In July 2010, Chris and I visited Iran for 3 weeks. While there, we met a man named Abed. I like to describe him as an “Iranian hippie”.

We spent four wonderful days with him in Esfahan, Iran. He shared his mind and style of life with us, taking us to the new, hip parts of town, as well the old historical ones. Above all, he opened our eyes to the history, the unique story and the life behind each and every Iranian “Persian” Carpet. Each carpet has meaning unique to itself. The two broad categories of carpets are City Weave and Nomadic.

In this video, Abed teaches the significance of common symbols found in carpets. The video features the two Nomadic carpets Chris and I bought to commemorate our epic eight month journey and visit to Iran.

Music by Niyaz. Footage by Chris Beauchamp. Video production and editing by Laura Beauchamp.

Please do not reproduce without permission. www.outtheresomewhere.ca

Related posts:

1. Explore Siem Reap, Cambodia (Video)
2. Traveling from Turkey to Iran: Iranian visa information
3. OutThereSomewhere.ca — CIRA Contest Video!

Saturday, June 19, 2010
Daily Notes
Breakfast: 14,000 rials (~$1.40)
Taxi to bus terminal: 20,000 (~$2.00)
Bus tickets from Tabriz to Zanjan: 90,000 (~$9.00), about a 4-hour ride
Hotel in Zanjan: 450,000 (~$45.00) Dinner: 33,000 (~$3.30)

Chris exchanged $300 US at a shop located in what appeared to be a gold souk.  The exchange rate was $1 = 10,034 rials.

The bus from Tabriz to Zanjan doesn’t actually pull off the highway into Zanjan. Instead, it pulls over on the side of the highway where a bunch of taxi drivers are waiting to shuttle you off the highway into town. The taxi from the highway took us to another designated taxi area where it was apparent we had to cross the street and find another taxi, a city taxi, to continue.

As we crossed the street somewhat confused, due to the order of things, a lady in her late 20’s recognized our confussion and gestered for us to share a taxi with her. Shrugging our shoulders, “Why not?”, Chris and I got in. In her beginner English she asked us where we were from. After that, conversation pretty much seized for the remainder of our 5-minute ride. She ordered us to get out and insisted on paying for the taxi ride. She then proceeded to walk us to a hotel. When I hesitated to cross the street she smiled and looked at me lovingly like I was a young, innocent child. She grabbed my hand and lead me across the weaving traffic. When we came to the next big intersection she instantly did the same thing. I felt silly being guided by this petite lady who was a foot and half shorter than me, but who’s bravery/experience with road crossing was four feet taller than I. Her name was Meana.

Related posts:

1. Laura’s Diary Entry: the bus to Tehran, Iran — June 23, 2010
2. Iran — First Impressions
3. We’re in a place called Bijar (“Bee-jar”)

Laura at the base of the tombs near Persepolis. Iran is a fascinating place, and well worth the effort of arranging visas on the road. In our case, we got our visas in Turkey.

Since getting back to Canada, our site has been getting a lot of search traffic on the topic of our journey from Turkey overland into Iran. I’ve also had people on other websites I frequent ask me questions about this particular border crossing. This post is just meant for those folks looking for more information on this topic. When we were in Turkey, we went through our own period of uncertainty once we decided to cross into Iran. There is not a lot of info out there about how to do it.

Here’s what we did to arrange Iranian visas in Turkey, in mid-2010:

1. Arranged for Iranian Visas through a third-party Iranian visa agency (Touran Zamin)

There’s a few other agencies offering this service but after reading online reviews, Touran Zamin seemed to be the most highly regarded overall. In our experience, they were very prompt and friendly. We had some questions about the intricacies of the visas (more on that below), and they did their best to explain things. What these guys do is to contact the Iranian government ministry responsible for issuing visas, and submit an application on your behalf to have your visa pre-approved by the ministry. They will then issue an approval number to you and to the Iranian embassy or consulate of your choice. You simply bring that number to the consulate after a certain date, and they will issue your visa, no real questions asked. Touran Zamin promises something like a 10-day turnaround, after which (if approved) you can go to the embassy and get your visa. In our case, they delivered it in about a week, and we were approved on our first try.

If you are not approved, I have read that you can apply again and your previous failed application shouldn’t count against you. The situation with tourist visa approvals has changed several times over the past ten years during moments of diplomatic squabbles between Iran and western countries. The ministry has been known to reject applications from foreign nationals of specific countries during these times. To be fair, the West given Iran a pretty tough go of things in a lot of ways. Diplomacy is always a two-way street.

Special note: Americans cannot currently visit Iran as independent travellers due to obvious diplomatic issues between the two countries. However, Americans are allowed to visit as part of an Iranian-organized guided tour group. Unfortunately, I can’t say anything about these tours, except that my mother-in-law went on a trip like that several years ago and has never said anything bad about it. Also: an Israeli stamp in your passport will nix your travel plans to Iran, and vice versa, as far as I know.

You can always skip the middle man (Touran Zamin), and just apply to the embassy directly, but then they submit that application to the ministry, and the process is supposedly much longer (weeks to months). You can also apply for a visa from the Iranian Embassy in your home country, but this is apparently another drawn out process, taking months sometimes. As far as I can tell, going through one of the visa agencies is the quickest possible way.

