I love to go a wandering
Along the mountain track,
And as I go I love to sing
My knapsack on my back.
Valdereeee . . valderaaa . . (Scout song)
I don't go 'wandering' now with a knapsack but with a 25" x 15" luggage bag. I used to travel to many places overseas before and still do now at least once a year i.e. when my budget permits - close by only though (now being a pensioner. . .). One of the interesting countries I've visited is The Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran for short) formerly known as Persia.
You hear a lot of negative things about the country but actually God has bestowed upon it much beauty especially in its varied landscape and the creativity of its people. I was inspired to visit Iran after my Chinese friend talked so much about the Islamic architecture, the decorative blue tiles and intricate calligraphy adorning the walls and ceilings of the mosques. I didn't get to see all of Iran of course, it being such a huge country, about 1/5 the size of USA or the size of Queensland, Australia. I only visited Tehran, the capital, Mashhad, the religious centre and Isfahan, the cultural centre. From each city to the other, we had to take the plane. Also on another visit I went right up to the Caspian Sea and that was some experience having the coach climb up the ragged mountain ranges through well-laid out roads. The zig-zag roads were something to behold. It was civil engineering at its best, I should think.
As soon as you enter the Mehrabad Airport, Tehran, you'll see a 
huge notice as to the dress decorum to all visitors to Iran - ladies must have their hair covered all the time. So you'll notice some Japanese ladies hurriedly putting on their scarves even as they were leaving the door of the aeroplane. I found the ladies in Tehran fashion concious and mod. Though they cover their hair (not totally though, as it should be), they wear jeans and a black cloak and walk with a certain confidence. The people are friendly and very obliging. Most can speak English, their official language being Parsi.
Like any large city, Tehran was very busy and crowded. It was a nightmare to cross the street! But there were many quaint, old streets, each street having its own speciality. For example, one street would sell only leather goods, another lamps, another ladies apparel, another household wares and so on. In Isfahan, I marvelled at the drainage system within the city. The drains were always filled with clear running water, sometimes the shopkeepers would use the water to clean their pavements. Trees were always planted along the streets.
huge notice as to the dress decorum to all visitors to Iran - ladies must have their hair covered all the time. So you'll notice some Japanese ladies hurriedly putting on their scarves even as they were leaving the door of the aeroplane. I found the ladies in Tehran fashion concious and mod. Though they cover their hair (not totally though, as it should be), they wear jeans and a black cloak and walk with a certain confidence. The people are friendly and very obliging. Most can speak English, their official language being Parsi.
Like any large city, Tehran was very busy and crowded. It was a nightmare to cross the street! But there were many quaint, old streets, each street having its own speciality. For example, one street would sell only leather goods, another lamps, another ladies apparel, another household wares and so on. In Isfahan, I marvelled at the drainage system within the city. The drains were always filled with clear running water, sometimes the shopkeepers would use the water to clean their pavements. Trees were always planted along the streets.
Isfahan is a beautiful city about 400 km. south of Tehran. It was given a nickname " Nesfe Jahan" (half the world) in the 16th century because of its beauty at that time. The above picture shows me and my friends in front of the imposing Khajou bridge bulit about 350 years ago. I can note some resemblance of the bridge to the one in Putrajaya! At a good season, water would flow through the ground arches, while the King and his entourage would sit above in the centre area observing his subjects frolicking in the stream.
And here is a scene under all the arches of the bridge. This can be a rest area where one can have tea and Iranian snacks or simply have forty winks.
In Mashad, we stopped along the route to examine an old fort. The litle girl in the picture appeared and very kindly invited us to her house to observe her Mum and Sis weaving fine carpets. Her sister, a very young girl, had been doing that for years until her eyes were almost blind! See family photo below.
Interesting about their people, they were so gentle and care-free. We saw many visiting holy places, mausoleums, monuments of Omar Khayam and the monument of the champion of Parsi language, Ferdossi. Maybe we were lucky not to be at the spot when they were having demonstrations like we usually see on TV. But even when September 11 happened, we were in Tehran itself and we did not observe any violent reaction at all. In fact, we didn't know at all it happened untul we saw the news in the papers.
The ladies in our group had to put on the customary black cloaks upon entering any holy place.
We enjoyed our one week stay in Iran very much. Here you can see us cooling our tired feet in the very cool mountain stream as we waited for our lunch to be served on the day-beds beside the river. Maybe next time, God willing, I'll get to see the rest of Iran.
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