My Trip to Iran

Day3:

The citadel and city of Bam were supposed to be one of the major highlights of our visit to Iran. Molded over 2000 years ago out of the red clay of the Dasht-é Kavir desert that surrounds it, this stronghold still looks proud today to those who stand outside the walls.When you consider the material that is used to construct Bam, it is even a wonder so much of the city still stands. The red desert clay, mixed with straw and "other organic materials", looks like it will come apart if anyone just looks at it. And perhaps it's a good thing it doesn't rain here very often.                                                    

Hamadan is one of the oldest centers of civilization. The city has been inhabited since the 2nd millennium BC. In the 7th century BC the city, by that time known as Ecbatana, was the capital city of the Medes. After an alliance between the Medes and the Persians, the city was renamed to Hagmatana and became the first capital of the Persian Empire. Unfortunately, there is little left of these glorious ancient times. However, there is a lot in Hamadan that's worthwhile, so the city attracts a lot of visitors, most of them from Tehran.

Baba Taher, who lived in the 11th century, is one of the great poets of Iran. His songs and poems are still very popular. His mausoleum, that looks a bit like a rocket, was built in 1970. We were not very excited about the outside, but what happened inside was something very wonderful. Here was a man who recited some of Baba Taher's poems and sung some of his songs. So beautiful, we could listen to this man for hours.

There is another rocket-like mausoleum in Hamadan. This belongs to the 10th century poet, scientist, philosopher and physician Abu Ali Sina. In the West, I know the man as Avicenna. Among a lot of other things, he wrote a medical encyclopedia that has been mandatory reading for every medical student in Europe until the 19th century. His works as a poet and philosopher are still studied today.

There is a small Jewish community in Hamadan. Their synagoge is also the shrine of Esther, the Jewish wife of King Xerxes, and her uncle Mordechai. Although, some people claim it isn't Esther who is buried here, but another Jewish Queen by the name of Shushan Dokht.

Inside this small building you can see the only Hebrew inscriptions in all of Iran.

The town of Qom is best known for its religious university Howzeh-ye Elmieh. It attracts a lot of students from all over Iran and the rest of the world who want to become a mullah. Imam Khomeini is probably the most famous among those who studied the Quran here. But there are more things in Qom that are significant to Islam. The Holy Shrine of Hazrat-é Ma'sumeh is the burial place of Fatima, the daughter of the 7th Imam and sister of the Reza, the 8th Imam. It is the most important one in Qom. Only the Shrine of Imam Reza himself, in Mashhad, is even more important to the Shi'ites.
The Shrine is located in the center of Qom.When you walk around it, you can admire the wonderful mosaics, the minarets and the beautiful golden dome.
If you look the other way, you'll probably see a lot of aspirant mullahs. If you're lucky, you might find one who speaks English and wants to tell you something about what it's like to study here.See ya next time people.

My Trip to Iran

Day2:The ruin of the historical fortress Takht-é Suleiman is, archaeologically speaking, one of the most interesting places in Iran, not in the least because Takht-é Sulieman is believed to be the birthplace of Zoroaster.However  some believe Zoroaster to be born in Azerbaijan, but the overwhelming majority believe, based on good reasons, that he was a native of northeastern Iran, somewhere in Transoxiana and northern Afghanistan.        

Anyway, whether Zoroaster was born here or not, the place is interesting enough by itself. Yet this ancient fortress lies in a remote area of the country, so the Throne of Solomon doesn't get many visitors. It is a fascinating experience to walk between the remains of the many different dynasties who inhabited the fortress over such a long period of time.

                                               

                                                                                                                

The oldest part, the Azargashab firetempel, dates from 500 BC. Until 1500 AD the Parthians, the Sassanians and the Moghuls have been adding a lot more. The large wall around the complex and its 38 defensive towers were built in the third Century AD. Most of the towers have eroded to the same height as the wall.

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The Kurdistan Province of Iran is a little bit different from the rest of the country. Most of the people here are Kurds, they wear different clothes than in the rest of Iran and they speak Kurdish, which is a very different language compared to Farsi, although both languages are descendents of Pahlavi, an ancient Iranian language.                                                            


There are almost 7 million Kurds in Iran, not only in the Kurdistan province but also in the provinces of Western and Eastern Azerbaijan, Zanjan and Kermanshah. The Kurds of Iran are not treated as hostile as in some other countries in the region. Kurds and other Iranians live together peacefully.
Masuleh is a breathtakingly beautiful village located in the Talesh mountains. Although Masuleh is close to the Caspian Sea, it is 1050 meter above sea level.

The interesting about Masuleh are the streets. The village is so steep, they had to make the streets on top op the flat roofs of the houses below. Of course, it is impossible to enter Masuleh with a car. Maybe this is the reason why the original atmosphere of the villages has survived.                                                                                                                                                     

My Trip to Iran

the Banay-e' Azadi(freedom monument)





Caravanserai:Just like a motel.



Day 1: Today I go to Iran to learn about this marvelous culture and beautiful city.I just got out the airport at Tehran.The first thing I see is a big monument.Til later I found out is was called Banay-e' Azadi.The monument was built in 1971 to celebrate the 2500 anniversary of the Iranian Empire. It should be able to enter the building for a view over Tehran and a visit of the Azadi museum.   

In Iran, there used to be over a thousand caravanserais. About every 40 km along the old caravan routes, you could find these places, where you could eat, sleep and drink and where was a place to put your camel.Just like a motel. Today, there are only 128 left, and most of them are in ruins. I visited one of them, in the middle of the desert a few hundred meters from the road from Yazd to Kerman.

                     Yazd is a relaxed city surrounded by a lot of desert.The city has numerous interesting sights. We started with a visit of the Mashed-é Jameh or Friday Mosque. This mosque has the highest minarets of Iran, which can be seen from far away.I've seen quite a lot of mosques in Iran, but we can say that this is one of the most beautiful.The mosaics are superb in their dazzling colours.In the middle of the court is a stairway which leads down to the qanat-system.  



 Yazd is the center of present day Zoroastrian religion. There are about 150.000 Zoroastrians in the world, of which 65.000 live in Iran and 20.000 in Yazd. The Atashkadeh is the most important fire temple. Zoroastrians from all over the world come here to see the sacred fire that has been burning without interruption for 1500 years.

                                                                                       

 There are a lot of flowers in Iran.If you still think Iran is just desert, maybe you should have a look at all the other flower photographs I made.