All of this was done by email and through the Touran Zamin website, except that international sanctions have cut Iran off from the international monetary sytem, so Touran Zamin, as an Iranian company, cannot accept credit cards. Instead they ask you to submit their fee to a German bank account. Once you provide a tracking number to them for the payment, they release your approval code by email. Sound like a bad spy movie? It gets more complicated from here...

2. Paid the Visa Agency fee through a bank

We tried several Turkish banks, in the hopes that we could give them the German account number and the fee, and they could do the transfer for us for an additional bank fee. This involved a few hours of hoofing it around Antalya. If you’ve ever been to Antalya, you’ll know that there are many, many things more fun to see and do in Antalya than visit its banks. So I hope this post can save you from wasting your time as we did. Basically, they all said no.

We needed to have an account with them to do it, and although we had the option of opening one (which surprised me), we didn’t think that made much sense. In the end we went through our own bank back in Canada. I believe if you have a European bank account, you won’t have these issues.

For us, because we are Canadian, the German bank number Touran Zamin gave us did not play nice with our own North American banking system (for one thing, the number of digits in a bank account is different). We had hoped to put the payment through online, but we actually had to get in touch with our bank back home by phone and email, including some faxes and signed papers, in order to transfer the fee. We weren’t really in a rush, so all of this occurred over about three weeks. If you are in a hurry, you should be able to do it in less than two.

Total Cost For Visa Agency Deal:

• 35 Euros (for each visa) to Touran Zamin for visa approval service*
• $15 charge from our bank for the transfer
• $20-ish incidental costs for things like Internet, international phone cards and faxes
• A wasted afternoon in beautiful Antalya

*Note: this fee is just the agency fee, and is on top of the actual visa fee you pay later at the embassy.

3. Arranged to pick up our Iranian Visas at the Iranian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey

The other nice thing about going through an agency is that you can arrange to pick up your visa at any Iranian embassy in the world (I think). For us, we told Touran Zamin that we would be able to get them in Ankara, Turkey’s capital city. I’ve heard that the Ankara Embassy (Iran’s main embassy in Turkey) is one of the best places to go. People have been known to get them in smaller cities closer to the border, but I’ve also heard mixed things about the success in those embassies. We chose to play it safe. I can’t give you much advice for countries other than Turkey, but I believe the process would be similar.

Total Cost For Arranging Visas in Ankara:

• 20 Euros (for each visa) to Touran Zamin for them to arrange to get the visa at a specific embassy

We saw a few sites in Ankara, including Ataturk’s Mausoleum. This is the promenade on the way in/out. It’s also, apparently, one of the only shots I took in three days in Ankara. That’s too bad in hindsight, but dealing with visas has a way of sucking your creativity and will power for photography. Apparently.

4. Spent three days in Ankara seeing the sites and jumping through bureaucratic hoops

It took three days, and five visits to the Embassy to finally get the visas.

You need a few things to actually get the visa. Make sure you have them before going to the embassy:

• passports
• passport photos (bring a couple copies minimum)
• passport photocopies (bring a couple copies minimum)
• visa fee

We woke our first morning in Ankara intent on finding a copy place and passport photography studio and then heading to the embassy to pick up our visas. We figured we could be done wrangling our visas by dinner time. Imagine how proud of ourselves we were after asking directions led to us to what we needed in less than an hour. Unfortunately, our luck didn’t hold much after that.

The copy shop we found ( a small internet cafe with a photocopier/scanner) offered a couple of challenges. Apparently, Canadian passports have security features which makes them come out unreadable on photocopies. Luckily, we had photographed our passports before leaving Canada, and emailed these pictures to ourselves as backups. So instead, we logged into our email and printed these photos.

The photo place was just around the corner, and we got some usable, but very unflattering headshots of ourselves in Iranian visa size (I can’t remember what this is, but the photo studio knew). Special Note: Iran is an Islamic theocracy. Women are expected to keep Hijab (wearing a headscarf and covering their arms and legs), including in their visa photos. The family at the photo studio got quite a kick out of seeing Laura figure out how to put hers on for the first time.

It was about a 30 min. walk to the Embassy, and as we approached I reached into my bag to get all of our papers out and ready. We stopped for a moment so Laura could put on her scarf. This is when I realized that I left my passport at the copy place in the guy’s scanner. I jogged the 3 km back to the copy place, cursing my blatant stupidity every step of the way. Luckily, our friend at the copy shop was neither dishonest, nor particularly aware that he had my passport in his scanner. I sheepishly asked for the passport, and then jogged back to the embassy, while Laura waited patiently in a park. It was only now, after ringing the bell fruitlessly at the embassy gate, that we learned from a passing Turk that the embassy was closed that day for a holiday. So we trudged back toward the hotel, along the same three kilometre route I had just run. It seemed a fitting conclusion to a bungling day.

The next day we did it all again, only this time we had what we needed and knew where to go.

Total Cost For Visa Paperwork:

• Probably $20 for passport copies, Internet access, and photos (I don’t recall how many Turkish Lira, but it wasn’t any more than this)

5. Finally got into the Embassy

The embassy was a bit  of an experience. We were buzzed in through a big gate, and then buzzed in through a second security area where we signed in with a bored looking security guard, before being ushered into a waiting room. There were several Iranians sitting in creeky old chairs, existing in what appeared to be various stages of bureaucratic limbo. Nobody was speaking. A TV in the corner blared Iranian national TV, cutting out to loud and blurry static more often than showing clear pictures. Nobody turned it down or off.

