Esfahan is the prime tourist destination in Iran with its impressive Islamic buildings, boulevards, picturesque bridges and UNESCO listed Naqsh-e Jahan Square. The Safavid Shah Abbas I moved the capital to Esfahan in 1587 and proceeded to transform the city into the gem that it still is today.
We start off the day with some admin – organising our trip into the desert at Garmeh and on to Yazd and buying our return flights to Tehran from our prospective last destinations in Iran... Kermaz in the South East for me. Buying the air ticket took all of 3 minutes and cost 47 EUR!
The Esfahan Bazaar will keep us busy for most of the day. It seems to never end, the hauliers are just as dangerous as in Tehran and the Esfahanis seem to smile less. Some older parts of the bazaar are fascinating... the vaulted ceilings are pierced by light openings shaped like stars, hexagons and a variety of other geometrical forms..., we find ourselves captivated by a beautifully restored caravanserai...
We are approaching the Masjed-e Jameh (the Large Mosque), a religious complex built over the last 1000 years, started by the Seljuks in the 12th century and completed by the Safavids 400 years later. A prayer room, leads into a mosque, leads into a mosaic portal, leads into a prayer room... Astoundingly beautiful! And the imams keeping an eye on all proceedings;-)!
We get lost in the maze of alleys behind the Imam Ali Square and resort to a taxi to save us and take us to the Armenian area of Esfahan (New Jolfa). Armenians from Turkey moved to Esfahan over 400 years ago on the invitation of Shah Abbas I, who was interested in bringing their entrepreneurial and trading spirit to the growing new capital of Esfahan. Many of them have now left Iran, but this area of town still feels very different from the rest of the city... more ‘relaxed’ and ‘branche’’ as Claude would say... Many boutiques, restaurants and fast food joints. From the small square at the centre of New Jolfa you can see the domes of the 3 Armenian churches dominate the surrounding skyline.
We walk back to the hotel crossing the Zayandeh River on the Pol-e Si-o-Seh bridge back onto the Northern shore of Esfahan and witness the start of a typical Thursday (the equivalent of our Saturday) evening out for young Iranians... The men in (relatively) trendy clothes and well-groomed, the girls not as trendy in their hijabs, but fully made up for the occasion. They seem to be enjoying themselves, but would even more if they were allowed to mingle with each other instead of being confined to their group of male or female friends.
Back to the hotel, a quick shower and wireless email catch up in the hotel lobby where we meet some very interesting co-guests like the burly Irish-Argentinian, who hosts a radio show in Buenos Aires, knows Iran like the back of his hands and speaks a number of languages perfectly. We have dinner in another traditional restaurant (Islamic tiles and mirrored walls) where the efficient (but dour looking) waiters are quick but bring only half of what you order and not always what you expected... The lamb cutlets were worth it though. We are starting to miss our wine... The Iranian version of the Turkish ayran (yoghurt drink), ‘dough’, doesn’t quite cut it as a substitute for a good bottle of RipassoL
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