We made our winter trip last
month. A trip to Iran. A country many will imagine with stereotypical images of a nuclear threat, women clad in black chador and the bearded clergy of Shia, a heresy to those of sunni moslem. Almost everyone who was aware of our plan frowned in disbelief, even showed a glimpse of fear. But we didn't have the energy to explain. Our
only defense was the relatively cheap flight from Kuala Lumpur. Something that was enough for us. In fact, it’s all we need. So we went ahead. Full of
preparation for the harsh winter we’d been cautioned before. Full of
enthusiasm for the chance to taste our first middle east experience. But not
fully aware of what awaits us.
We arrived in Imam Khomeini
International Airport (IKA) in the dead of night. And after swiftly passed the
immigration, we headed to Tehran. It took an hour to get to the city center.
Thank God my husband arranged a pick up from the hotel. I thought we will be greeted by an extreme temperature
change in our arrival at the airport just like my experiences in Nepal or China
in previous years. But I was so wrong. It was all warm and cozy. They had
heaters. Lots.
My first day in the capital was
not very special. As it was Friday which is a public holiday in Iran. No
business. We found it hard to find shop to buy local simcard, even to find
something to eat. So we just walked through Imam Khomeini street and tried our
luck on metro, a kind of subway. It took us 5 minutes from Imam Khomeini station
to the former US embassy in Taleghani. The local government dubbed “Den of
Espionage” is now the home of Sepah – Army of The Guardians of the Islamic
Revolution. It’s not hard to find the structure. Exit the Taleghani Metro
Station and looking at a long imposing colorful wall full of provocative mural
of anti-US sentiment slogans.
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| Right outside the Taleghani Metro Station, a big slogan welcomes us |
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We had plenty of time before
taking the night bus to Shiraz, so we killed the time wandering through the
bazaar. Not much to find, as we thought it’s too early for shopping. But I was
happy enough to find the fresh juice stall selling my favorite fruit. The
pomegranate. Fresh, and ripe and coldpressed. The juice making was a show
itself.
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| Pomegranate juice stall. The seller looks a bit like Ahmad Dhani. LOL |
Our first stop after Tehran was
Shiraz. It took us 13 hours journey. But it was all pleasant, as the VIP bus we
choosed was new and very comfortable. It had three seats in every row, with
generous leg room and hot dinner included. It cost us $18 per person very value
for money. The only thing annoying was Ishtar catching a cold due to extreme
weather change.
I woke up somewhere before we
reached Shiraz and being mesmerized with
the view en route. It was something I couldn’t explain, watching the sun rose
behind the mountainous desert, the dark shade of blue with a burst of orange
behind the mountain shadow. This panoramic view helped me enjoying the journey as
I found the intercity busses drove in a maximum 100km/hours with police patrol
in every now and then to check the driver not exceeding the speed limit. A very slow drive for me LOL
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| My morning view en route to Shiraz |
From the Shiraz Karandish bus
terminal to hotel was another swift journey. It’s a 4km drive to the old
district of Shiraz where my husband booked a room in the newly established
Forough Boutique Hotel. It’s an old house restored and turn into a hotel. As a
typical old Persian houses, it’s surely complete with courtyard and a pool, and
an orange tree. How poetic.
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| Forough Ol Molk Boutique Hotel, our host for three nights in Shiraz |
Shiraz is the capital of Fars
province, one of the oldest city in Iran and had long been reknown as the city
of all things romantic, think about gardens, wine and poets. But this time my
eyes was set only to Pasargadae and Persepolis. The ruins of ancient Persia capital situated
60km northeast the modern day Shiraz.
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| Tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae |
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| In front of the Necropolis - complex of tombs belong to Darius The Great, Artaxerxes and Darius II |
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| The Gate of All Nation |
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| Bass relief on the Apadana |
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| The Tachara, the winter palace of Darius The Great. of of the few survived the burning by Alexander. |
Next stop was Yazd, the desert
city. We took the VIP bus again, and this time spent 6 hours in 448 km journey.
Yazd is a city of long history, dating back to the time of Median Empire. It also
was and still remains a Zoroastrian center in Iran. Our highlight was to see
some Zoroastrian temples and of course getting lost in one of its neverending
koocheh – the typical small alleys.
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| Walking down the koocheh - the long and winding alleys in Yazd |
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We stayed in a traditional house,
which similar to the one we stayed before in Shiraz, has interesting details,
like the interior and exterior façade, windows with stained glass, a courtyard
and fish pond that made my daughters play with delight.
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| Narenjestan Traditional House in Yazd |
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| Me & Ishtar at Narenjestan |
A visit to Yazd is not complete
without a short trip to its surrounding areas which without doubt a very
rewarding experience. So we took a day tour with Abbas, the driver we met in the Ghadir terminal. He took us to Karanagh, Chak Chak, Meybod and to fulfill my
desire, to the desert. To our surprise, he prepared himself with a jar of
tea and fruits for us to enjoy during the trip. Iranian hospitality in another
level.
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| Beautiful view of the road to Chak Chak, seen from our car |
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| The view from atop Chak Chak Temple |
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| Me and Ishtar at the desert |
Next up to our trip was Esfahan,
the city dubbed as half of the world. It’s a big city and everything was a tad
bit more expensive than Shiraz or Yazd. Not to mention it’s colder than those two
previous cities. It’s even the coldest city in our entire trip with -8 Celcius
degree in the morning. It got worse near the buildings when wind chill hit our
face the hardest.
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| the celebrated Si O Seh bridge in Isfahan |
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| In front of Imam Mosque in Naqsh-e Jahan square, Isfahan |
And it’s in Isfahan we shopped,
and eat. This time with less caution we ordered fesenjan and doogh. To our tastebud
these two was an odd combination, Fesenjan was meat cooked in sour and sweet
paste of pomegranate while doogh was a salty yoghurt drink. Weird. LOL.
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| Posing at Bastani Traditional Restaurant |
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| Mixed kebab and fesenjan |
To close our winter trip, I
insisted to go to Tochal, a ski resort within an hour drive from Tehran. My
husband made us took the metro again, this time long the way to Tajrish at the
end of the metro line, then took a shared taxi to Velenjak, where the ski
resort lies.
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| Ishtar playing snow in Tochal |
Tochal ski resort has been open to
public since 1978 and one with the longest telecabin line. Open all year long
at the altitude of 3740m above sea level it is the sixth highest resort in the
world based on altitude according to Snow Magazine. No wonder my daughter got
struck with altitude sickness near the top telecabin station. But to see the
snow in such a vast area, blinded our sight and made our fingers numb with its bitter
coldness, it’s a perfect way to end our winter trip.