Paintings of Iran’s revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Khomeini and his successor, Ayatollah Khamenie, stared down at us. One wall was a giant one-way window.

There was no number system, and no apparent order for who was to be called next. Our only glimpse into officialdom was two reinforced glass windows with surly looking moustached officials behind them. We didn’t want to be rude, so we weren’t sure if we should go to the windows or wait to be called. One of the women in the waiting room made a helpful gesture to beckon us to go ahead and approach one of the windows, so we did.

The man turned out to be friendlier than he looked, especially after we told him that we planned to go to Tabriz, one of several Iranian cities we had memorized based on maps in our guidebook. Since we weren’t planning on being Iran for several more weeks, we really didn’t know much about Tabriz or most of the other cities we recited. Our trip was too off-the-cuff to plan that far ahead. We had just read somewhere that the Embassy would want to know your loose itinerary, so we had memorized one.

“Tabriz! That is my city!” he said with obvious pleasure. “It is very beautiful. Most beautiful place in Iran.”

Once the man from Tabriz learned that we had a pre-approval number from the ministry, he dispatched someone to fetch our file. After a bit of waiting he called us up again and told us that we would have to pay a fee, leave our passports, and come back in ten days to collect our visas. Laura and I looked at each other. Disappointment clear on both of our faces. Ten days! We had scheduled some flights out of Turkey within the week (it’s a long story) and the prospect of spending ten more days waiting around Ankara wasn’t really in the plan. I very politely explained this, and asked if there was anything the man from Tabriz could do. He went away again, ostensibly to speak to a superior, and came back to tell us that if we paid the fee and left our passports today, we could pick up our visas tomorrow. He gave us directions to a bank down the street where we could pay our fee. We thanked him profusely and stressed just how much we were looking forward to seeing the unrivalled beauty of Tabriz.

The unrivalled beauty of Tabriz (we always seemed to go to markets on Fridays, when they are closed for prayers).

6. Paid the visa fee at a local bank; got our Iranian Visas

Again, Iran is cut off from the international monetary system, so don’t expect to be able to whip out your credit card and get things done. In fact, they don’t accept cash either, at least not at the embassy directly. Instead you have to go down to a local bank to make a deposit into their account. The embassy will give you a slip of paper that you can give the teller. This didn’t take very long, but I believe we had to pay some more fees to the bank on top of our visa fees. We did all of this in Turkish currency (I think... it may have been Euros). You have to bring the deposit receipt back to the embassy, as well as drop off your passport.

Content that we were finally getting things done, we dropped off our passports with a plan to return the next day. After our first four visits, by now we had our route to the embassy all figured out, and had no problems arriving early in the day to collect our visas. True to his word, the man from Tabriz had everything ready for us, and we left him with our gratitude and one last comment about the fabled beauty of his home city.

Total Cost For Actual Visa Fee:

• It’s funny; I can’t remember for sure. I think it was around $170 each. If I can dig this info up somewhere, I will update this. It doesn’t matter much anyway, this fee is different for different nationalities. I think we also paid a small fee to the bank for the transaction.

7. Travelled to Van, in Eastern Turkey to arrange a bus ride across the border

Although our trip took us out of Turkey and then back again before we headed east, most travellers will likely want to use their visas sooner. The visas are good for three months from date of issue. Train and bus travel in Turkey is excellent, although the distances are often longer than they seem. We eventually made it to Van by train, where we bought some bus tickets to cross the border into Iran. I don’t remember what the bus cost to go from Van to Orumiyeh, Iran, but it wasn’t particularly expensive. Maybe equivalent to 20 or 40 dollars each. It was about an eight hour drive, and we were the only westerners on the bus. We chatted politely with some of the mostly Iranian passengers. We learned the man from Tabriz is not the only Iranian who believes his home is the most beautiful part of the country. We also got our first taste of very pleasant Iranian hospitality, with offers of shared food and polite conversation.

8. Had one of the easiest border crossings ever, and really enjoyed our time in Iran

The border crossing itself was, frankly, a breeze, although we were a little concerned about our visas. Because we had waited close to the three month period of validity before crossing the border (the visas can be used for up to three months after getting them), we were concerned that if that period ran out while we were in the country, that our visas would be officially expired. I know that’s a little confusing, and it’s because we are talking about two things: our visas were 30-day visas, meaning we could stay in Iran for up to 30 days. But they also had a validity period of three months. This is the window of time that begins when you get the visa in your passport, and ends when you cross the border into Iran. If you don’t cross the border within that 3 months, you will have to apply for a new visa.

I was concerned that since we would be crossing the border only a couple of days before the end of this window that we would have problems. We didn’t. And you probably won’t either. This was one area where I could find very little info online, and I was admittedly concerned leading up to our border crossing. I scoured the Lonely Planet forums to little avail and even asked Touran Zamin by email what they thought. They replied that they were “pretty sure” it would be fine, but a worst case scenario would involve extending our visas in Iran before they expire.

