Athens and Iran (OZ, TK and QR business)

[RooFlyer]

Found a few more pics on the iPhone:





Looking up at the dome:



Dinner that night was at a café near the hotel. New, obviously catering for western tourists and a great little place. As usual, we were early, so one of the first in there.



A pomegranate mojito was an interesting experiment:



... and a delicious bowl of pasta



And coffee afterwards at a little shoppe run by these guys. We got chatting and they gave me the coffee , and off I went. Without paying (A$1.50) !! Fortunately I only got a couple of steps outside the shop before I realised and went back. I asked them "Were you going to let me go without paying?" "Yes!" Full marks for looking after the tourists, but it was embarrassing. They appreciated my coming back.

 

[JohnM]

That was a great little neighborhood .

 

[RooFlyer]

Next day we drove from Shiraz to Isfahan. I hadn't heard of Isfahan before the tour, but having read a bit about it, I was excited to go. Also, our guide had cautioned us throughout the trip not to buy souvenirs except at Isfahan "where there is good shopping and lots of competition".


But first, let there be the impression that Iran has no first class hotels - they are certainly about; its just that we didn't stay in any of them . Here is the Shiraz Hotel, obviously pretty swish:




Major stop for the day was at Pasagardae, with was the first Archaemenid capital under the founder, Cyrus the Great (Persepolis was founded by his grandson, Darius). So construction around 550 BC; a World Heritage site.

Its a large site (almost 2 sq km) and frankly there isn't a lot left. We got around in an electric cart thing.

First stop was a hill with some fortifications which gave a good view over the site (most off to the left):



Back at ground level, the view is a bit monotonous:





The building on the left is the highlight of the site - the tomb of no less than Cyrus the Great, or at least that's what's thought. Later writers said that Alexander the Great visited here and found the tomb intact, and an inscription was recorded (no longer extant):

Passer-by, I am Cyrus, who gave the Persians an empire, and was king of Asia.
Grudge me not therefore this monument.



We stopped for a break at a 'roadhouse' where the highlight was some special Iranian pistachio ice cream (delicious). The quartered pomegranate wasn't so successful - very high pip to flesh ratio and strong likelihood of red juice down your front (or some-one else's )





Carried onto Isfahan via the usual divided highway:

 

[RooFlyer]

We arrived in Isfahan at dusk and as usual the roads were Rafferty's rules (if any):



After checking in we went to dinner at a highly recommended Shahrzad Restaurant a few blocks away (through the door, up some steep stairs to the first floor ... we discovered after some searching!):



As always, we were early, but at least we weren't the first! Menu pretty predicable ... I had the kebab with some fresh squeezed OJ. To start, they brought out a really nice olive tapenade thing and the usual flat bread and olive oil. Pretty good overall.





Afterwards we kept walking about the main street and contemplated (only contemplated, mind you!), dessert:



Kept walking and found the Allahverdi Khan Bridge popularly known as Si-o-se-pol (bridge of 38 spans, for obvious reasons). Its 300m long and was built in 1600. The river is quite dry and has been for a few years, during the drought that has affected most of Iran.



Lots of people - particularly those say 16-30 - on and under the bridge, smoking, chatting and in some cases what looked suspiciously like boys and girls canoodling!

 

[cgichard]

The river is quite dry and has been for a few years, during the drought that has affected most of Iran.

I'm sorry to hear that. I was last there in October 2008 and I'm fairly sure I recall the beautiful reflection in the river of the bridge lit up at night as you show it. [ But it is possible I'm in fact remembering a photo seem in a book.]

 

[craven morehead]

Back in Shiraz, there were a couple of sites visited, with the last one being the Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad shrine. He was an 11th century figure and founder of the Druze sect. I looked that up but its waaaaay too complicated for me!

Its a mosque as well as a shrine, with the usual courtyard and dome. The courtyard was paved with memorials to people going back centuries, same as you find in Christian churches.

View attachment 111919

View attachment 111920

This was a rare place where the ladies had to cover up more than the headscarf ( an extra body wrap which was available at the entrance) and also there were separate men and women entrances to the shrine area.

Inside the shrine was simply stunning and something quite unexpected. All the walls and ceilings were composed of umpteen hundreds of thousands of pieces of mirror pieces put together in intricate patterns and lit with white and green light. Photos cannot begin to capture the effect, but here's a try. The grilled enclosure is over the spot where the body is buried, some depth below. All the other surfaces are mirror-work.

