There’s so much madness on Iran’s roads, it’s easy to become inured to the outrage. I photograph to remember and verify it was as insane as I thought it was.
Category: Iran-Travel-Tour
All posts related to travel and touring in Iran.
In Iran, even strangers shower each other with pleasantries. But behind the wheel, Iranians are lawless and ruthless. I often ask about the reason. These are some of the opinions I’ve gotten.
The Iranian vets exposed to Saddam Hussein’s mustard gas (made with ingredients provided by the West) suffer to this day. Here’s one story.
Stunning example of globalization: in tiny Iranian village I find Chinese knickknacks and villagers crazy about Korean soaps they watch on satellite television.
An ancient wartime shelter tells us Iranians have survived the enemy for thousands of years. Regardless, war is senseless. Let’s set aside the fighting and live in peace, say locals in Sabzevar, Iran.
Despite the state’s best efforts, Farsi is as Westernized as ever because acculturation is a way of life in Iran. Iranians are enamored with all things Western. Tourists quickly discover that from the way the locals greet them in the streets and boldly initiate conversation. Sometimes total strangers ask to have selfies taken with tourists they met seconds earlier.
The furnishing of their homes, the pictures they put on their walls, the brands they put on display at every opportunity, the media they consume, even television news on state networks – much of life here one way or another originates outside Iran.
I have a soft spot for staying in village homes in Iran. I appreciate the simple architecture using rustic material, the thick walls, the thatch ceilings, everything weather-beaten. Furniture, if there is any, is usually the bare necessities. The decoration minimalist and fascinating, as in pictures of dead relatives on prominent display in antique frames…
It’s amazing how much of Kashan you can see in a single day, the bus ride from Tehran included, provided you make it to the bus station early. The town is small and taxi rides cheap and plentiful. I did have the advantage of being accompanied by a guide who swiftly took me from site..
The before photos remind me of post-war Germany. No bombing necessary, though. Disinterest in one’s past did the job. No after photos necessary either. The impossible stood in front me; the 230-year-old Ameri House of Kashan (kaw-SHAWN) back in its full glory, a veritable witness to persistence, thoughtfulness and love for Iran’s heritage. Before and after of Ameri..
One of the unique things about Mashhad is that it’s surrounded by fascinating landscape, only minutes outside the city. The stark landscape north of Mashhad is dotted with endless hills, lonely villages and gorgeous rocky outcrops. The area is known for its wild cherries. Winters are relatively mild in the plains. The snow stays on..
Bagh-e (Garden of) Akbarieh (or Akbariyeh), ancient home to the rulers of the area, today is the site of two museums, in Birjand, the capital of South Khorasan province, in northeast Iran. The garden is one of nine in UNESCO’s “Persian Garden” collection. Ali Torkzadeh with Saeideh Ajilchi Ali & Saeideh plan their Iran roadtrips..
The morning after our rat-or-snake-infested stay in the village of Naiband, Saeideh wanted to just drive away and not pay for the room. I said we owe ourselves the experience of complaining and seeing where it takes us.
We arrived at the home of the village chief Gholamreza Hassankhani and his wife Zahra in the new Naiband, a modern village down the mountain from the ancient Naiband village we stayed the night before.
The Hassankhanis had rented to us a room in a vacant home in the 1,000-year-old village. The rustling in the wooden ceiling kept Saeideh up all night who suspected rats or snakes.
Her anger rose again when we pulled up in front of the Hassankhani home.