I asked the border guards, but the only thing they cared about is that our visas were valid when they stamped it. They said not to worry about anything and to enjoy our 30 days in Iran. Although we got called into a special line for foreigners, and spoke briefly with a couple of border officials in a small office space, they were all very friendly, and processed us in less than twenty minutes. We met a pair of German motorcyclists who were also crossing into Iran, and from what I could tell, they were processed very fast as well. Our entire bus pulled out of there in under 30 minutes, and we were in!

A couple more notes on travel in Iran:

1. Yes, you need to bring cash into Iran. There are no bank machines in the country that can access the international monetary system. I’ve heard it’s possible to get credit card advances in some of the biggest hotels in Tehran, but it’s not easy or advisable to rely on this. Traveller’s cheques aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. We brought a combination of American dollars and Euros, split up and tucked away in various places on us and in our bags. I believe it was less than $3000, and we left the country with money left after thirty days.

2. Iran is really friendly, so bring some small gifts or pictures from home to show people. The language barrier, when it exists, is usually not enough to stop people from trying to welcome you to their country. Pictures etc. make great conversation helpers and break the awkwardness of not being able to say much.

3. Expect to be surprised: whatever your expectations of Iran, just know that you probably have it all wrong. Not very many countries have had so much baloney said about them in the western media, especially where so much of that is propaganda and lies and foolishness. Years of sanctions and hard-nosed foreign policy have punished the people of Iran unfairly, crippling the kind of economic development and cultural exchange that could benefit Iranians and break down these stereotypes. These policies have been utter failures, implemented in order to weaken a distasteful regime, but often strengthening it instead. Try not to act surprised the first time someone says “Ahmadinejad is Terrorist!” to you on the street. Sentiment among Iran’s 70-million people is as diverse as you’d expect.

It is a fascinating country, with millennia of historical and cultural heritage. It is also easily the most friendly country we’ve visited. I hope this helps some of you get there. If you have specific questions, post them in the comments below.

Cheers,
Chris Beauchamp

p.s. — Enjoy a few more pictures, just because. You can see a bunch more in our Iran posts from during our trip. Search the archives at the top of the page, or click here.

Downtown Tehran: looking much like any other sizable city.

One of our cab drivers. He looks mean, but he’s actually smiling. We had several really nice cab drivers (and one absolutely terrible one).

Some kids in Yazd, who agreed to let me snap a picture.

Night market in Tehran.

Scenery outside Hamedan.

Us and our good friend Abed from Esfahan. Unfortunately, all of the good pictures I took in Esfahan (including some nice portraits of Abed on the rooftops) were lost.

The skyline of Yazd.

Traditional house architecture in Yazd. Those are wind towers, meant to channel the breeze into houses to cool them.

Tehran’s main bazaar.

The volcano at Takht-e-Suleyman. We hiked up it in about ten minutes to look into the dormant caldera. It was kind of surreal.

Typical Iranian restaurant fare.

Related posts:

1. Crossing the border from Turkey into Iran
2. Learn about the symbols of Iranian “Persian” Carpets (Video)
3. Iran — First Impressions

The magnificent walls of the Ali Qapu Palace in Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Esfahan.

The ceiling of the outdoor patio of Ali Qapu Palace in Esfahan.

Chris enjoying a break on the Palace patio. Esfahan, Iran.

I love the detail. Here is an example of the excellent craftsmanship in the Palace. Esfahan, Iran.

This mosque is found in Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Esfahan. Back in the day only women could worship inside.

Yazd, Iran

Chris wanted to take the picture from the perfect angle, but his guy beat him to it.

Laura trying her best to help keep the historical fort of Shiraz from falling.

Checkout the mannequins of Shiraz. This wasn’t even the best of them. Lots have real eye lashes, eye liner and hair styles ranging from the 1950’s greaser to 1990’s raver.

This lady befriended Chris and I on the bus from Yazd to Shiraz. She even gave me some hair clips and wanted a photo taken with me.

Here I am modeling the hair clip the lady gave me. Unfortunately it was so big it didn’t fit in my bag (wink) so I had to leave it behind.

The courtyard of our hotel in Yazd, Iran. It cost ~$40 CAN/night.

Beautiful Yazd, Iran.

Have you ever seen such a huge meat rotisserie? This was in a place called 110 Burgers in Shiraz, Iran.

A typical Iranian hotel breakfast consists of a hard boiled egg, cream cheese, thin bread, jams and tea.

Here’s proof that we have sent postcards to LOTS of people! This is only the batch of postcards we mailed from Iran. To date, we’ve sent postcards from Turkey, Italy, Morocco, Romania, Iran and Thailand. Hope you guys have enjoyed them! If you haven’t received one it’s probably because I don’t have your mailing address. All you gotta do is send it to me and a postcard will be coming your way.

Related posts:

1. Photos of Iran #1
2. Photos from Northern Iran
3. Photos from around Tehran, Iran

For now, enjoy these.

Handsome Chris posing in front of the majestic roof top view of Yazd, Iran.

Yazd, Iran.

Yazd, Iran.

The traditional “female” door knocker. There is a separate and different door knocker for men. This is so the person answering the door knows which sex to expect on the other side. If it is a man knocking and a woman is answering the door then she must first cover up with her head scarf and chador.

The traditional “male” door knocker. This set of door knockers was on the door an historical house in Yazd, Iran.

Some women of Yazd walking down one of the beautiful mud-brick streets.