View attachment 111921


This is what the mirror-work looks like up close:

View attachment 111922

More areas of the shrine:

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Wow factor : 99% !

WOW alright !!

 

[RooFlyer]

"Isfahan is half the world !" Goes a local saying. A lot to live up to

First stop was the Armenian Cathedral of St Joseph of Arimathea. In the early 1600s Shah Abbas I forced many Armenians from Julfa there to live in Iran, mainly in Isfahan, his capital. This area also became known as Julfa and this building dates from the late 1600s. Armenians are a recognised minority in Iran and have their own member of Parliament (as do the Jewish community, I think) and are officially allowed to drink alcohol. They generally have a reputation as been diligent workers.



Inside is richly decorated with paintings:






There are a number of buildings in the complex, including a museum:



There, and elsewhere in the complex, there was quite a focus on the Armenian genocide (and the countries that have recognised it, and those that haven't ...):



Down this microscope is a human hair. On the hair is some calligraphy!

 

[RooFlyer]

Our next stop was a miniaturist workshop and gallery. Miniature painting has been a cultural pursuit in Iran for many hundreds of years and Isfahan has been one of the centres for the technique. The 'classic' miniature is abt 2-3cm x 5-7cm and is done on camel bone, of trapezoidal shape (see below). Larger, squarer paintings have been done on crushed camel bone, re-glued together.

We were taken to the gallery of a 'master' who demonstrated the art:



He whipped up a small demo piece for us there and then:





One lucky blighter got given it as a birthday present (not me!).

Of course for the rest of us there were always cat drawings:



On the walls were mixtures of works by 'the master' (usually without prices marked!) and also by others in his studio, priced from abt US$100 and up. After much thought, I bought these two:








They were NOT by the master but still pretty good; the trapezoidal shape should mean they are on camel bone, not reconstituted bone.

Polo originated in Iran (really!) in the 6th century BC.

 

[JohnM]

Well, dang me! Look what I just found on a shelf in my living room!

 

[RooFlyer]

No comment (Actually a great result )

A minutes walk from the miniaturist took us to Naqsh-e Jahan Square which was constructed in the early 1600s when Shah Abbas I made Isfahan his capital. Today its a World Heritage site and must be one of the great city squares of the world, measuring 160 metres x 560 metres (almost 90,000 sq m !) . The buildings date from the late 1600s-early 1700s. Just think of what London was like at this time!





There are numerous public buildings around and close to the square and the ground level of the arcades are tourist shops. The Imperial Bazaar leads off one side.

The first place we visited was the Shah Mosque (Imam Mosque after the Revolution ) on the south side of the square.



Wow! Its also World Heritage and its construction was begun in 1611 under Shah Abbas I. The axis of the mosque is aligned to Mecca, but its off-alignment to the square, supposedly so the dome and rear minarets could still be seen from the square and not concealed behind the front façade which is to the left of the pic. After going through the entrance, there is a large courtyard - where you can see through to the distant buildings in the middle of the complex. On each side of the courtyard are iwans - arched and decorated ways to the prayer areas. The 'four iwan' style of mosques was developed right here.

Front entrance



This panorama shows three iwans in the courtyard:



Its all huge, and richly tiled.

 

[cgichard]

I'm waiting eagerly to hear if you found the musice room on the floor above the large balcony on the other side of the square. Well worth the climb up the steep stes, as I recall, and we were fortunate to happen upon an instrumentalist and a singer giving an impromptu recital.

 

[RooFlyer]

Yes, coming up but no music in our case.

 

[RooFlyer]

Sorry for the delay, its been a busy time!

Next we visited the Ali Qapu, originally designed to be a 'grand gate' to some palaces beyond. The palace was built in the 17th century by Shah Abbas I mainly for entertaining visitors. Its on the western side of the Naqsh e Jahan Square.



Steep stairs as cgichard noted , but half way up gets you the 'viewing balcony', under renovation, but with great views across to the fabulous Sheikh Lotfollah mosque, which we visited the next day.








Several more sets of step spiral stains:



... gets you to the Music hall on the top level. The decorations here are apparently enhance the acoustics






Down and out, we headed away from the square; this is the municipal library - nice to see it wasn't a palace or similar!

 

[RooFlyer]

That last one a bit out of order. We were set loose to forage for lunch and found this lovely little shady square just off the mega square:



Lunch was cheesecake and coffee again, but check out the 'tea' brew being strained out .



