Interesting places, friendly people, to Iran in 2018
(Part 2 of 2)
(Travel Story Series @ Hon Too Fang 2021)
C 19 – Isfahan to Yazd
Our next stop was Yazd, some 310 km to the south east. We had a stop at the old town of Naein, population 25,000. The Naein Narenj Castle was built during the Parthian Empire (247 BC to 224 AD). Now in ruins of course. The simple Jamal Mosque was built in the 8th century without any dome. The minaret was added about 700 years ago. It is one of the 4 oldest mosques in Iran.
We also stopped at an old caravansarai currently being restored. It is dated to the 15th to 18th centuries, on part of the old Silk Road route. The 2nd photo shows the restored roof, with the mini domes. This is a very dry region. The Persians developed the underground irrigation system, called "qanat" in this region some 3,000 years ago. Water from the underground canal still flows at the well shown in the last photo. The famous "Karez" underground irrigation system in Turpan in Xinjiang, China is copied from the Persians.
B 4 - Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest religions. The founder is an Iranian, Zoroaster, who probably lived around the 7th or 6th century BC. It served as the state religion of the pre-Islamic Iranian empires for more than a millennium, from around 600 BC to 650 AD when Islam took over. Zoroaster proclaimed that there is only one God, Ahura Mazda. The basic maxim is about having good thoughts, saying good words and doing good deeds. Life is a temporary state and there is a final judgment. Major features of Zoroastrianism, such as heaven and hell, free will, etc, have influenced other religions, like Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
The current number of followers is estimated to be around 200,000, with most living in India and Iran. In Zoroastrianism, water and fire are agents of ritual purity. Their temple is called the Temple of Fire. Shown a symbol of the religion, the Faravahar, which is thought of as a guardian angel with wings. This symbol was chosen by the shahs of the Pahlavi Dynasty (1925-1979) to represent the Iranian nation. It remains as the symbol of Iran even after it became an Islamic Republic. Shown also a typical altar at the home of a believer, the photo shot from a display set kept in the museum of the Fire Temple in Yazd. The 3rd photo shows a typical painted image of Zoroaster, usually with a stick, while the last photo depicts his stories on mosaic tiles at the Tekyeh Moaven al Molk in Kermanshah.
C 20 – Yazd
Yazd is a city with about half a million people. It is a very dry place and has the most underground "qanat" irrigation systems in Iran. The old city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, characterized by the narrow lanes and the yellow brown mud-brick buildings. We roamed around several lanes near our hotel and found the area very clean. The last photo shows several wind-catchers. The domed structure is a water reservoir.
A wind-catcher is a Persian architectural element to create natural ventilation in a building to bring down the temperature. The cooling effect could be so efficient that the freezing water stored within the water reservoir in winter could still be cold during summer. A bit unbelievable to us. The reservoirs are even called ice-houses. They are built with thick high-insulation material. Yazd is the wind-catcher centre of Iran.
C 21 – Yazd - Temple of Fire
The Temple of Fire is the only temple for the Zoroastrians in Yazd, a simple building built in 1934 and enshrines the Atasi Behram, the highest of the 4 grades of fire in Zoroastrianism. It is one of the 9 Atash Behrams in the World and the only one in Iran, the other 8 all in India. The sacred fire in the temple is said to have been burning since about 470 AD. The charcoal fire is shielded from the public by a glass partition, making photography difficult due to reflection. There is a museum on the religion housed in an adjacent building.
C 22 – Yazd - Amir-Chakhaq Complex
The city centre's landmark is the Amir-Chakhaq Complex originally constructed in the 15th century. The main building is the tekyeh, the public mourning structure for Shia Muslims. In the centre are two very tall minarets. The rows of perfectly proportioned sunken alcoves are most photogenic in the late afternoon, when the copper-coloured sunlight is captured within each alcove and the towering exterior appears to glow against the darkening sky. Nearby is a group of 5 giant wind-catchers and a huge water reservoir. And a group of servicemen. See, I show photos of handsome Iranian young men too, not only beautiful Persian girls.
C 23 – Yazd - Shrine of Fazel Musa Karem
The Shia Muslims honour their imams and other martyrs by building shrines to house their tombs. This Fazel was a local prince martyred in the 16th century. The walls and ceilings are decorated with a mosaic of glass-mirrors, a common style for a Shia shrine. The glass-mirrors are colourless and not tinted. The tomb is protected with latticed railing, shown in the 2nd photo.