An Iranian liscence plate.

Yazd, Iran.

Some boys playing soccer in the historical section of Yazd, Iran. Only the historical section is still made of mub-brick, everything else looks like any modern city.

One of the famous air-cooling shafts in the mud-brick buildings of Yazd, Iran.

I noticed this handprint on the wall while Chris and I walked through an historical mud-brick house that was currently under renovation and restoration.

When I saw this mirror in the same house as the white handprint I couldn’t help but take a funny photo. It looks like I’m sticking out my tongue even though I’m not.

The mirror worped and twisted my face in such amuzing ways, I just had to take another. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Yazd, Iran (historical house).

Mud-brick buildings of Yazd, Iran.

Yazd, Iran.

Yazd, Iran.

A cute-ass cat that lived at our hotel in Yazd.

Related posts:

1. Photos of Iran #2
2. Photos from around Tehran, Iran
3. Photos from Northern Iran

Related posts:

1. Photos from around Tehran, Iran
2. Tehran
3. National Museum of Iran in Tehran

We headed out at noon thinking that it would be a long day so we’d start later in order to see some of the nightlife in Iran. Besides being in love with the baking, Chris and I both fell in love with the fresh banana milkshakes. Chris thought that’d be the perfect way to start my special day.

Delicious Iranian baking.

More delicious baking.

Different varieties of fruit shakes are available throughout Iran. Um. Yummy!

After our refreshment we started walking through the winding, cool streets of the covered bazaar to get to the largest mosque in Iran, the Jameh Mosque.

We passed this spice store while walking to the Jameh mosque. I have an infatuation with the aesthetic of the spices.

One of many corridors in the Esfahan bazaar.

It was prayer time when we reached the mosque, so Chris and I found some shady steps and enjoyed an ice cream. It can sometimes seem impossible to find a restaurant in Iran. You can walk for kilometres before you find one. However if your diet consists of ice cream and fruit smoothies then this is the place for you.

While we walked around the mosque, a cute little boy of about 7 followed us around saying numerous things in Farsi we couldn’t understand, but also repeatedly saying “hello”, “Goodbye”, and “Holiday”.

Chris reading the description of the Jameh mosque from the infamous Lonely Planet.

After visiting the Jameh mosque, we did the 30-minute walk through a section of the covered bazaar that took us back to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Naghsh-e Jahan Square. It is the second largest square in the world, second to China’s Tian’anmen Square in Beijing. Corridor after corridor we passed clothing stores, rug shops, table cloth shops, spice shops and ones full of many different objects like plates and pots hammered out of shinny copper or intricately painted pottery.

Fresh spices for sale in the Esfahan bazaar.

We walked and walked but still could not find a restaurant. As we hesitated at a crossroads of the bazaar a long curly-haired man yelled to us from the end of the corridor, “Come this way. It is better.” We walked towards him. He was pointing towards the covered bazaar,  which continued around the corner, as an alternative to walking in the blistering heat in the center of the square.

“I am nomad, but now I live in city. You want carpet? This is very nice carpet shop. Here is card for the Flying Carpet. Oh, you are hungry? I know very good restaurant. Come I’ll take you to it.”

He led us to one of the nicest restaurants we’ve seen. It seemed the perfect place for my birthday lunch.

Suddenly another man from the carpet shop had emerged. “If you like lunch then you come drink tea with us in shop. But if you don’t like lunch then you don’t come drink tea with us. Sound fair?”

We laughed and nodded, thanking the men as we entered the restaurant and the two of them backed away with smiles and waves as they were once again sucked into the business of the bazaar.

I had to get a photo with this over sized pot and cup in the restaurant. Chris says: “For once in her life, Laura really is a little tea pot.” I’m a little tea pot, short and stout?

Chris and I made ourselves comfortable on one of the wooden platforms in the courtyard of the restaurant. Sure enough we enjoyed some of the best food we had in Iran. Yogurt mixed with diced shallots, mint and garlic. Beef kebab and rice lightly seasoned with saffron. Salad with huge slices of cucumber and tomato accompanied by a French dressing and a baked aubergine in a rich tomato sauce. It was delicious.

Laura and Chris relaxin’ on a rug covered platform for lunch.

When we left the restaurant we exited through another door. My hopes were to avoid the carpet salesmen. I hurriedly ducked around displays of the intricate crafts made in the bazaar. I was only 3 meters from the end of the section when suddenly I heard, “So, did you enjoy your lunch?” the carpet man rested with his arm casually against a displayed carpet.

“Yes, very much so”, Chris replied “So I guess we better take you up on your tea offer.”

To my surprise the three men in the store were about our age and extremely relaxed. They were not pushy like the Turkish salesmen. None of them moved quickly, or without unnecessary reason. Without an order given or even a head nod one slipped away into the backroom almost without notice and presented four small glasses of tea and a sugar bowl on a silver tray. The traditional way of drinking tea is to place one of the rather large pieces of sugar in your mouth and then sip the tea through the sugar.

We chatted for nearly two hours and had such a great time that we tentatively put two kilim carpets aside for us. However the cost was $600, so we weren’t convinced. We left the carpet shop with many smiles and handshakes and took no more than ten steps before we stood in front of the great Imam Mosque.

