First tastes of Iran: Mashhad, Qom, Kashan, Yazd

So. Finally we are in Iran, and there would be so much to write that I guess only a few glimpses are possible.

Iranians are very friendly, and seem always attracted by the possibility of practicing their English, so basically we meet people all the time. There are so many similarities between Iranians and Italians it is difficult even to start......
We have also ended up reversing the direction of the itinerary (we are now going north to south), which contributes to the trip being even more eventful.

Two days ago we arrived in Mashhad, the city of the Imam Reza shrine. We were overwhelmed at first by the amount of pilgrims in what is one of the holiest cities of Islam, masses of pilgrims and all women in chador (also Giulia has to borrow one). It is impressive and probably difficult for us to fully understand phenomenon like this, were there is explicit grief for someone dead more than 1000 years ago.
Note that if you are a foreigner you can contact the upfront and they guide you around for free, and even give you books for free, a very nice experience we truly recommend. Unfortunately, the current edition of Lonely Planet makes no mention of this.

But we were also taken away by the complexity of the matter of the veiled women.
The veil does not seem to prevent women to share feminine chitchat and jokes, as our fully veiled guide was doing with Giulia.
The veil also does not prevent at all some even flashy display of femininity, as we could see that same night at the Mashhad airport, with women wearing a skimpy veil, high heels, pink tops, heavy makeup, and thick eyeliners.

We also needed to leave Mashhad somehow, and due to the number of pilgrims our options were limited. We ended up in a nice travel agency, where we quickly became the local attraction (somehow they wanted us to go to Damascus), and found out it was impossible to fly to the south of the country as we originally planned.... so we decided on the fly to invert everything, fly to Teheran and proceed southwards....

We have no time to tell about the ride to the airport with the funniest Afghan taxi driver, who complained about Iran not giving him a driver licence at the same time as bumping into the car behind him (that was something hilarious).... and even less time about the young enterpreneur we met at the airport who very openly started to talk trash of all the current limitations of social life in Iran, and promised to invite us to some great house party in Teheran....

In the end, we took this night fly with Fars Air to Teheran, and from there a taxi to Qom (20 euros), another holy city with a pecular atmosphere, full of religious students from everywhere, from Iran to Pakistan

From there, we took another ride to Kashan (about 15 euros), a wonderful city of garden, teahouses, and traditional houses. We also went to Abyaneh, mysteriously mentioned by the Lonely Planet as a wonder of the world, but in reality just ok.
We noticed in Kashan that the time of green tea is over, and only black tea is now served. Maybe this is the only true border between Central Asia and Middle East...

We came then today to Yazd, again by taxi (35 euros), a beautiful old town we are starting to enjoy...

To Mashhad

By the way, we are in Mashhad, Iran, right now...

This morning we left Turkmenistan driving from Mary to the Turkmen-Iranian border. We said a few goodbyes to Mr Merdan & to Andrew, and right away we started to see the more delicate facial features of the Persians at the border post.

We hitched a ride with an Iranian truck driver to cross the few kms of no man's land between the two countries, until we finally arrived at the Iranian border. They did not really check our luggage, but some guy checked Lorenzo's face against the pictures in his passport for a good five minutes (you always feel strange when you are afraid someone might question that you are not yourself.....)

Iran looked immediately different from Central Asia, better roads and better cars. We found some taxi driver to bring us to Mashhad for 20 euros. We stopped on the way at some shop or tea-house, where we immediately bumped into another taxi driver who was speaking in Italian (he had fled Iran after the revolution a long time ago and had lived in Venice....).

After some more time, some more lovely Iranian music, and after the taxi driver shared his tobacco pipe with us (Giulia declined the offer), we finally arrived, on what turned out to be a day of religious celebration, to the holy city of Mashhad.

Same same but different

Gotta spend a few words on a our travel companions in Turkmenistan (the only way to travel the country is with an organized tour with a guide)...

First of all, we have to mention Andrew, an Australian-Egyptian guy who has been travelling around the world for many months now, always with a take-it-easy & take-your-time (mainly) attitude that we loved.
Unfortunately, in the short period we spent together he has been involved in a series of issues with visas & related.... We hope everything gets sorted out soon!
Finally, Andrew is also a philosophical guru (Giulia is the first adept), spreading the "same same, but different" philosophy around the world.

Then we had Paul, a very nice British fellow who was riding is motorbike through Europe, Russia, Central Asia and then back to Europe.
We shared only a few days with him, but we'll look forward to hear about his return home.

