We had a few hours there anyway and took the opportunity to leave the airport and go to a nearby hotel where we first had a much anticipated pint and then a bloody good dinner. I've mentioned that the food in Iran was not very exciting, so it was great to get somewhere where the food was exceptional.
Sadly, it was also expensive but we thought we deserved the treat.
In case you haven't already noticed, I have now added photos at various points to illustrate the previous posts. I have over 1000 in total but I have been very selective in what I uploaded.
You can increase the size of the picture by clicking on it.
Our overall impressions of the country were very favourable - there is a long and varied history with all the art, architecture etc that go along with that, there is spectacular scenery in varying climate zones, and it's very easy to travel about, find accommodation etc.
But what made it very different from anywhere else I've been was the people we met - I've never experienced such a willingness/desire to be welcoming to strangers.
There was a slight downside in that we found we were having the same conversation many times a day - where are you from ?
England ?
which city ?
London / near Manchester.
Ah, David Beckham, very good. What is your job ?
We're retired
What is your opinion of Iran ?
etc. etc. (I'm not exaggerating - these were almost always the 3rd and 4th questions respectively)
Longer conversations usually moved on to enquiries about wives, children etc.
But that was a small price to pay.
Often people who spoke virtually no English would be content with.....
where are you from ?
England.
England ? very good. Welcome to Iran.
Quite early on in our trip I read a web report to the effect that a Canadian/Iranian guy who had been in custody for two years already had been sentenced to 19 years in jail for adverse comments he had made about Iran in his blog. That kind of thing concentrates the mind a little, so I was quite careful about what I wrote - in case that nice and considerate Mr Ahmedinajad happened to stumble across it.
But I can relax a little now........
Most people who did speak a bit of english were desperate to get our thoughts on the country. They seem to be very aware that they get a very bad press in the west, and were keen to let us know that this is because of their government and that the people are very different from the western perception.
That was certainly our experience - apart from the policeman I mentioned previously we only met one person who expressed any sort of support for the government. Just about everyone else indicated that they thought the government was "full of crazy people", who were in no way representative of the population as a whole.
Several articulated a strong envy of the kind of freedoms we have in the west - and in particular the guy we met in the teahouse in Kerman who said he "just wanted to be able to have some fun". Although he was the guy who has been to Bangkok several times, so I suspect he has had more fun than most of his compatriots.
The one supportive person was interesting though - he accepted that Ahmedinajad was a disaster internationally, but said that he was very good domestically. Apparently he arranges for the cabinet (or whatever equivalent they have) to meet in different provinces rather than always in Teheran, and they use these travels to meet local people and to gain an understanding of issues and problems in the various areas at first hand - and then generate appropriate action. Well, that's what he said..........
One thing we noticed in the english language press there and in occasional subtitles on TV - Israel is never referred to by name, it is always spoken of as "the zionist entity".
Most things of interest to travellers were state-administered, rather than by private businesses, and there was very little in the way of useful background or other information. Also places were generally not presented as well as they could have been.
It's difficult to whinge though because the entry price to most places was less than 50 cents US.
Our feeling was that it might be better to jack the prices to $5 or even more and use the revenue to improve the presentation.
An example of the attitude of people is here..........
This guy was in the ticket booth at a garden we visited - on the way out he asked us where we were from and insisted on having his picture taken with me. No idea why - it was going to be in my camera not his. But here is his 5 minutes of limited fame...................
On a number of occasions we were approached by people we had not yet been talking to to ask if they could take a photo of us with them - often one english speaker would emerge from a group of giggling girls. So we also are featuring in other people's snaps.
Highlights of the trip ?
I think that for Steve it was Persepolis - and it is a magnificent place.
For me I think the Alamut valley, and the caravanserai in the remote desert. And the exquisite tiling designs in the mosques in Isfahan.
Oh, and the mosque in Shiraz where the sunlight comes in through the stained glass windows in the morning - I don't think I've mentioned that before.
Here it is....
As you can see, this was just a lovely space with beautiful pillars, arches and decoration but the coloured light playing on the brickwork and carpets made it very special.
And, as in so many places, we had it to ourselves so we sat and enjoyed it for quite a while.
I hope you've enjoyed reading about our travels, and thanks for the feedback I've received.
I haven't blogged before and I found it was a good way to both clarify my own thoughts on things and also to generate my own record which I can look back on as the memory loss accelerates.
So, all in all, a very good trip and most definitely an excellent adventure.
Bye
David
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