We paid 5,000 rials each (roughly 0.50 cents) to enter. The ticket guard looked at our tickets and grunted to me, “Chador”. I went back to the ticket office and kindly asked for a chador. A chador is typically a black piece of fabric women drape over themselves, but the one he handed me was white with flowers.

The door knockers on Imam Mosque in theNaghsh-e Jahan square.

Chris and I were amazed with the size  and the artistry of the mosque. A few minutes after entering a man from the mosques religious school started to speak with us and offered to interpret the mosque. I found some of the stuff he said most interesting.

“How do you find the chador?” he asked me.

“Well, I don’t know how to wear it properly, but it’s fine.”

“Do you know why muslim women cover themselves?” Chris  explained his understanding and the man continued, “The beauty of a women is only for her husband. So this beauty must be covered.”

These words flittered in and out of my mind throughout the rest of the day and the next day. Does this mean that men are ugly and that women don’t want to look at men and that’s why they don’t need to cover up? And what about the 6 and 7-year olds I see with head scarves and the rare one in a chador? I’m guessing she doesn’t have a husband to protect her beauty for. When I told Chris this he told me, sarcastically, “You’re not suppose to use logic and reasoning.”

I thought that perhaps having to wear a headscarf for as long as I have (June 17 – July 10) I would have  a better understanding, but honestly it still complexes me like it did before. I understand that it is a religious thing. I understand that it is a conservative thing. I understand that black is the “most religious” colour because it draws the least attention especially for a women with no make-up and no hair showing.  However, in the temperatures we have been enduring day in and day out I cannot help but think it is one of the most impractical religious practices I have come across in our modern world. It is not only hot, but also extremely annoying in a car with the windows down or simply on a windy day. Not to mention you do not hear properly.

After all this time I still don’t understand. I’m not a religious person. I find certain aspects fascinating and interesting about religion but when it comes down to it I feel they strip the individual of individualistic thoughts. I despise how they are cult-like, contain brainwashing-like characteristics and can be the cause of conflict. I know there are good qualities about all religions; to me they are simply outnumbered by the bad.

But enough of my rant and back to the story. From the mosque and back into the blistering heat of 7:00 pm we did not get more than 15 feet from the door before our long curly-haired nomad beckoned us once again.

“How did you enjoy mosque? Very good.”

He started to point out minor architectural differences in the mosque, showing us how the mosque is in fact asymmetrical when at first glance it appears symmetrical.  “Look at the mosque. See on one side it is a mosaic but the other the same design is on large tiles? It is thought that the mosaic was by the master and the tiles were done by the student. Look here. You see this vase shape and how it is very detailed but on the other side the vase is plain. Perhaps master and student again, but also only Allah, only God, is perfect. That is why the mosque is made this way.”

“See over here there are motorcycles parked, but on this side there are none, only God is perfect!” He chuckled at what must be one of his most common jokes for the tourists.

We thanked him for sharing his information and proceeded to walk around the fountain in front of the mosque.

“Don’t go this way. There is nothing over there.” One of the young men from the carpet shop yelled at us as he sat on a nearby wall.

“Really? There’s nothing this way.” Chris said.

“No, because our carpet shop is that way.” He pointed back to the carpet store we left two hours ago but only managed to get 40 feet from.  We chuckled and bade him “Hoda Hafez”, essentially “Goodbye.”

As we crossed the street of the grand Naghsh-e Jahan square, six horse drawn carriages jingled past. The horses trotted the same path for the countless time but the passengers were fresh and jolly like all the ones who came before them.

We were just taking our first few steps across the 500-meter long square when we were approached by two young men, one rather tall and other quite petit, both with gaping grins reaching from ear to ear and a politeness that surrounded them.

“Hello. Welcome to Iran. Where are you from? Do you have some time to speak with us for a few minutes?” said the smaller fellow.

By this point Chris and I both felt a strong need and want to get to the tea shop across the square. We had been trying to reach it for two hours.

“Thank you. We are from Canada.”

“Oh wow! We have been coming to this square nearly every day, every weekend for the past two years and I think that you are the first Canadians we have ever met,” gleamed the taller, stockier fellow.

“We would like to speak, but we have been trying to reach the tea shop over there for almost two hours. We’ve only made it 40 feet because we keep meeting people. But perhaps we can talk for five or ten minutes.” Chris replied.

“Oh yes that would be very nice. We both studied English in university but finished two years ago. So we like to practice it when we can.” the petit man replied.

“You know. Why don’t you come to the tea shop with us? Please would you like to come? It will be our treat.”

Both talking at once and over top of each other the men replied.

“Oh well. “

“I suppose we could”

“But we must leave by 8:00 pm”

“And you are our guests, so it will be our treat.”

“Yes, you’re our guests,“ they both insisted.

With that, Chris and I and our two new friends both named Ali, made it across the square, into the narrow doorway and up the uneven, winding stairs of different heights into the tea shop. We stepped out onto the patio for a spectacular birds-eye view of the entire square.  We sat down but were quickly ushered to another seat because we had apparently sat in the “bachelor” section. My presence had caused quite the stir in the regular routine of the server. It is very uncommon to find segregated areas in Iran, but tea shops are generally male-dominated.