Last but not least, there was our guide. For some reason, Lorenzo was initially expecting a sort of Miss Turkmenistan to be our guide. Instead, we got Mr Merdan.
Nonetheless he was a really great guy, about to move to Switzerland, and who spoke about Turkmen history with a very passionate tone ("can you imagine?")

PS - Andrew, as soon as you read this post, please let us know if you are in jail or still roaming free!

PPS - Andrew, did you speak with Antonina?

Blogging in Turkmenistan

There was some silence on this blog for a while.... sorry about that :-)

The reason turns out to be that Turkmenistan filters www.blogger.com, i.e. in Turkmenistan it is not possible to write blogs like this one or even read them (and my poor hacking attempts failed miserably as I am definitely a poor hacker); definitely a shameful thing for an otherwise very lovely country.

Gotta catch up now with a few posts on the last few days....

Khiva & preparing for Turkmenistan

Quick last post from Uzbekistan... been here in Khiva for 1 day & 1/2 after coming here with a 6 hour car ride through the desert (85000 sums for 3 people).

Stayed in a so-so guesthouse where the manager's young daughter, probably because she is explicitely mentioned in the Lonely Planet (Barno), feels like a superstar & does not excel in sympathy.... (been missing our wonderful Bukhara guesthouse)

This is our last day in Uzbekistan & tomorrow we are crossing the border to Turkmenistan (where probably Internet access will be more erratic). We are quite curious about the many oddities we have been reading on Turkmenistan...

It has also been one week on the road, after which we are getting used to the scorching heat, we have been meeting a few cool people, and somehow we are still standing each other :-)

(written in Khiva)

Bukhara & a few encounters

Writing from a snail-slow desktop in Khiva right now...

Arrived earlier in Khiva from Bukhara, where we spent two days. Bukhara was the best so far, a legendary Silk Road hub with amazing monument and the charming feel of a real town. Can't beat watching the sunset light in front of the Kalon Minaret, one of the most beautiful small squares you can happen to visit.

Another highlight of Bukhara was our guesthouse, Akhbar House, where the owner was a lady of infinite kindness that pampers the guests with pots of tea, fresh fruit & snacks at any time of the day. Giulia was literally adopted by this lady, who ended up sharing with her the most classical femate chit-chats while we were lazying around over there yesterday afternoon.

The lady's husband is a collector of sort, and the guesthouse also doubles as an improvised museum of clothes, gems, pottery & the like. This triggered another interesting encounter yesterday night with two Italian ladies from Milan (and they were the most stereotypical Milan ladies....). Giulia was again under the spotlight with one of the ladies starting after about 5 seconds of conversation a comparison with his own daughter ("also my daughter did this", "also my daughter did that", etc...). Worth noting that Lorenzo was completely excluded from the conversation, most likely being exchanged for either Giulia's driver, guide or similar...

Loved also the small museum of Bukhara, where Lorenzo saw a remarkable Tajik beauty, and where Uzbek clothes have been tried on us (thus realizing the "modeling career in Asia" omen)

To the 3 ladies from Ferrara (if you ever bump into this blog): we did try to look for Cafe Mazza, but it was always closed.... Evidently enjoying the profits from your frequent visits!

Finally, we also met Andrew at random in front of some monument, after having exchanged a few emails. Andrew is travelling with us into Turkmenistan.

Last but not least, when already here, we had heard two days ago some random infos on some explosion happening in Bukhara, but in practice there were no signs of it at all, and everything was good!

Tomorrow it is our last day in Uzbekistan...

(written in Khiva)

Samarkand & female friendships

Here we are again from our favourite Internet cafe (Batman Cafe') in Samarkand...

Spent two days around here staying at Antica Guesthouse, a pretty nice place managed by a nice lady & with a wonderful garden where you can enjoy a tasty breakfast. If you happen to come here as well, do ask suggestions to the managers: they speak very good English and can give plenty of useful tips to visit the area.

As everyone can imagine, Samarkand is impressive, with plenty of monuments that we will not list here.... Maybe we'll post some pictures if we manage to.
(Found one more mistake on the Lonely Planet, as the Ak-Saray Masoleum, which was supposed to be run down & closed, is instead fully renovated, open and definitely worth visiting)

Today, we went also to Shabrisatz, some 90 kms from Samarkand, which used to be the main capital of Tamerlan's empire (not much is left, but there are usually plenty of Uzbek couples getting married in the main square).

Managed tonight to find some meat-less laghman (some uzbek version of the noodles), which made Giulia pretty happy.