C 23 – Persepolis
Persepolis is a ruin 430 km south of Isfahan, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Shown 2 shots at a restaurant on our journey break. Guests are expected to sit on the couch in the 1st photo to take their meals with their hands. We the alien guests opted instead for the more familiar tables and chairs and forks and spoons.
Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC). Grey limestone was the main building material used. The complex was destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 BC.
The entrance to the platform or the Great Stairway consists of 111 steps, the walkway nearly 7 m wide. Construction started round 519 BC, the oldest part of the complex. And a semi group photo with all the 6 ladies. They are always very happy.
Gate of All Nations
The Gate of All Nations, referring to subjects of the empire, is a grand hall. The eastern entrance of the hall is guarded by 2 pairs of mythical animals. A pair of bulls with the heads of bearded men and another similar pair but with wings.
Apadana
"Apadana" is the general palace, with a square grand hall, each side 60 m long. There were 72 columns, 13 of which still stand on the enormous platform. Building work started in 518 BC, one of the earliest structure here. The 2nd photo shows the sculpture of a lion head used as a capital for the columns.
Tachara/Hadis
Other palaces: 2 photos of the ruins of the "Tachara", or the Palace of Darius the Great. The last 2 photos show the reliefs of the walls at the “Hadis”, the Palace of Xerxes.
Tomb of Artaxerxes II
There is a tomb on the hillside, about 1 km from the palace ground. It is said to be that of Artaxerxes II, reigned around 404-358 BC. The reliefs show elements related to Zoroastrianism rather than those to the king.
There are many carved reliefs here, in stone or plaster, on people, animals and floral patterns. A popular one is a lion attacking a bull, appearing in many places, one shown in the 4th photo.
C 24 – Naqsh-e Rustam
About 12 km away from Persepolis is Naqsh-e Rustam, an ancient necropolis. There are 4 large tombs cut high into the cliff face, each for a king of the Achaemenid Dynasty (550-330 BC) with architectural decoration on the facades. Below the tombs and near to ground level are rock reliefs of kings of the Sassanian Dynasty (224-541 AD). The 2nd photo shows the tomb of Darius the Great, the 3rd is a relief on the triumph of Shapar I (reigned 240-270 AD) over the Romans, with the Roman emperor bowing to him in submission and the 4th photo shows a mysterious structure here known as the Cube of Zoroaster, a square tower with unknown purpose erected between the 5th to 3rd century BC.
C 25 – Shiraz
Our last stop was Shiraz, about 60 km south-west of Persepolis. It has a population of 1.8 million and the most popular tourist city in Iran. It was a leading city for arts and literature, and an old capital of the Persian Empire from 1750 to 1800. Shown a "leaning" tower (earthquake effect) of the Karim Khan Citadel in downtown and a photographer mimicking a sculpture.
C 26 – Shiraz - Nasir-ol Mulk Mosque
This small but famous mosque was built around 1876-88. In popular culture it is called the Pink Mosque due to the extensive use of pink tiles in the interior, especially the ceiling. The mocarabe (stalactite overhang) is impressively decorated.
To the ordinary tourists, the must-see scene is the unique natural light show in the early morning. The slanting light rays go through the colourful stained glass windows to fall on a large area of the Persian carpets inside. Everywhere so colourful. We went a bit late and the sun was much higher over the horizon resulting that the floor area covered by the lights were rather small, shown in the fore ground of the 2nd photo. We in fact planned to go again the next morning but unfortunately it was drizzling and the 2nd visit aborted.
C 27 – Shiraz - Naranjestan
The Naranjestan is an old merchant house built around 1879-1886. It is representative of a traditional Iranian residence for the ruling class during that time, Qajar Dynasty. Shown some decorative elements. The last photo shows ceiling with painted wood panels.
It is now a museum. Shown two ancient musical instruments. The 2nd photo shows one no more in use, called "barbat", with 5 pairs of double-strings. And 2 pretty local visitors and some cheeky young visitors.
C 28 – Shiraz - Shrine of Emir Ali
Visited another Shia shrine, this one dedicated to Emir Ali, a follower and nephew of the 8th Shia Imam. It has a majestic blue dome. The interior consists of high ceilings and exquisite glass-mirror tiles, said to number over 2 million pieces. Green is the colour.
C 29 – Shiraz - Saraye Tea-house
We had tea and lunch at this tea-house. To reach there we had to make a leisure stroll through an old neighbourhood. Shown 2 antique door knockers. The building in the last photo is the “kampung” house of our guide who hopes to convert it into a home-stay if tourism business picks up.
This home-café has a really beautiful setting. The building was in fact converted from a middle class residence.
C 30 – Shiraz – Grand Bazaar
We did make useful purchase at the bazaar since it was the last stop of our tour.