We sat down on one of the long backless metal benches covered with a synthetic, machine-made Persian carpet. The wall of the building was to our backs and the heat of the day reflected off it making it feel as if we were in front of an oven.  Sweat dripped down my face and collected under my bangs. My jacket clung to my skin and the lack of air flow or even a slight breeze made it quite unbearable with my head scarf wrapped around my neck containing the heat.  A little part of me was cursing inside. The better part of me repressed the anger and frustration of the heat and wardrobe and tried to enjoy the view, company and tea. Although drinking tea may be easier for our bodies in hot weather on one hand, it can also be very difficult.

The men described to us “Agd”, the first stage of marriage in Iran. They have a special ceremony for “Agd” in which they say a few sentences that they both agree to marry the other. After this ceremony the man is allowed to touch his “fiancé” and see her hair. This stage of their marriage is like our “engagement” stage. “Agd” may last one year or even five, it all depends on the requirements agreed and desired by the families and when the husband has acquired the necessary funds/assets.

The taller Ali explained how he and his wife have been in “Agd” for four years since she was twenty-one. He needs to save enough money to buy a house and gold for his wife before her family will let him marry her.

“Do you think we could smoke some Iranian shisha? The water pipe?” I asked. The two men nodded and taller Ali offered to order it.

“I smoked the water pipe once, but when my mom found out she got very, very angry. So I have never smoked it again.” the petit Ali told us.

We kept talking and the tea shop started to fill up. A man and his friends sat beside me, and upon over hearing part of our conversation he retorted, “There are no ordinary tourists in Iran. Ordinary tourists don’t come here.” This was our introduction to Abed. At this moment we had no idea we would build a strong friendship with him over the next four days.

When the two Ali’s got up to leave, we all stood up. They shook Chris’s hand and when I extended mine they both backed away with their hands on their hearts and said, “Excuse me miss. Goodbye.” That was my first time feeling awkward with my unaccepted extended hand. After another occurrence I stopped offering a handshake to men unless they extended their hand to me. In fact, I learned and somewhat enjoyed that many times I didn’t have to carry the brunt of conversation or small talk because that’s my husband’s job.

We sat back down and started to speak with Abed. We learned that he worked in the carpet shop in the square and that he comes to the tea shop every day. When we were about to part he invited us to come with him to the Armenian, modern area of Esfahan. Before we knew it we were in a taxi and found ourselves surrounded by the energetic, young generations of Iran.

Walking down the side walk with a cigarette casually dangling from his finger tips Abed was stopped by four men. On the ground were many hand-made necklaces with different images painted on small pieces of wood.  The hippie-like artist smiled as we picked one for my birthday present.

We continued down the sidewalk and arrived at Abed’s favourite pizza restaurant at 11:00 pm. It was packed. Every table was taken and the line to order weaved into the tables. With a wait time of 45 minutes we decided instead for my late-night birthday meal, to eat at a near-by traditional Iranian restaurant.

Abed, Laura and Chris after they enjoyed a wonderful traditional Iranian meal.

We spoiled ourselves with the traditional yogurt drink, stuffed vegetables, olives, chicken and a traditional dish of “Fesenjun” which is chicken, walnuts and pomegranate all mashed together. Chris and Abed sung me Happy Birthday, and Chris gave me candles he had hoped to find a cake for. I realized I’m to old to just buy one package of candles and we all chuckled at getting older.

Our night ended around 1:00 am with walking along the river and across the Si-o-Seh Pol Bridge (Bridge of 33 Arches).

The Si-o-Seh Pol Bridge of 33-Arches in Esfahan, Iran.

As we walked on the curving park paths we passed many families, including their small children only 4–9 years old still awake. The families were eating and smoking shisha and the children were riding bikes and playing games.

We bade farewell to Abed for the night as we jumped in our $2 taxi ride back to the hotel. Collapsing onto my bed I thought of the day and what a unique and unforgettable birthday it will be in my life.

Related posts:

1. Mosques of Esfahan
2. Photos from around Tehran, Iran
3. Photos of Iran #2

Well, it’s our last few hours in Iran. We’re catching a flight after dinner tonight to Bangkok via Bahrain. Iran has really grown on us, with the friendliest people we’ve met yet. We can now totally relate to celebrities, who have to greet their fans everywhere they go. No, our blog is not super famous in Iran, they just treat all foreign visitors like this. We literally can’t walk ten feet sometimes without being stopped and welcomed to Iran.

That said, Iran was a little tough at first. I don’t know if we were just getting burned out on travelling in Muslim countries (Turkey, Morocco, Iran), or if it was the one to two week culture shock that we’ve noticed we get in every country we visit, but when we first entered the country we were feeling ready to move on. We were also still feeling pretty sick from some food in Eastern Turkey. Thankfully that all passed, and after having some amazing experiences we could definitely see ourselves coming back here to explore the parts of the country we missed this time around.

We’ll have some more to share from Iran in the next little while as we catch up on things. It’s always hard when we go to a new country to find the enthusiasm to write about the last one, but we’ll make a go of it.

Since Thailand technically requires an onward flight in order to enter the country, we’ve made another addition to our itinerary. The cheapest flight we could find was from Bangkok to the island city-nation of Singapore. So, we’re going to Singapore!