Got in touch (via email) with Andrew, a third traveller who will join us at least for the Turkmenistan leg of the trip (and that therefore the readers of this blog will get to know soon :-).
For the moment we have arranged to meet Andrew in a restaurant in Khiva at 8pm a few days from now; looking forward to it!

Met three very nice ladies from Italy (Ferrara), also on their way through Uzbekistan. They have been on the opposite route than us, so they have already been in Bukhara & Khiva. We plan to put into action all of their useful suggestions!
Just spent a very nice evening with them after having listened to a not-so-super-interesting concert of Israeli music that happened to take place in our guesthouse (long story...)
One of the ladies speaks some Russian, and thanks to this we went visiting some old Russian movie theater, a beautiful extra on top of everything else we saw around here.

We concluded the evening (and the stay here in Samarkand) chatting with them and with a few Tajik kids under a full-moon night in front of the Registan, and thinking that female friendships always have something special (Lorenzo doesn't fully agree to this...but Giulia could not care less)

(written by Julie & Lorenzo in Samarkand)

Tashkent: Taste of Apricot

Here we are in Samarkand with our first post from the road...

Left two days ago (July 15th) from Milan with am Uzbek Air night flight full of Indians & Pakistanis (going home from Italy via Tashkent).

We landed yesterday morning in Taskent & got some Central Asia vibe right away: low buildings, scorching sun, plenty of different faces all over, from Russian blonds and Far Eastern almond eyes, and everything in between.

Went to change some money and found out the largest denomination is the 500 "sum" note (0.25 euros). Giulia ended up with a comically huge pile of cash that left her bewildered.

Visited the Khast Imom, the Chorsu Baazar and the modern Mustaqillic Maydoni, i.e. a modern downtown with a set of pharaonic buildings. Weather was very hot.

Found out the Lonely Planet is pretty much unreliable for Uzbekistan. For starters. although the guide is supposed to be updated, all prices are off by 50-100% (no, we have not been cheated - locals pay the same), i.e. metro is 300 sum (not 140), entrance to Khast Imom is 2500 and a 2nd class train ticket to Samarkand is about 13000 sum.

Speaking of which, yesterday we also bought the train ticket to Samarkand (where we are right now) from the main station, only later to discover that the train was leaving from some other train station whose existence was not even mentioned in our guide.... Was only a good idea from Giulia to ask about that so that we could find out!
(most people do not really speak any English or any other language we know, so this sort of communication is always a nice challenge)

Most people in Tashkent dress Western-style (not quite Islamic). Plenty of make-up, jeans, mini-skirts, high heels.

Had dinner in a Syrian restaurant very early; after the night flight & the day walking in the sun we were too tired to hang out. By 9pm we were sleeping.

Were sleeping at Gulnara Guesthouse, a cosy place that for breakfast served what Giulia defined a divine apricot jam (from which the name of this post :-)

More to come on the Samarkand area next time we connect...

(written by Lorenzo & Julie in Samarkand)

Getting ready

Today was devoted to go around and see a few friends, as well as to finally pack up. With a bit of smart packing, I could fit my stuff in what you can see in this picture (yes, it is a frighteningly small piece of luggage). 

So, finally that special feeling that you get when you are about to leave is starting to linger around me. 

I have been lucky enough to travel in most of the developed world chasing the technology allure, and it is so easy to get to the point where it does not even feel like you are traveling. Having just returned from a quick hop to California, once again I just realized how eerie it is to feel sort of at home the moment you get your rental car in Los Angeles. And, needless to say, all the pampering of business travel contributes to develop that pleasant familiarity with all the places you have been more than once. As I was saying, it is very easy to take that sort of travel as a routine. 

But now I am already thinking about tomorrow: flying to Tashkent, getting to some really different place, then another one, then another one... It is that subtle feeling between excitement, anxiety & expectation.

Oh, and just not to make this too serious (and in case you are curious), here's the table from which many of these posts have been written, just as it was looking this afternoon as I was getting ready.

(written in Rome)

Readings: Renzo Guolo's "La via dell'Imam"

Not much time for a real review today, but certainly  before leaving I feel like recommending Renzo Guolo's "La via dell'Imam" (unfortunately this book seems to exist only Italian).

In the first part, Guolo illustrates the history of modern Iran, from the Islamic revolution (and what caused it) to Ahmadinejad. The second part of the book focuses instead on specific issues, from the role of females to the relationship between Iran and the more general Middle East context.