Then we headed out of the precinct, past the Library and came to the Hasht Behesht Palace, meaning '8 Paradises' . Built by Shah Abbas II in the mid 1600s. Surrounded by a large park and Persian Garden.



Pretty, but not spectacular:







Then we ended up, probably inevitably given it was a Persian tour, ... at a carpet shop. Our guide 'swore' that this was the real deal, all genuine etc etc etc. Fortunately, I wasn't in the market for a carpert, no matter how good. Oh, they also helpfully accepted credit cards - they phoned their Dubai office who processed the card. Never mind that this would result in double FX fees.



I would have loved to be able to have used, let alone afforded, this wonderful silk carpet:



Some haggling by one of the ladies who did buy:



There is a lot of smoking in Iran, but at least there is some recognition of the fact:

 

[RooFlyer]

Dinner that night was at the restaurant in the Abassi hotel, undoubtedly the fanciest pub in Isfahan. Check out its web site . In August 2017 CNN (oh, well ...) called it the Middle East's most beautiful hotel. We'll come back to it in the daytime, tomorrow.

We cooled our heels in the magnificent courtyard garden waiting for the table (although we were very early).



Trees groaning with persimmon and, I think, figs, plus Seville oranges.





Entrance to the restaurant looked promising:


Again, being mostly deserted didn't help the atmosphere:



"Bavaria" got high marks because it contained hops and actually tasted like a beer:



Mains was, you guessed it, kebabs (shared plates). yes, it was nice



But the highlight was, again the ice cream I think it added 25% to the bill, which was still only about A$18.

 

[RooFlyer]

Afterwards, out for a coffee.



Perfect! Comfy chairs; never mind the menu - latte, please:



and with a chokkie too

 

[RooFlyer]

Couple more old bridges. The 110m Shahrestan Bridge, first built about the 5th Century AD and renovated in the 10th and 11th centuries!



The 133m Khaju bridge built 1650 on the site of an older bridge.



Kids racing radio-controlled cars by the bridge:



Some public sculptures:



I love this one:



Back at the Si-o-Seh pol bridge and a better picture:



We came across these guys, with coffee and dates being given out. First sign of the religious festival of the next day. The Imams in Iran are the first 12 descendants of the Prophet; the Third Imam is particularly significant. His death is commemorated, but also on the 40th day afterwards, and the next day was that 40th day. Our guide had been scrambling to see what was open and when tomorrow (it varies!).

 

[RooFlyer]

Next day, views from the hotel breakfast room:





First stop was the Jameh mosque of Isfahan. Sometimes called the 'Friday' mosque (mistakenly) it is better known as the city's 'congregational' or 'community' mosque. Begun about 770 AD after the Arab conquest of Persia, (and added to over the years), it is one of the oldest mosques in Iran and, of course, a World Heritage site. Just when I was beginning to get mosque-out, this one re-energised my camera.

The central part is pretty standard (albeit spectacular in its own right):



Inside, the place is undoubtedly ancient. Some pillars are crooked (its not an optical illusion in the pic below) - after earthquakes, we were told, but the absence of cracking made me wonder:




One of the prayer niches, indicating the direction to Mecca, showing how its a very old mosque, with parts not maintained:



What set this mosque apart for me was the beautiful brickwork in the ceiling. Took me a while to figure out what this pic was showing - but its looking up a highly decorated skylight/vent:



Here's an example of the brickwork in the ceiling - I showed many variations in a post here.



A couple more - all looking straight up. the last one is looking up into the dome:

 

[RooFlyer]

We moved from the mosque along a very long bazaar passageway, but unfortunately it was too early for the shops to be open, plus we found that the shop-keepers were attending a 'Third Imam' rally. Lots of black, green and red banners, exhortations into loud speakers etc ... it would have been intimidating had we not known what was going on. We were offered tea, coffee and dates as we passed by





Onwards through the deserted bazaar:



... until we re-entered the enormous Naghsh-e-Jahan square:

 

[RooFlyer]

Our destination was the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque (on the left but out of sight in the pic above). It was one of the (many) highlights of the trip; an Iranian architectural masterpiece, built at the start of the 1600s by Shah Abbas I as a private mosque for him, family and harem. Hence there are no minarets and unlike the big Shah mosque at the end of the square, there is no inner courtyard and no iwans.

it is lavishly decorated however, and I can't go close to doing it justice here. Its on the cover of Lonely Planet for Iran









Inside, the dome as seen from the entrance, with the 'peacock's tail' visible.









A poor panorama attempt: