Hallo and merry Christmas!
Well...in the Islamic Republic of Iran we did not really celebrate it. We went to a restaurant with an Iranian friend. Actually it was the first really tasty food in Iran - in spite of Dizi of course...
Since we left Qom a lot of things happened. Difficult where to start. Probably on the way to Kashan, where we spent one night on a Persian carped, with a nice fire, but still under the stars, because the abandoned clay house didn't have a roof. The local farmers told us to do so because there are supposed to be wolfs in this area...well we saw only their traces in the mud...
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| donkey ride |
For the last day before Kashan we rode on a sand road. We didn't meet almost anyone. Only a boy with a donkey. So Matteo had the chance to ride a donkey.
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| facing the sand road |
In Kashan we had our first couch surfing experience. We stayed with a very nice Iranian who showed us a lot and explained much about Iranian culture. Kashan was an oasis already 4000 years before Christ. A lovely little, clam town with really amazing gardens and very beautiful traditional houses. Some rich carped traders build them for themselves and decorated them with stucco and colored glass.
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| with our host Reza |
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| smoking water pipe with some friends in Kashan |
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| lovely 'fin gardens' in Kashan |
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| through the mountains |
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| abandoned old town |
On our way to Isfahan we once slept near a village called Murche Khurt. Our wild campingside was surrounded by walls made out of clay. Maybe it was to protect the fields inside, maybe it was kind of a former citywall. But on our little walk through the village we discovered something really amazing: behind the modern village we found the old city wall of Murche khurt ancient castle. Through a old and narrow wooden door we climbed inside - and inside there was a whole town! It was incredibly! Nether our map nor the Lonely Planet said a word about this place. But it is definitely worth to see. The city is abandoned but you can still see everything. All the houses, most of them 3 stories high, all made out of clay bricks. You could see windows, fireplaces, shelves...
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| morning tea |
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| Isfahani gardens |
On Christmas eve we arrived in Isfahan. Immediately we had the impression that we will stay longer here... It is a wonderful city. Full of life, full of nice people, full of the very old Persian culture! Some strange thinks are happening here. As we walked along the river on Christmas Eve, someone came to us and asked: "Hi, are you Mascha?" It was Majid, who had contacted me on Couch surfing before and who recognized me! In a city of 1,5 Million inhabitants.
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| under the dome of the Imam Mosque |
As well we met our first other travelers: Franco from Italy and Joachim from Belgium. We spend some good hours discussing and exchanging some experiences.
It was in Isfahan as well where Matteo discovered his love for carpets. We spend hours in carped shops, exploring the different styles. It was a hard "work" to choose between all those beauties. But finally Matteo bought the craziest one of them.That was this morning. We actually wanted to leave yesterday, but then it was getting late and we decided to stay an other day...we'll try to leave today, but it is late again....
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| Matteo discussing religion |
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| one of the old bridges in Isfahan |
Since we left Qom a lot of things happened. Difficult where to start. Probably on the way to Kashan, where we spent one night on a Persian carped, with a nice fire, but still under the stars, because the abandoned clay house didn't have a roof. The local farmers told us to do so because there are supposed to be wolfs in this area...well we saw only their traces in the mud...
In Kashan we had our first couch surfing experience. We stayed with a very nice Iranian who showed us a lot and explained much about Iranian culture. Kashan was an oasis already 4000 years before Christ. A lovely little, clam town with really amazing gardens and very beautiful traditional houses. Some rich carped traders build them for themselves and decorated them with stucco and colored glass.
i'd really like to be there listening to the religion discussion...
ReplyDeletei'll be waiting till your return to have a little excerpt of it.
kiss, hold on and enjoy the ride
hey M&M,
ReplyDeletei've read now your blog for the first time. Sorry, i didn't do it before. In the last weeks i've often tried to imagine you two riding across the desert or something like this; it's not so easy from here, the grey padana flatland, and sure enough the image was foggy; but now i've seen it, ed è tutto vero! The only problem now is that it's difficult to remain here, sitting on a chair, instead of following you .. "luckly" mein rad ist fast kaputt und ich weiss che non arriverei manco a marghera, neanche caricandola sul treno .. maybe there is no more to say about something like this, so beautiful, per una cosa così c'è solo da pedalare, parlare, vedere: e voi l'avete fatto. Versuch nur nichts zu vergessen, chi avite tanticcose adicere quando venite accà.
Un bacio und ein kuss
Pietro