Saturday,
24 December 2016
An
early morning start as we had a long drive ahead of us. We left the hotel at
around 08:15 and drove to Persepolis. It took an hour to reach Persepolis or
Persian city (‘polis’ means city, just like Acropolis), the ceremonial capital
of the Achaemenid Empire. Persepolis had been largely destroyed by Alexander
the Great before it declined from its glory heydays. It was bitterly cold when
we stepped out of the bus and we had to walk about 500 metres to the entrance.
Despite the destruction, we spent about two hours at Persepolis. Amin gave a
very good documentary of the history of the ruined city.
After
that, we drove to a restaurant for lunch. We left after about an hour and drove
to nearby Naqsh-e Rostam, an ancient necropolis. The four tombs here are carved
out of the rock face at a considerable height above the ground. I asked Amin if
we could access the tombs and he said no. Well, I suppose you could somehow
climb up but the tombs were looted by Alexander the Great so they should be
empty now. After about half an hour, we drove to Naqshe Rajab, a site of four
limestone rock face inscriptions. We spent about 15 minutes here before
returning to the bus.
It
was another 5-hour drive to Isfahan. In Iran, the bus drivers have to stop
after every 80-100 km for vehicle check. Well, what it entailed from what I saw
was the driver would have to go down and walk to the police check point and
show his licence etc.
We
reached Isfahan well after dark. We got down near Kowsar Trade Centre and
walked to a beautiful restaurant for dinner. I was joining in the dinner
conversation with Helen and a few others. After dinner, we walked across Si o
She Pol Bridge or Allāhverdi Khan
Bridge with its two rows of 33 arches, one of the eleven bridges in the city
and the longest on Zayandeh River. It links the Muslim and Christian parts of
Isfahan (north is Muslim, south is Christian). What a shame that the river was
dry and has been dry for many years already. At the end of the bridge,
Suzannah, a Chinese revert came up to me and attempted to clarify that her
husband was not trying to find out Helen’s age during dinner. I just listened to
her while trying hard not to yell, ‘Chill, woman!’ For the record, I didn’t say
that her husband was trying to find out Helen’s age; after all, Helen freely
told everyone how old she was. I just mused (to Helen’s response that she never
asked anyone their age) that women hardly ever asked men their age but men
always do ask women their age and that men should remember that a gentleman never
asked a lady her age. Seriously woman, get real. I never even implied that your
husband was asking for Helen’s age when I knew her age and I knew that he was
asking for another man’s age.
We finally reached Abbasi Hotel, our hotel for the
next two nights. The hotel complex was built about 300 years ago as a caravanserai
so it was among the oldest hotel in Iran. It was renovated and restored in
1950s. I was surprised to find three beds in our room. The room was large and
surprisingly warm, so warm that we opened the windows and even the door leading
to the balcony.
Sunday,
25 December 2016
We
changed to a different bus and driver today. The bus we took from Shiraz was
not comfortable for those sitting at the back and was also stuffy. This new bus
and driver was cleaner and better, and the driver friendlier and more concerned
with our comfort. Our
first stop this morning was the Isfahan Jame Mosque, a UNESCO World Heritage
Site since 2012. It is a four-barrel building opening into a courtyard with a
cube in the middle. We were told that people used to perambulate counter
clockwise around this cube like around Kaabah. We went from one part of the
mosque to another. Amin informed that parts of the mosque were hit by bombs by
Saddam Hussein. There was one hall that we went to where if you stand on one
point and call out or stomp your foot, the sound will reverberate throughout
the mosque. Amin demonstrated to us and it was true. I was in awe at the
ingenuity. Some of those celebrating Christmas in our group began singing
Christmas songs there.
Our
next stop was Chehelsotoon Palace (it means 40 columns in Persian). It is a
pavilion in the middle of park at the end of a long pool built by Shah Abbas
for his pleasure entertainment and reception. The Chehel Sotoun Palace is among
the 9 Iranian Gardens which are collectively registered as one of the Iran’s 21
registered World Heritage Sites under the name of the Persian Garden.
Our
next stop was Vank Church, an Armenian Orthodox Church. The church was
established 400 years ago for the thousands of Armenian deportees that were
resettled during the Ottoman War. I was surprised to find the Christians in our
group didn’t know that the Orthodox Christians do not celebrate Christmas on 25
December. There is also a museum which displays artefacts from the history of
the church and the Armenian community in Isfahan.
We
had lunch at a restaurant nearby which I think was in the Christian quarter. In
Iran, all women, including Jews and Christians, must don a headscarf so you can’t
tell if one was a Muslim or not. Of course some of them don it showing a lot of
hair as a symbol of their defiance to the ruling.
After
lunch, we headed to Naqsh-e Jahan Square or Meidan Emam aka Emam Square. Situated
at the centre of the city, it is an important historical site and is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. Our first stop there was the Shah Mosque aka Imam Mosque. This
mosque is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 20,000 rial note.
Next,
we headed for Ali Qapu Palace, the first ‘skyscraper’ in Iran built more than 400
years ago. (Ali means sublime while Qapu means gate). There are six floors, we
first climbed up to the fourth floor (parts of it were under renovation) and
then up a steep staircase to the sixth floor where the Music Hall is. I didn’t
stay long and went down after 15 minutes.
We
were then given free time until 17:30 so I wandered the bazaar, first with Dr
Loh and then we parted ways. The bazaar sold traditional crafts, jewellery, bronze
urns and gigantic jugs, one section sold cookware and household items... I was
happy to wander around. I didn’t buy anything though.
We
had dinner at a restaurant close to the bazaar before heading back to the hotel.
To
be continued
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