Our rough plan right now is to stay in Thailand until the end of July, then fly to Singapore for 2–3 nights, before catching another cheap regional flight to Vietnam. From there, we’ll spend our last few weeks traveling overland back to Thailand, hopefully making stops in Cambodia and Laos as well. But knowing us, this will probably all change. One thing’s for sure: Laura will be getting authentic Vietnamese soup one way or another.

I’m writing this from the hotel computer in Shiraz, so unfortunately I can’t add any pictures. But we spent yesterday visiting the archeological sites near Shiraz, including the grand-daddy of Iranian history, Persepolis. So we’ll definitely have some pictures soon.

Take care everyone. And peace be upon you. Apparently today is the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) so it’s a holiday here. Hopefully we can find somewhere to eat lunch.

Cheers,
Chris and Laura

Related posts:

1. Bangkok, Thailand
2. A Minor Detour: Morocco, Madrid, Romania...
3. Photos of Iran #2

The mosques in Esfahan and in Iran in general, are absolutely beautiful pieces of architecture. Hopefully these photos captured some of that beauty for you to enjoy.

The main mosque in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Naghsh-e Jahan Square

One of the polo markers in the World Heritage Site, Naghsh-e Jahan Square.

Inside the main mosque in Naghsh-e Jahan square.

Inside the main mosque in Naghsh-e Jahan square.

Inside the main mosque in Naghsh-e Jahan square.

While walking down the street I noticed this fantastic detail in the doorway of a mosque that was squished between shops.

The entrance of Jameh mosque. You may have noticed that the mosques in Iran are very blue. This is because muslims believe blue to be a very calming colour which allows one to relax and focus on prayer.

Some detail of the fabulous mosaic work in the Jameh mosque.

A banner hanging in the entrance hallway of Jameh mosque.

Jameh mosque in Esfahan. It is the largest mosque in all of Iran.

One of the ornate ceilings in the Jameh mosque in Esfahan.

Related posts:

1. The adventures of Laura’s 27th birthday in Esfahan, Iran
2. Photos of Iran #2
3. Photos from Northern Iran

Some children we met in Yazd. In the background you can see one of two older girls who felt that being photographed would maybe be inappropriate. It’s still okay to peek around the corner though.

We decided to spend a day in a city called Yazd, after our thoroughly enjoyable 6 days in Esfahan. We’ll have some posts from Esfahan eventually, but right now it feels like a lot to digest. We made a good friend there, and had a few other interesting experiences.

Yazd is nothing like anywhere we’ve been in Iran to date. Situated on the edge of the desert, the Old City is a maze  of crumbling mudbrick alleyways. The heat hit us like a wall when got off the air-conditioned bus. It was 37 degrees Celsius at about 10:30 at night, and the warm, dry wind that rushed through the open windows of our taxi into town reminded Laura of Saudi Arabia.

Our hotel is a bit expensive (at $40 per night), but the food is good, they have wifi, and the setting is charming. It’s built in an old Yazdi traditional house. The main courtyard has a fountain and some lush trees, and his half covered, providing some much appreciated shade. Travelers loll around in the midday heat, with only a few (us not included) willing to explore Yazd before things cool later in the day. It’s something like 45 degrees out there as I type this. YEsterday we had a fantastic late afternoon wandering the streets exploring and snapping some photos. It was nice to feel photographically inspired again. Iran has been tough because there are a lot of restrictions on what you can photograph (all government and military sites are out), and people don’t respond so well to unsolicited photos. In fact, taking shots of military installations, even if they are not obviously military-looking, can carry accusations of espionage or camera confiscation.

We only have three and a half days left in the country before we catch a flight from Shiraz to Bahrain, and then Bahrain to Thailand. Tomorrow we will go south to Shiraz and the ancient Persian capital of Persepolis.

Yazd is a warren of narrow alleys

Many domed passages have holes in the roof to let heat escape and let light in.

Nice light on a sweet ride.

A traditional Yazdi house: everything radiates from a central courtyard. Notice the funny tower: that’s a “badgir,” which is basically a natural air conditioner. The taller the badgir, the more wind it catches and channels into the house. These things dot the skyline in Yazd.

We stumbled upon a traditional house being renovated. After asking the workmen if we could enter, we found the inside a beautiful maze of dusty rooms. The delicate light and colour was very nice.

Motorcycles are more common than cars in Iran, probably because they are less expensive and more convenient in congested traffic.

We enjoyed walking through town at the magic hour, when the setting sun casts arguably the best light of the day.

Yazd is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities on Earth, with human settlement confirmed as going back at least 7,000 years (probably more).

Traditional door knockers. The left one is for women, as it makes a less deep sound. The right is for men. This is of course important in a culture where single women and men are heavily discouraged from interacting.

Another motorcycle.

The grill of a Paykan, the most common car in Iran, and one that according to the Lonely Planet, is absolutely terrible for emissions.

Another street.

Motorcycles parked in a courtyard.

Laura Beauchamp, International Travel Photographer.

My lovely wife.

It’s not uncommon to see two, three, or even four people on a motorcycle.

After much searching, we found the way to ascend the roofs of the Old City, and made it in time for sunset.

Up there, we met a couple other travelers, and enjoyed a shared meal afterwards.

The nighttime view from the roof to the Jameh Mosque and other Yazdi landmarks.

Related posts:

1. Photos of Iran #1
2. Photos of Iran #2
3. Learn about the symbols of Iranian “Persian” Carpets (Video)