We booked ahead into the Isfahan Traditional Hotel - a lovely old building still in the process of being renovated. Rooms on two levels around a courtyard with a pool in the middle. There were raised platforms with rugs and cushions for relaxing on - it was cool and shady most of the day.A separate courtyard housed the restaurant.
The main feature of the city is the Imam Square which is vast - over 500m by 160m. Thre is a huge historic mosque at one end and the entrance to the bazaar at the opposite end - and then facing each other along the sides are another spectacular mosque and a former royal palace. And all around the square is a sort of colonnade with shops etc.
The whole thing was designed in the 17th century when Shah Abbas (subject of a major exhibition at the British Museum recently ) moved the capital to Isfahan from Qazvin
The centre of the square was originally used for polo - the goalposts still stand at each end - but is now laid out with gardens pools and fountains.
The main features of the mosques are the architecture - domes. minarets etc - and the astonishing tiling in a mixture of patterns - floral, geometric calligraphy. Mainly in blues, greens and yellows. Many of the half domes have a "stalactite" moulding which is then tiled to remarkable effect, and the full domes are often tiled with a gradually reducing pattern which seems to draw the eye upwards and accentuates the size.
Overall they are wonderful places and everything I was expecting.
And Steve developed an unorthodox technique for photographing the domes, which caused some entertainment for the locals......
A little way from the square is the river where there are several ancient bridges.
We did a long walk along the river crossing backwards and forwards. It was the weekend so there were lots of people out in the gardens along the river. Many were large family groups having picnics - picnics is a separate topic I'll come back to later.
One of the bridges is on two levels and in the cool of the lower arches groups of men gathered to sing - it sounded like traditional stuff - a bit like declaiming poetry. In any event it was highly appreciated - many people gathered to listen - probably over 100 - and there was much applause and encouragement after each song.
We saw a similar group on the riverbank later and this time they had a flat stringed instrument which was played by tapping with what looked like metal claws - it made a tinkling sound and was played mainly as a sort of call and response with the singer. They weren't busking - it was purely for their own enjoyment and the entertainment of anyone who cared to listen. For us it was a real treat.
On the Friday night there was a wedding in our hotel - very interesting because it seems that a private function in a hotel doesn't count as public, so many of the women were dressed in very colourful clothes and wore no head coverings Also their demeanour was much more like what would be normal in Europe. At the end of the evening though they all put back on the chador etc to go home. To us it seemed rather sad - a bit like butterflies having to go back into the cocoons.
A little way west of the city is a huge rock outcrop on top of which stands a ruined Zoroastrian fire temple. Not much to see really but the views back over the city were worth the climb up.
And south of the river is a large Armenian population - again a legacy of Shah Abbas. He forcibly removed a whole townful of people from the north to provide skills and expertise in Isfahan. Because of this there is a cathedral and many Orthodox churches. The cathedral has a number of remarkable frescoes, but to be honest many of them were rather gruesome for my taste - seemed to be there mainly to frighten children.
Traffic in central Isfahan, as in the other cities, has been horrendous at certain times of day. There is no consideration given to pedestrians and crossing the road basically comes down to a game of chicken with drivers to see who yields first. Steve very nearly got knocked over when he lost concentration for a minute. Then we saw that the occupants of the car were two mullahs and we figured that getting run over by them would almost certainly constitute martyrdom and he would have gone straight to paradise. Then of course we couldn't decide whether we should be happy that he was safe or sad because of the crushing disappointment currently being felt by his 72 virgins because of their missed opportunity.
And talking about mullahs - one approached us in the main mosque and started to chat. A fairly young guy - around late twenties/ early thirties.After the initial, brief, pleasantries, he indicated that he assumed we were christians. When we told him we weren't he was a little confused and asked what our beliefs were. We mumbled something about physics and Darwin and that set him off - he spent the next 15 minutes trying to turn us into believers. Without success, so he asked for my email address so he can continue to try.............
I quite fancy the idea of email correspondence with a mullah in Isfahan.
We still haven't seen many foreigners - and so we stand out a bit. We are getting an understanding of what it must be like to be famous - people recognise us wherever we go, not as individuals but as European visitors.
And we get greeted all the time - people fall in to walk alongside us and chat - one guy leaned out of his car window and shouted across three lanes of traffic to ask where we were from.
We've been approached by students who want to speak some english, by many people who just wanted to say hello and to assure us that Iranian people are not really like the bad press they get in the west, We even had a long chat with a refugee from Afghanistan who said he really appreciated the British involvement there because his (minority) ethnic group had been persecuted by the Taliban.
Picnicking
As I mentioned before, we have seen many large groups picnicking - along the river bank and every evening in the main square. It seems to be a national pastime. But it's not just a few bits of bean salad and a few scotch eggs bought from M&S. Firstly they have several large rugs - persian carpet type of pattern - which they spread out to establish their patch. Then they have a large gas burner with gas bottle on which they make tea - and we saw one group about to cook carrots and potatoes - and they bring huge amounts of food which looks like it has been prepared at home - mountains of rice, meats, bread, salads. And sometimes they barbecue.
The family groups are often 12-15 people including 3 generations
And of course, passing foreigners are frequently invited to join in.................
We stayed 4 nights in Isfahan amd then headed off north west to the desert - to a tiny oasis village called Garmeh. Next time.........................
As an aside - apologies for any typos etc above. I've been writing this in an internet cafe in Yazd where the mouse doesn't click properly and the keyboard is so worn that it's not easy to pick out letters - I don't touchtype. It's made it very slow and really interrupted my flow. Off now to meet Steve - we're going for dinner to a restaurant in a coverted old hammam - the traditional bath house.
