Stunning Iran (Part 4)

DAY 7: St. Bethlehem Armenian Church à Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Royal Mosque, Pavilion of Ali Qapu, Sheikh Lotfallah Mosque à Drive to Ahwaz

We went around the hotel and took photos again this morning after breakfast. Since the weather was more sunny today, we were in the courtyard taking photos instead. It also looks really nice at night when it’s all lit up.

a fresco of the seven levels of heaven and hell

Our first stop of the day was at an Armenian Church, here the interior is decorated all over with frescos depicting different stories from the bible. The church was built in the 1600s and dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of Armenians who fled to Iran during the Ottoman War.

We visited on a Sunday, and the church allowed us to host a worship ceremony in the church. It was really cool to sing worship and have a short sermon in this place.

There’s also a small museum on the grounds that show what happened during the Ottoman War, and displays some unique biblical treasures – like the world’s smallest prayer book (below, right photo).

Then we made our way to Naqsh-e Jahan Square (“Image of the World Square” and also known as Maidan – Royal Square), constructed between 1598-1629, this is the largest square in Isfahan and sits in the city’s centre.

The Shah Mosque is situated on the south side of this square. On the west side is the Ali Qapu Palace. Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque is situated on the eastern side of this square and at the northern side Qeysarie Gate opens into the Isfahan Grand Bazaar. The square is on the 20,000 Rials bill.

View of the northern half of the "Image of the World" Square

The Maidan was where the Shah and the people met, the square was a busy arena of entertainment and business, exchanged between people from all corners of the world. As Isfahan was a vital stop along the Silk Road, goods from all the civilized countries of the world, spanning from Portugal in the West, to the Middle Kingdom in the East, found its ways to Isfahan.

Under Shah Abbas, Isfahan became a very cosmopolitan city, with a resident population of Turks, Georgians, Armenians, Indians, Chinese and a growing number of Europeans. Shah Abbas brought in some 300 Chinese artisans to work in the royal workshops and to teach the art of porcelain-making.

Shah Mosque (Royal Mosque) is the public mosque and has the largest dome in the city. It has not replaced the Jame Mosque to host the Friday noon prayers.

above: ticket booth to buy entrance fee, look at the beautiful tile work

below left: there was an area where an emam will engage visitors to have a talk

View of the Sheikh Lotfallah Mosque from the Ali Qapu Pavilion

Sheikh Lotfallah Mosque is a private mosque for the ladies of the harem. It does not have minarets and is less eye-catching than the Royal Mosque. But the interior is beautifully decorated and has exquisite tile work.

Pavilion of Ali Qapu (below photo) was where the king entertained noble visitors, and foreign ambassadors. There’s a wide terrace where the king can observe the entertainment (polo games, horse-racing etc.) in the square below, and there was also a copper pool on the terrace. The 6^th floor is a music room where the stucco decorations are motifs of vessels and cups.

above: on the terrace of the Ali Qapu Pavilion

below: view from the Pavilion, looking south

above right: all the stiars in the Ali Qapu Pavilion are inlaid with beautiful tiles

After visiting the buildings, we went for lunch and at the restaurant we went to, we had the same buffet style meal. But I saw that a table (below, right photo) had been set up for hotpot! I thought, wow, Iranian’s know about Chinese hotpot!

Apparently this was set up for a group of Chinese photo/film crew. They only eat this and won’t eat Iranian food. So they can only have hotpot here in Iran because no one can make Chinese food like in China.

The Grand Bazaar of Isfahan run along the walls of the square, it’s a long walk all the way around the bazaar, but there are lots of places to buy souvenirs and coffee/tea shops. Half of the bazaar felt like it was stuff geared towards tourists, and then when we walked to the northern wall of the bazaar there were most items for locals and it seems like more locals were walking along the bazaar as well.

I stopped at a coffee shop to enjoy a cup of Turkish coffee and write postcards. The Turkish coffee was so good, I bought a bag from the Dubai Airport on my way home, but I tried to make it, and it lacks the frothy top that they had. They served the coffee by bringing the saucepan that they had boiled the coffee in and poured it into the little cup in front of me. I wonder if they used a milk frother to make the top frothy and the coffee thick? Will have to research how to make it.

above left & right: these shops remind me of something I might see in Asia -

especially the photo where they place sticks in the entry way to prevent people from going in to the shop

below: the coffee shop I wrote my postcards at and enjoyed a cup of Turkish coffee

We left Isfahan just before sunset on our way to Ahwaz by another domestic flight, a town that is very close to the Iraq border with Iran. As we were getting ready to descend into Ahwaz, I saw this bright blaze from the plane's window - later I found out that this was a fire from the oil fields (above photo, left).