(written in Rome)

From my favorite cafe

Been a long week this one I just spent in San Diego - I suppose now more than before I need a vacation :-)

I am writing this post from one of my favorite spots in the world, Cafe 976 in San Diego, a lovely & local place in spite of the non-usually-Californian gloomy weather. Just sitting here always makes me feel good.

Giulia has also headed back from Paris to Northern Italy. We have been ironing out the last few details. Departure day is getting closer; looking forward to it.

Turkmenistan infos from another traveller

I received a nice email from Steven, a traveller who has lived for quite a while in Turkmenistan. I am reporting it here with his permission

===

Hello Lorenzo,

Thanks for your response and letting me know about your future pictures.  

To be honest, I'm very interested in how you will be traveling through Turkmenistan.  I thought about planning a trip a few years ago, but tourist visas are still so restricted (I was told that I could only go to certain areas, such as Ashgabat, and that I would have to be accompanied by a policeman or FSB agent during my entire trip) that I decided not to do it. Do you already have your visas?  Are you familiar with the travel restrictions, especially to border towns and other village-like locations? Have you found a way to travel freely in the country?

I lived in Dashaouz, now called Dashoguz, and visited Kunyar Urgence two times I think.  It's an extremely interesting place!  I'm sure that a lot of things have changed, but I have a feeling that relates only to the development of monuments, fountains, and other public spaces.  In other words, life there is the same if not worse.  In Dashogus there was a Turkish restaurant across the street from the post office, which is one of the safer places to eat albeit a little more expensive than the Turkmen restaurants. If you're looking for lodging, I would also recommend the Turkish hotel (it's one of only two hotels in the city) which, once again, is definitely more expensive but it's also nicer, i.e. it has water. Speaking of water, be careful of the water in Dashogus - it's downright dangerous (parasites), being located within the Aral Sea disaster zone.  Use a distiller if you can. 

How will you be traveling between Ashgabat and Dashoguz? Will you be taking the road running through the desert?  I have never that, but I hear it's quite a trip; about 10 hours by bus.  If I ever go back there I will definitely take this route because I imagine it's a great adventure.  There is an overnight train, and of course you could fly but then you would definitely pay American prices, and that's probably not worth it. When in Ashgabat I would definitely recommend going to the Talcouchka Bazaar.  It's a huge bazaar known throughout Central Asia just outside of the city (many buses go there everyday so just ask someone about it - do you guys speak Russian by the way?).  You can buy just about everything there, and the confluence of various peoples is also wonderful to take in.  If you're looking for handmade carpets that's the place to go for sure. Don't forget that you must register them with the appropriate ministry (Ministry Of National Treasures, or something like that, perhaps?), and unless you plan on carrying it with you, ship it via UPS.  There was one UPS office in Ashgabat when I was there.  There is a place in the city known as the Carpet Factory, and they produce all of the carpets for international trade, but I think the bazaar is better because you can find homemade carpets, i.e. carpets made by traditional families, and you can also find some more unique and personal designs.  However, the carpet factory is definitely an interesting place to tour, as you can watch the women making the carpets.

Turkmens are not too crazy about pictures, but if you befriended them first then they might be accommodating.

Well, I wish you good luck, and I hope I have given you some good information (but I get the feeling that as experienced travelers you might be familiar with most of this already). 

Be well,

Steven

src4768@gmail.com

Iranian Blogs

According to Wikipedia, Iran is a country of widespread blogging.

A list of Iranian blogs in English is here.

(Thanks to my colleague Jamshid for point this out!)

The Silk Road

This trip is going to touch many of the historical cities of the Silk Road.

The Silk Road used to be the legendary commercial route between China (or the Far East in general) and Europe, taking the name from the silk, the material for which China possessed the know-how (in reality it seems this name was first used retrospectively in 1877).

 

In practice the Silk Road was more a collection of routes (the best route was different according to the season) and it was not only about silk, but was also a generic communication link between East and West.

The Silk Road was established nearly 2000 years ago for the first time by the Chinese, who for a large period of time were also policing it to protect the traders. The main disruption to the Silk Road came around 1300 with the collapse of the Mongol Empire and the subsequent chaos.

Our journey covers the stretch of the Silk Road connecting the Middle East on one side with the Tian Shan and Pamir mountains on the other side. Teheran & Yazd in Iran, Merv & Urgench in Turkmenistan, Samarkand & Bukhara in Uzbekistan are on this path.

Obviously today there is no need for the Silk Road to trade generic goods between the East and the West. It is however interesting to notice how a map of oil and gas pipelines in the area is somewhat reminiscent of the Silk Road suggestions.