The main feature of the city is the Imam Square which is vast - over 500m by 160m. Thre is a huge historic mosque at one end and the entrance to the bazaar at the opposite end - and then facing each other along the sides are another spectacular mosque and a former royal palace. And all around the square is a sort of colonnade with shops etc.
The whole thing was designed in the 17th century when Shah Abbas (subject of a major exhibition at the British Museum recently ) moved the capital to Isfahan from Qazvin
The centre of the square was originally used for polo - the goalposts still stand at each end - but is now laid out with gardens pools and fountains.
The main features of the mosques are the architecture - domes. minarets etc - and the astonishing tiling in a mixture of patterns - floral, geometric calligraphy. Mainly in blues, greens and yellows. Many of the half domes have a "stalactite" moulding which is then tiled to remarkable effect, and the full domes are often tiled with a gradually reducing pattern which seems to draw the eye upwards and accentuates the size.
Overall they are wonderful places and everything I was expecting.
And Steve developed an unorthodox technique for photographing the domes, which caused some entertainment for the locals......
A little way from the square is the river where there are several ancient bridges.
We did a long walk along the river crossing backwards and forwards. It was the weekend so there were lots of people out in the gardens along the river. Many were large family groups having picnics - picnics is a separate topic I'll come back to later.
One of the bridges is on two levels and in the cool of the lower arches groups of men gathered to sing - it sounded like traditional stuff - a bit like declaiming poetry. In any event it was highly appreciated - many people gathered to listen - probably over 100 - and there was much applause and encouragement after each song.
We saw a similar group on the riverbank later and this time they had a flat stringed instrument which was played by tapping with what looked like metal claws - it made a tinkling sound and was played mainly as a sort of call and response with the singer. They weren't busking - it was purely for their own enjoyment and the entertainment of anyone who cared to listen. For us it was a real treat.
On the Friday night there was a wedding in our hotel - very interesting because it seems that a private function in a hotel doesn't count as public, so many of the women were dressed in very colourful clothes and wore no head coverings Also their demeanour was much more like what would be normal in Europe. At the end of the evening though they all put back on the chador etc to go home. To us it seemed rather sad - a bit like butterflies having to go back into the cocoons.
A little way west of the city is a huge rock outcrop on top of which stands a ruined Zoroastrian fire temple. Not much to see really but the views back over the city were worth the climb up.
And south of the river is a large Armenian population - again a legacy of Shah Abbas. He forcibly removed a whole townful of people from the north to provide skills and expertise in Isfahan. Because of this there is a cathedral and many Orthodox churches. The cathedral has a number of remarkable frescoes, but to be honest many of them were rather gruesome for my taste - seemed to be there mainly to frighten children.
Traffic in central Isfahan, as in the other cities, has been horrendous at certain times of day. There is no consideration given to pedestrians and crossing the road basically comes down to a game of chicken with drivers to see who yields first. Steve very nearly got knocked over when he lost concentration for a minute. Then we saw that the occupants of the car were two mullahs and we figured that getting run over by them would almost certainly constitute martyrdom and he would have gone straight to paradise. Then of course we couldn't decide whether we should be happy that he was safe or sad because of the crushing disappointment currently being felt by his 72 virgins because of their missed opportunity.
And talking about mullahs - one approached us in the main mosque and started to chat. A fairly young guy - around late twenties/ early thirties.After the initial, brief, pleasantries, he indicated that he assumed we were christians. When we told him we weren't he was a little confused and asked what our beliefs were. We mumbled something about physics and Darwin and that set him off - he spent the next 15 minutes trying to turn us into believers. Without success, so he asked for my email address so he can continue to try.............
I quite fancy the idea of email correspondence with a mullah in Isfahan.
We still haven't seen many foreigners - and so we stand out a bit. We are getting an understanding of what it must be like to be famous - people recognise us wherever we go, not as individuals but as European visitors.
And we get greeted all the time - people fall in to walk alongside us and chat - one guy leaned out of his car window and shouted across three lanes of traffic to ask where we were from.
We've been approached by students who want to speak some english, by many people who just wanted to say hello and to assure us that Iranian people are not really like the bad press they get in the west, We even had a long chat with a refugee from Afghanistan who said he really appreciated the British involvement there because his (minority) ethnic group had been persecuted by the Taliban.
Picnicking
As I mentioned before, we have seen many large groups picnicking - along the river bank and every evening in the main square. It seems to be a national pastime. But it's not just a few bits of bean salad and a few scotch eggs bought from M&S. Firstly they have several large rugs - persian carpet type of pattern - which they spread out to establish their patch. Then they have a large gas burner with gas bottle on which they make tea - and we saw one group about to cook carrots and potatoes - and they bring huge amounts of food which looks like it has been prepared at home - mountains of rice, meats, bread, salads. And sometimes they barbecue.
The family groups are often 12-15 people including 3 generations
And of course, passing foreigners are frequently invited to join in.................
We stayed 4 nights in Isfahan amd then headed off north west to the desert - to a tiny oasis village called Garmeh. Next time.........................
As an aside - apologies for any typos etc above. I've been writing this in an internet cafe in Yazd where the mouse doesn't click properly and the keyboard is so worn that it's not easy to pick out letters - I don't touchtype. It's made it very slow and really interrupted my flow. Off now to meet Steve - we're going for dinner to a restaurant in a coverted old hammam - the traditional bath house.
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