I’m a happy man in an Iranian traditional home because everything – eating, sleeping, receiving of guests – happens not on furniture but on floors covered with nothing but Persian rugs. Empty rooms are peaceful.
“You haven’t even hit the jungle yet!” our host cried on the phone. Just the foggy climb to the 10,700-foot Filband village in northern Iran is an adventure during our Iran Caspian tour.
Persian hospitality and quick friendships are hard to avoid anywhere in Iran – especially when you’re in the country. On our weekend autumn getaway near Mashhad, we ate a lot of traditional food, we also visited the shrine of a local Shia saint who almost instantly answered my prayer!
My stay in a simple country home in Iran’s countryside was unforgettable – even if wife and I had to sleep on the floor. For me, experiencing the rural lifestyle in Iran even beats visiting famous historical sites.
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.
The tourist wants authenticity, but not the discomforts of authenticity. So the tourist gets angry …
Getting High & Low in Naiband, Part II
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The unprepared visitor who glances up at the cliff dwellings of Naiband is prone to …
Getting High & Low in Naiband, Part I
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Travelogue of our 3-day trip to the Lorestan Province of Western Iran. With its breath-taking nature and legendary hospitality of the Lur people. Lorestan – a short distance from Isfahan – offers incredible untapped tourism potential.
