“Don’t listen to what they say – go see” – Chinese proverb
Iran doesn’t typically top peoples travel destinations and after telling people we were off to Iran, we were always faced with the question, why?! So here goes the answer (and it goes beyond ‘why not’ which was our standard response)…we had a friends wedding in Sydney in November 2017 and decided that following the wedding we would go further abroad for a couple of weeks. As we have conquered Asia and the America’s, the question was, do we travel back to somewhere we have been before or travel a wee further to discover something new. Jamie had a couple of students from Iran, one of whom takes tours back to Iran. It was these guys that ignited Jamies interest and after ‘selling’ it to me, we booked our Air Asia flights from Sydney – Kuala Lumpur – Tehran (Air Asia X has just started the route form KL – Tehran).
With Jamie attending a conference in the U.S a week after we got back, it wasn’t all smooth sailing on our road to Iran. As most will have seen in the media, the relationship between the U.S and Iran is very volatile which means that for us to travel to the U.S after having been to Iran is no longer as easy as simply getting an ESTA visa. With only a month before departure, Jamie still hadn’t had confirmation of an interview date to receive his U.S visa and the process is simply a wait and see if an interview spot becomes available AFTER paying the $240. As the days dwindled, I had become resigned to the fact that we may not be going to Iran and I had started looking at other destinations we could get to from KL. Luck however was on our side and Jamie finally got an interview spot. So after a flight to Auckland, a 10 minute interview to ask why he was going to Iran and a visa to say he was allowed in the U.S after travelling to Iran, we could finally start our planning!!
With only a couple of weeks, we deviated from our usual ‘go-with-the-flow’ style of travel and planned out a route, accommodation and transport with the help of Jamie’s friend Medhi. We landed on Tehran – Esfahan – Yazd – Mashhad (we will have to return in the future to check out the other amazing places in Iran).
So thats the back story. Now onto the best part, showcasing Iran as the amazing country it is. Not at all the dangerous, super conservative country that has been misrepresented through the media or Governments. We have travelled to many countries around the world and Iran would have to top the friendliest and kindest people we have met and we never felt in danger, even travelling on the subway in Tehran, taking overnight trains with shared cabins or walking the streets at night. In the words of many Iranian people we talked to, the Iranian people and Government are very different.
First stop on our Iran adventures, the capital Tehran. As the plane got ready for landing, we were told over the intercom that all women now had to cover their hair and it finally sunk in that we were entering an Islamic State and the next couple of weeks was going to be a sensory overload of culture, religion, language and food – quite daunting but for us, this is why we travel!! Tehran has so much to see and do and you could spend a week here and still not be finished. However with only 2 days we visited some of the key sites like the Golestan Palace and Grand Bazaar and were blown away by the Holy Defense museum and amused by the anti-America propaganda at the old American Embassy which was taken over by Iranian students in 1979. However the highlight of Tehran, which will be the theme of this blog, was the people. Everywhere we went, people would engage in conversation with us, curious where we were from and especially what we thought of Iran and then grateful when we said we loved it. If we look even slightly lost, someone would swoop and were helped when ordering food and taking the subway with some people going as far as sharing their food with us so we got to taste everything.
Following 2 days in Tehran, we then took the overnight train to the beautiful and mesmerizing city of Esfahan. The overnight train was great (albeit a little hot, especially as I wasn’t sure if I still needed to wear a headscarf so I kept it on the whole night and sweated away) and we arrived into Esfahan at 5am. We headed to our beautiful traditional hotel, Isfahan Tolou Khorshid Hotel, which was the highlight of our accommodation on our trip and after leaving our bags, we proceeded to check out the city. The biggest drawcard of Esfahan is Naqsh-e Jahan Square which is the second biggest public square in the world after Tiananmen Square. The exquisite Imam Mosque sits at one end of the square, with its stunning blue mosaic tiles and phenomenal architecture towering over the city. Surrounding the square is a wonderful bazaar which you could spend hours exploring the many stores selling everything from carpets to miniatures paintings done on camel bones and plates inspired from the mosaics on the mosque. And when in Esfahan, one must try the local delicacy on Beryan which is a dish is made of sheep meat and lung. The description a little off-putting but the dish is delicious.
Next on our trip was the ancient, desert town of Yazd dating back to the Sassanian Period (224-651 AD) – an incredible thought to be present in a city with such history. The majority of the town is made of mud-brick and its a great place to wander around and get lost in the small alleyways. The highlights of Yazd for us however lay outside the city. Walking around the town we were approached by a taxi driver who offered to take us to the sites out of town. Always being a bit apprehensive about going with drivers that approach us, Jamie reassured me that it would be fine and it ended up being a wonderful day with a wonderful driver. He took us to Kharanaq, Chak Chak and Maybod (the photos below showcase how awesome these places are) and this was just another day of many that we gained insight into how open, kind and friendly Iranian people are with our driver giving us his phone number and insisting when we returned to Iran in the future we must stay with him and his wife down in Shiraz. We also had another girl asking if we would like to go back to her place for dinner that night, a couple of men who stopped abruptly on the street in Yazd and insisted we eat some of the sweets they had just bought and we were super fortunate to meet up with some friends of Medhi’s friends who own a guesthouse in Yazd and took us out for dinner and talked the night away, allowing us to hear more about the wonderful country.
Our last destination in Iran was a toss up between the historic city of Shiraz or holy city of Mashhad. Mashhad is where Jamies friend Medhi is from and although not a top tourist destination, he was really keen for us to check out his home city. I am so happy we made the decision to come here. As often happens to us on our travels, we tend to have a couple of nights with a family of someone we know in NZ. This always provides the greatest insight into the country we are in and most memorable experiences. In Iran we stayed with Medhi’s Mum, an 84 year old woman that loves to have people around her and although not able to speak any English, the power of body language and gestures really came to play and we had an amazing stay with her. We were also shown around the city for the 2 days by Medhi’s friends. I am so thankful for these 2 days and had the best time eating amazing food including the local specialty of Shishlik kebab, seeing the ‘fancy’ shopping areas and hotels, going to the local supermarket and having open discussions about what its like being Iranian and living in Iran. Mashaad is also a top pilgrim destination for Shiite Muslims with the holy Imam Reza being buried here in the most elaborate mosque we visited on our travels. The experience inside the mosque complex was like no other as we were ushered into gender separate sides of the mosque, with people whaling as they touched the tomb of the Imam and quickly being pushed aside for others to get close. It was also the only time I had to wear a Chador (covering from head to toe) and although I had borrowed a black one from Medhi’s Mum and was blending in quite nicely, whilst at the foreign pilgrims office, I was given a present of a bright pink Chador and asked to put it on (see picture below).
Too often we stay within our comfort zone and only see and do the things that have been recommended to us, rarely deviating from what you have read on-line, in a guidebook or from someone who has been there before. For me, one of the key things to remember when travelling is to embrace every opportunity you get. Its often these interactions and experiences that will provide the lasting impression of any trip and be the stories you tell time and time again.
Explore-ゆめ-Descubrir 