---------- From Shiraz we took a local flight to Tehran and continued with an international flight to Kuala Lumpur. The tour is now completed. ----------
D 1 - Footnote – the less conservative Shia Muslims
The Shia Muslims in Iran are certainly less conservative than the Sunni Muslims in Malaysia. They are in fact more liberal. All women, including foreigners, are required to wear a simple "tudong" at all times. The Malaysian tudong would cover all the hair on the head. But the Iranian tudong is more flexible. The local girls would leave a lot of their hair outside their "tudong". Don’t seem to be of any issue, even in the more rural places like Hamedan and Kermanshah. We did see a few women with a niqab, covering of the face but with only the eyes uncovered. We have certainly not seen any woman with a full black burqa like those in Afghanistan.
Non-Muslims are allowed to visit the religious sites. There is no extra clothing requirement for visits to ordinary mosques for both men and women. But to visit a shrine, where a tomb has been enshrined, a woman has to put on an extra overcoat, called cardor, provided free by the shrine administration. The cardor need not be black even, shown here in white and floral, taken at the Imanzadah Saleh Shrine in Tehran.
And there are no loud calls to prayers at all.
A painting of the Last Supper featuring Jesus Christ was hung at the lobby of our hotel in Kermanshah. Could any hotel in Malaysia do that? Mind you, this is not to lure foreign tourists. This rural Kermanshah region is a cold spot for foreign tourists. Then we have another sculpture of “Jesus and Virgin Mary” displayed at a restaurant in Shiraz. One might argue that Shiraz is a tourist city.
D 2 - Footnote - the charitable Iranians
Along parking bays and corners of buildings one can find solid boxes like the following. Parking meter? No, donation boxes. We have not seen any beggar on the street. It seems their social system would take care of the people in need, our guide explained.
D 3 - Footnote - the hospitable Iranians
Since there are not many non-Middle East tourists, we the rare ones are certainly made to feel welcome by the Iranians. Almost everybody we make eye contact smiled at us, nodded at us, waved at us. We were always invited to join them whenever we passed by a group having a picnic. To them we are their friends who have defied the "order" of the Americans to boycott them.
At the smaller towns in the west, like Hamedan and Kermanshah, we the yellow-skin tourists are the hunted one for group photos with them. Both photos taken at Taq-e Bostan, Kermanshah.
The tour company engaged by us was based in Shiraz and the guide was from there too. When we came to Shiraz from Persepolis, the guide directed the bus to take us to a certain park at the suburb to meet his family. A big contingent, may be 10 of them, brothers and sisters, etc. We were invited to have tea with them. Only in Iran.
Then at the city centre we were invited to have tea in the tour company premise. Served by their office’s beautiful executive. Again, only in Iran.
D 4 - Footnote - the food
Their staple food is rice or wheat as in flatbread. And the main cooking style is kebab, and to a lesser extent, stew. For tourists it is kebab: beef, lamb and chicken. With simple bean soups, and salads. May be grilled trout in certain places. Very little other choices even in tourist restaurants. In smaller towns, only kebab is available. Western food like pizza is available only in big cities.
So food is a forgettable affair here. Shown a typical kebab dish with rice (choice of rice or flatbread), with burnt tomato. Everywhere the tomato is very much burnt. Not sure why. A typical meal like that with soup/salad and water cost about RM 20 to RM 30 in small cafes and highway stops. Our common alternative is lamp stew with flatbread which is roti canai.
We had English tea a number of times and it was always served “kosong”. Sugar always came in as a candy stick or a lollipop.
D 5 - Footnte - shopping
The only thing that everybody buys is nuts, like almond, pistachio, walnut, chickpea, and my favourite "dried fig". Cheaper than in Malaysia of course and more choices and better quality too. Bought at the last stop in Shiraz. A member even bought a few kg of their special rice. A few bought the expensive-like-hell saffron too.
D 6 – Footnote – group photograph
There is no “complete” group photo featuring all the members. The following, taken at a restaurant in a small town where we had our lunch break travelling from Yard to Persepolis, is the best of the lot, with only 1 member missing. In fact the group photo pose was requested by the owner of the restaurant, who probably has not hosted a meal for a group of Malaysians or a group of Chinese. He is seated, 3rd from the left. His people is taking the group photo for him. Our driver is also here, seated, 2nd from the right.
That's all folks. Thanks for reading. And thanks to our leader PW in organising the tour and inviting us, and to others in our group, you help make the tour a very memorable one.
(First written in May 2018. Lightly revised to this PDF format in September 2021)