(written in San Diego)

Tasty pistachio nuts & international politics

My friend Chiara G. raised to my attention this article, on a international mini-crisis linked to pistachio nuts trading. The article is a few months old but nevertheless still surreal.

(written in San Diego)

Milestones of Persian history & art

This is a rough summary of the main dynasties of Persia/Iran, together with the main works of art/architecture that were produced in each period. The idea is to more or less convey what was done when, and put things in context.

Note that in several points in time Persia's border were obviously larger than today including territories that are today independent countries.

Elamites (2700 - 500 BC)
- Chogha Zanbil

Medes (900 - 500 BC)

- Ecbatana/Hamadan

Achaemenids (700 - 331 BC)
- Persepolis
- Pasargade
- Naqsh-e Rostam

Greek invasion (331 BC)

Seleucids (312 - 141 BC)

Parths (141 BC - 225)
- Takht-E Soliman

Sassanids (225 - 636)
- Taq-e Bostan, Kermanshah

Arab invasion (636 - 650)

Abbasids & Buyids (749 - 1038)
- Mil-e Gonbad, Gonbad-e Kavus
- Babak fortress, Kaleybak

Seljuks (1038 - 1220)
- Jameh mosque, Ispahan
- Assassin castles, West Iran
- Rubat Sharaf, Mashhad

Mongols (1220 - 1335)
- Oljeitu mausoleum, Soltaniyeh
- Qareh Kasilah, Maku

Timurides (1365 - 1501)
- Gohar Shad mosque, Mashhad
- Kabud mosque, Tabriz
- Takyeh Amir Chakhmagh, Yazd

Safavids (1501 - 1722)
- Imam square & mosque, Ispahan
- Sheikh Lotfollah mosque, Ispahan
- Madraseh-ye Chahar Bagh, Ispahan
- Chehel Sotum palace, Ispahan
- Vank cathedral, Ispahan
- Imam Reza sanctuary, Mashhad
- Hazra-e Masumeh, Qom
- Amargah-e Shah Ne' Matollah Vali, Mahan
- Qazvin

Qajars (1794 - 1907)
- Golestan palace, Teheran
- Eram palace, Shiraz
- Takieh Mo'aven ol-Molk, Kermanshah

Russian & British invasion (1907)

Pahlavis (1921 - 1979)
- Teheran-Sari railway

Islamic Revolution (1979 - today)

Our "draft" itinerary

The pictorial version of our itinerary was already available on another post. Here's the (well, VERY tentative) day-by-day one

Day 1 Milan->Tashkent

Day 2 Tashkent

Day 3 Tashkent-> Samarkand

Day 4 Samarkand 

Day 5 Samarkand-> Shahrisabz->Samarkand

Day 6 Bukhara

Day 7 Bukhara

Day 8 Bukhara->Khiva

Day 9 Dashogus/Shavat border->Kunyaurgench->Darvaza

Day 10 Darvaza->Erbent->Ashgabat

Day 11 Ashgabat

Day 12 Ashgabat->Abiverd->Mary

Day 13 Gonur Depe

Day 14 Merv->Serags/Sarakhs border

Day 15 Mashhad & fly to Kerman

Day 16 Kerman

Day 17 Bam?

Day 18 Bam->Kerman->Yazd

Day 19 Yazd

Day 20 Yazd->Shiraz

Day 21 Shiraz

Day 22 Persepolis

Day 23 Shiraz & surroundings

Day 24 Shiraz - Ispahan

Day 25 Ispahan

Day 26 Ispahan

Day 27 Ispahan

Day 28 Ispahan->Kashan

Day 29 Kashan->Qom->Teheran

Day 30 Teheran

Day 31 Teheran->Quazvin

Day 32 Quazvin->Masuleh

Day 33 Takht-e-Soleiman

Day 34 Zanjan->Tabriz

Day 35 Northern Iran

Day 36 Teheran

Day 37 Teheran

Day 38 Teheran->Rome

(written in Rome)

This blog's name

Some friends have been wondering why the blog has its current name...

Well, "Taste Of Cherry" is the title of a movie from Iranian director Kiarostami (as you can see from the YouTube clip at the bottom of this page).

And, as my friend Saso noticed, the name itself "cherry" originates from the area between Iran and Turkey (although the general belief is somewhat incorrectly that cherries came from Iran, but obviously borders used to be different from what they are today)

Iran is still today a top (or the top) world producer of cherries. See here.

Oh, and sure enough, let me also say that the name was a bright idea from Giulia :-)

(written in Rome)