some extent how ornate and
ostentatious it would have been in its heyday, but the best part is the huge
balcony that overlooks the square, affording great views of the square and the
mosques and also with a little imagination one can imagine how the shah might
have addressed thousands of subjects from this vantage. Another thing Esfahan is
famous for is its bridges, these are nice, with up to twenty arches, but to be
honest unless you're a bridge fan, they'll only ever be just nice. I had been
told that at one of the shrines just outside Esfahan there was a place called
the shaking minarets. A Dutch couple in my hotel had just been to see them and
said they were quite fun, so I made my way across to town to see these shaking
minarets. I arrived just in time for a demonstration. A guy climbed into one of
the minarets which come from the main structure and climb an additional three
metres from the five metre high roof. He then rocked the minaret back and forth,
throwing his weight against it, then lo and behold the opposite minaret started
to move as well. This had the small gathered crowd in a trance, I found the
whole thing quite amusing, and thought it was all a bit crap, but fun. I did
enjoy it, but mainly because it was so poor.
From Esfahan I decided to fly
down to Shiraz for the exorbitant price of about seven and a half quid (As
opposed to the two and a half it would have cost for the nine hour bus). The
flight was pleasant enough, and were given some refreshments. We flew over a
huge red lake, I was later informed to be a large salt lake, although I didn't
get the name.
In Shiraz the main sight to see
is Persepolis, sixty kilometres away. Myself and a couple of other folk from the
hotel I was staying in chartered a taxi for the trip. Our driver spoke very good
English and was interesting to talk with. Persepolis was destroyed by fire at
the time of Alexander the Great's sojourn there, historians are divided as to
whether or not it was intentional, as many argue it was done in revenge for the
Persian sacking of Athens. Anyway, what remains is quite a lot and many of the
reliefs are exceptionally crisp and clear, as are many of the rock carvings. The
site is quite expansive, with a great deal to see. In many ways the carvings
looked similar to those done by the Egyptians, and considering that this site is
about two and a half thousand years old, it is very possible there was some
influence. However, the style is totally unique, with winged animals, with
men’s heads, with huge beards. All in all very good. Just by one of the
entrances is a bunch of carved graffiti from the past two hundred years, in
amongst these in one that reads Stanley, 1870, New York Herald. This was
apparently the same Stanley who went in search of and found Dr. Livingston in
Uganda.
We then took the taxi a few
kilometres further to Nagsh-E-Rostam, site of four tombs of the Persian emperors
(Xerxes I and II, Cyrus and Ataxerxes I if I remember rightly). These tombs are
carved into the cliff face in a similar way to the Nabatean temples at Petra in
Jordan, these however have a different style and are inaccessible without a long
ladder, which the government removed as too many of the locals were carving
their names into the inside walls. There are also huge reliefs of the emperors
fighting, making offerings etc. carved into the cliff face. Again rather
impressive. Other than generally chilling in Shiraz I visited another mosque,
which was ornately decorated throughout the inside with mirrored mosaic tiles,
in floral and geometric patterns.
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