Moving through Iran

One of the stops we made in Iran was Tehran, the capital. Our hotel was close to the site of the old American embassy. After the Iranian revolution in the late 1970's, the embassy has been closed, no Americans have been allowed inside since, although now the site is a school. The outer perimeter however is covered with anti-american graffiti - all done to a very high standard. the people are no longer anti-american but the grafitti is still there, in fact it has become something of a tourist site. As well as Tehran, our group stopped briefly on the shore of the Caspian sea for a bit of paddling before making our way east. The police had to be informed every time we stopped, every hotel we were in, and we could only camp in pre-approved places. Saying that as we attempted to make a camp (in a pre-approved place) the police came and could not understand what we were doing. Why were these people putting up tents in a field in the middle of nowhere and not staying in a town. After alot of explaning from our Iranian guide, the local police were still not happy and feared for our safety. They thought the scorpians might bite us! They took us 10 km down the road and made us camp in the ruins of a demolished house in a dis-used quarry. Apparently there are no scorpions there!

Our final stop in Iran was the city of Masshad. This is a holy city, second only to Mecca in the Muslim world. The shrine is where one of the 12 holy inmmans is burried, the only one not to be buried in Saudi Arabia, so the city attracts thousands upon thousands of pilgrims. You are supposed to walk when on a pligrimage, and we saw hundreds of people on the road, carrying flags walking towards Mashhad. The first ones we had seen had been in Turkey! We were allowed to enter the shrine but the women had to be covered completely. I had to wear my black chadour, complete with my black hood, and if any hair was showing a man carrying a feather duster would tap you on the shoulder so you could adjust your head-dress. the ladies trying to dress me had real problems as my blonde hair is so fine, the head-dress kept slipping off. The shrine was spectacular and as I was there on a friday close to noon prayers, the place was packed. Quite a few ladies kissed me on the forehead as they could see I was trying my best with my head-dress.

I will not miss the food in Mashhad. I had found a little vegetarian food in Iran but Mashhad was a struggle. Most Iranians eat veggie food at home but all the food available to buy on the streets or in the hotels is meat. The only thing I could find to eat in the entire city was a portion of chips that one fast food shop sold. That particular shop was a 20 minute walk from my hotel. By the time we left Iran I was very hungry!

Iran

The border crossing into Iran went surprisingly easily. As a British national I had to be fingerprinted but the officials were so apologetic about it, its because Iranians are given such a hard time at the British border. The Australian’s and New Zealanders within the group found it highly amusing. The main border official had just opened a bottle of apple juice and he gave it to me – you don’t get that level of service at British customs! For the border all the women had to wear Iranian outfits, we wore a black chadour, a headscarf and cloak in one. The women have to be covered to the ankles and wear a headscarf through the Iranians we met in the queue all thought we had dressed far too conservatively. The Iranian government have relaxed considerably in the last year and the women now wear a lot of makeup and show a lot of their hair under the headscarves. Our first stop was the city of Tabriz, we attempted to find a camping ground, but it turns out that the people of Tabriz love to camp in their local park, so we did the same. We pulled into the park, set up our tents and kitchen and began to cook. No-one paid us any attention as everyone else was doing the same. It was such a wonderful atmosphere in the park. There were tearooms, a craft fair, camel and donkey rides for hire, a lake with pedaloes and boats upon it. Families were walking around, lots of children were rollerblading, adults were using the free gym equipment that are in all Iranians parks. As alcohol is banned in Iran there were no drunks or groups of badly behaved people, it was simply a friendly relaxing atmosphere. As a people the Iranians are so friendly. People are stopping us on the street to ask if we are enjoying their country, we are being given ideas on what to see next. Iranians are coming us to us and in hushed tones telling us that they hate their government and they are nothing like the president – all the time looking over their shoulder making sure nobody is hearing what they say! My blonde hair is creating a bit of a stir and I have been photographed standing next to loads of people. From Tabriz we headed through Zanjan and we are now in Esfahan. The architecture here is stunning. This is me standing outside the old palace pavilion. The mosques are decorated with stunning blue tiles and the Persian style squares are vast and breathtaking. We were in Esfahan on July 4th and 5th which are special days in the Iranian calendar. This is the birthday of one of the 12 Immans and on an Immans birthday the people celebrate by making vast quantities of food and drink and giving it away on the street. This is all done by the people, no government involvement at all. I was given free cups of juice and ice-cream and soup was offered to me. When I said I should not take it, it was for the local people, they said no – it is for everybody. The place came alive on those two nights. Everyone was out on the streets, mingling, so many motorcycles driving up and down (mainly on the pavement) honking their horns. It was a real festival atmosphere.