We also learned that Iran is the "Plastic Surgery capital of the Middle East" (like Korea is the most well-known destination country for "medical travel"). A lot of people from surrounding countries will come to Iran for plastic surgery, and many Iranians also get things done. We saw lots of people with white bandages on their face (above photo, right). They don't seem to mind appearing in public with the bandages, and we even had some wait staff in restaurants serving us while their face was bandaged. The most common facial feature that Iranians fix is the nose, apparently they don't like the shape of their nose - usually us Asians want a higher nose, but people in the Middle East are also unsatisfied with the shape of their nose.

DAY 8: Chogha Zanbil à Susa Museum, Apadana Palace and Le Chateau à Daniel’s tomb à drive to Kermanshah

Early in the morning, we started out from Ahwaz and headed north towards Chogha Zanbil, a historical site which to me doesn’t mean much. Just looks like another ruin….

But what I found interesting is that along the way we saw the streets of Ahwaz and you can see the buildings looking run down with bricks and dried soil falling off, there are also some walls that are full of graffiti and have holes that look like bullet holes. This is because the city of Ahwaz is closest to the border with Iraq and it’s a city that was once prosperous because it has oil nearby (Iran is the 4^th largest oil producer in the world, but because of sanctions they are not able to sell any of it and build their economy).

In the 1980s, Iraq tried to take over the region and that’s what resulted in the Iraq-Iran War. Ahwaz was on the frontline and so the city suffered badly and hasn’t regained it’s once glorious past. There have also been a couple of bombings in this city, and the most recent incident was a shooting that killed nearly 30 people in September 2018.

Throughout our trip, we saw people in the streets dressed in black and lots of posters about “who is Hussein?”. Every year around the end of October is Ashura, Muslims from all over the world will make a pilgrimage to Karbala, Iraq to commemorate the death of Hussein, grandson of the phrophet Muhammad. While we were in Iran, the news also showed images of people from the US having difficulty getting a visa to visit Iraq for this festival.

On the streets and especially along the “highway” today, we saw groups of families walking along the road carrying huge flags and dressed in black. They were making their way to the border to go to Karbala.

During this time, people will also “give back” to their neighbours by setting up tents and giving out what they received during the year. If they are farmers, they may give out what they harvested, we saw lots of tents giving out water and food to the people who were on the pilgrimage.

Some were really elaborate with several tents set up, carpets laid out on the ground, music playing from loudspeakers; and others were very simple, just giving out a cup of water.

Not everyone can make it to Karbala, so you will also find some of the cities near the border to be very crowded as they gather in these cities to commemorate instead. We got off the bus in Susa and visited the Susa Museum, Apadana Palace and Le Chateau.

Stepping off the bus was a bit scary because you could easily be carried away by the wave of black cloaked people. We quickly went inside the gates of the Susa Museum and were the only group there. I think most other tourists would avoid this area. Just separated by a metal gate, curious Iranian children and adults looked at us like we were animals in a zoo.

The Susa Museum was very small but there are lots of artifacts and the museum guide was very enthusiastic to show us each and every item. He explained in so much detail we had to tell him we didn’t have enough time to see every thing.

Also while we were walking around the museum, an Iranian family came in and started taking photos with some of the people in our tour group. The mom even took off her Chador and gave it to one of the members in our group to take a photo with them. The father just smiled while holding his little son’s hand. The daughters in the group were also taking photos with their own mobile phone and then smiling for our cameras as well.

We then went up a small hill in the compound to see the ruins of Apadana Palace. Nothing that interesting to me, however, next to the palace is a French chateau built by the French.

The French had expeditions to Iran in the late 1800s to excavate sites around Iran, however local people and government did not like this and gave them a hard time. They also had their items stolen. In the end the French government built this “Chateau” for the archaeologists to keep them safe and also to keep the artifacts that they uncovered safe. Many of the artifacts that were found were shipped back to France and placed in museums.

From the Chateau, when you look over the city of Susa, you will see a cone-shaped structure sticking out, this marks the tomb of Daniel. This is the prophet who was a Jew and worshiped God when it was banned by the Persian King, so he was thrown in a Lion’s den but still made it out alive. Our group was supposed to go to visit the tomb, but because of the crowds, we decided not to go. It was even more crazy and crowded there.

We got back on the tour bus and made the long journey to Kermanshah.

DAY 9: Taq-I Bustan Cultural Heritage Site (Grotto) à Bisotan à To Hamedan à Esther and Mordechai’s Tomb

Kermanshah is the town where we stayed the night, this is in the northern region of Iran, so the temperature is a lot cooler. We had to wear our light-weight down jackets and layer up.

In this city there is the Taq-I Bustan Cultural Heritage Site which has a series of Grottos depicting more stories from the Persian Kings.

Then we went to Bisotan, another cultural heritage site that has carvings in mountains and also a caravan rest stop which is also now converted into a hotel. It is a lot smaller than the Abassi hotel, but it’s still very nice. We took a quick look and it seems so tranquil.

Then we started on our way to the city – Hamedan. On the way, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. The people in our group started taking photos with the children of the owner, and the grandfather was there too. Actually even the waitresses (who we think are the mom and aunt) stopped working and took photos instead.

And then! A little boy made an appearance and everyone was fawning over him. He had striking blue eyes and thick lashes….. and he was just kind of stunned by all the people pointing their cameras at him. It was quite hilarious to watch.

After lunch, we continue on our way to Hamedan. When we reached the city we made a stop to visit the tomb of Esther and Mordechai.

Before going on this trip, I did wonder why a Christian tour group would go to Iran. I thought, it can’t be just because they want to know more about Muslims, maybe it’s because the Jews passed through Iran on their way from Egypt to Israel after they were freed from Egypt…..

No, the reason why there are Jews in Iran and why it’s significant is because the Jews were attacked by Persia several times and every time they were taken as slaves to Persia because they had forsaken God, but when they realized their mistake and repented, God saved them and brought them back to Israel.

Esther and Mordechai are Jews, but Esther married into the Persian Royal Family. She was able to use her status as Queen to help save the Jews in Persia from genocide.

above: Esther's tomb in the foreground (pink cover), Mordechai's tomb in the background (dark cover)

Judaism and Israel are no-no topics in Iran, but there have been some Jewish/Christianity related monuments that have remained, although they are all hush-hush. When we went to visit Esther and Mordechai’s tomb, our tour guide and the staff at the tomb were all talking very quietly, we didn’t want to draw attention. The tomb is within a gated wall compound, and the entrance is very inconspicuous. The street outside is more like an alley way and quite deserted.

The tomb and compound are very small compared to all the palace grounds and gardens that we have visited. To get into the tomb, there is a huge rock boulder, like the one that was used to block the tomb of Jesus when he was taken down from the cross. The staff were very secretively about how to open the door, and while they distracted us with explanations about the building, the door was opened. The doorway is very short and small, which makes all those who enter/exit having to crouch.

 

Although this place was small and the few photos I took don't do it justice, it was one of my favourite stops during this trip.

DAY 10: Hamedan waterfall à Drive back to Tehran à National Museum of Iran à Glass & Ceramics Museum à flight back to Hong Kong

Our last day in Iran!

We visited a waterfall in Hamedan before starting on the road back to Tehran. Once we got to Tehran we had lunch and then visited the National Museum of Iran. Here we saw some artifacts that were left/found in Iran, but it looks like a really small collection and some of the things just look like remnants and didn’t look very important.

I thought what was worth looking at were the drawings and artworks by children who had visited the museum, and also they had a display of items for people who are blind, so they can feel the items. I’ve never seen that available at any other museums I’ve visited in the world.

 above: saw some food trucks across from the Ceramics Museum

below: entrance to the Ceramics Museum

Then we were supposed to visit the Glass & Ceramics Museum, but it was closed that day. Which was a bit disappointing as the museum looks like it’s in a beautiful building and compound.

That concludes the trip to Iran!

On the way back to Hong Kong we had to go through Dubai and this time we had to wait like 6 hours for the flight, it was departing at 3am!!!! I ended up walking around the whole terminal, as the shopping is open 24 hours here!