navigate:
Tuesday 2004-06-08 - Pāsārgād, Iran
Ancient history and modern science
Today we have a long travel day from Shirāz to Esfahān but we make a little side trip to Pāsārgād (Pasargadae). When we arrive at the Tomb of Cyrus just after the entrance to the site, a surprise awaits us: the field behind the tomb is crowded with people with cameras, parasols, much electronic equipment, even a satellite antenna and there’s a lot of rather nervous activity… what’s going on here?
A friendly bearded man with a NASA t-shirt explains the situation. The t-shirt isn’t fake: he’s actually an Englishman working for NASA in the US, visiting here with a team for a very special occasion: today (in fact, in 5 minutes!) there will be a Venus transit: the planet Venus passing in front of the sun causing a very small eclipse. Everyone is busy calibrating their equipment to be ready for when it really starts in a few minutes; Venus’ trip across the Sun’s surface will take 5 hours. This is indeed a unique event: in astronomical time it happens more often of course but no one alive today has ever experienced this.
The people here are mostly astronomy amateurs but some real science is taking place (astronomy is one branch of science where it’s not unusual for amateurs to cooperate with the pros and make some real contributions): when Venus will be fully in front of the Sun the light as it passes through Venus’ atmosphere will be measured: since the composition of this atmosphere is known, the resulting data will help with interpreting measurements of other distant solar systems with planets as they are observed.
The NASA man tells us that astronomy is quite popular in Iran; last night they were visiting in a town nearby which has the largest astronomy club with 1000 members - in a town with a population of 10,000! The club is building their own observatory and the NASA team made a donation of some equipment; they had a wonderful evening with 500 people turning up for the event!
We get a few special ‘sun glasses’ so we can see with our own eyes the small black dot made by Venus on the face of the Sun.
Then we leave to actually see the rest of the Pāsārgād site. The city was begun under Cyrus the Great (Kouroush) in about 546 BC but was superseded by Persepolis after Cyrus’ death. It’s located at the very center of what is now Iran but also then the Persian empire, in the middle of the fertile plains of the Fars province. Remains of the city are quite scattered and not as well preserved as those at Persepolis; we make a tour along the various ruins with our bus.
On the way here, the fertility of this area was obvious, with endless grain fields interspersed with occasional smaller fields with other crops (such as rice); through the open roof of the bus entered a summery scent of ripening grain.
Tuesday 2004-06-08 - Esfahān, Iran
A dream come true
At the end of the afternoon we arrive in Esfahān; our hotel is conveniently located both for the city center and for the river which has several old bridges which I must see. Carla and I decide to walk to the Emām Khomeini square - the place I dreamed about before visiting Iran.
The square, with 500 x 160 m one of the largest in the world, is a sublime example of town planning - it dates back to 1612 and was designed and built as a whole. In spite of its huge size it’s a very pleasant space, surrounded by galleries, some mosques and a palace. It’s all at a very human scale: you don’t feel small here, you just experience a large but pleasant space around you.
At this time, in the early evening, the warm sunlight is still on the square, and it’s lively with people strolling, picnicking, flirting, biking, playing in the pond with its many fountains, taking a ride around the square in a horse-drawn buggy. While Carla goes off to have a look at the shops, I just sit on a bench for a while, feeling the space and drinking in the atmosphere, completely happy to finally be here — and just sit.
Later, we chat a bit with a woman (wearing a nice shawl around her head) who asked where we come from - as many Iranians do. She lives in the US now and is visiting, but originally she’s from Esfahān - here to show the city to her two young daughters. When we say goodbye, she touches my Aussie hat and says: “I love your cover-up; better than mine!”
Wednesday 2004-06-09 - Esfahān, Iran
Another beautiful mosque
Back to the Emām Khomeini square this morning with Thom and Carla. It has a different atmosphere in the morning, not just because of the morning light: the fountains are off now and most people are at work instead of relaxing after hours. It’s still just as stunning.
We pay a visit to the Emām mosque, at an oblique angle to the square because it was built angled to Mecca. Built over a period of 26 years and finished in 1638 it’s a superb example of the Safavid building style: it’s completely covered (both inside and out) with glazed tiles in the yellow and light blue specific for Esfahān, with accents in a surprising light green color I’ve not seen anywhere else. I spend nearly a whole film trying to capture the splendor (knowing I won’t even approach what I’m seeing but trying anyway). Although the intricate and sometimes playful patterns are very ‘Iranian’ in their curly complexity, I like this a lot better than the almost ‘Rococo’ flowery style of the early 19th century seen in the Vakil mosque in Shirāz.
Thirty-three arches
Esfahān is famous not only for its Emām Khomeini square, but also for its bridges over the the Zāyande river. Late afternoon, with the sun sinking and just at the right angle, Carla and I walk to the Sī-o-Se bridge which is so named because of its 33 arches (sī-o-se means 33 in Farsi). This pedestrian bridge was built in 1602; double arches on two levels give it a remarkable style and texture, enhanced in the late light, and always provide some shade regardless where the sun is. We admire it first from the northern shore of the Zāyande river, with the huge fountain and ‘swan’ water bikes in front, then experience it by walking all across it. On both sides of the river are parks with shaded walking paths, another area where a lot of people come to relax and play after work.
Of course, being a real bridge nut, I take a lot of pictures of the huge bridge and its surroundings. Afterwards, we sit on a low wall at the river shore with a (non-alcoholic) beer and a bag of chips, just watching and enjoying the sunset.
Thursday 2004-06-10 - Esfahān, Iran
Singing under the bridge
Looking at the map of the city, I had reasoned that the bridges for which Esfahān is famous should be at their best in the early morning or evening, with a low sun at the best angle. So: we get up at 5:30 am and at precisely 6 walk out of the hotel. The streets are very quiet now (it’s no longer risky to cross the street) and you can hear the birds singing. I always love to see a city before it fully wakes up.
We walk to the Zāyande river and then left (East) along the northern shore. People are walking along the paths to their work, others are jogging or doing gymnastics. At 7 we’re just past the Khāju bridge which was built to double as a dam (the square notches that once held the sluice doors are still visible) and has nice 17th century paintings and tile work. We’re just in time: the light is indeed very beautiful. Unfortunately at the moment you can only walk along the bottom of the bridge: they’re reconstructing one of the ramps to the upper level. Under the bridge is a long row of arches: you can look through all the way to the other end of the bridge. At the other end a number of men are sitting; nearby others are doing gymnastics. We walk across and find out the men at the end are the public for a man who’s singing — a capella, taking advantage of the acoustics of the stone arches. He has a good voice and sings classical Iranian songs; the songs are full of emotion, a bit like Portuguese fado, although we can’t of course understand the text. When he stops after a while, another man under the next arch takes over, and we walk on.
Poetry under the bridge
We want to continue our Esfahān bridge tour along the southern shore of the Zāyande river by passing under the Sī-o-se bridge and discover there’s a chaikhana (tea house) here. So we order a pot of tea and sit down on a small bench under one of the arches. After a little while, a young man sits down across from us and starts talking to us. He’s a writer, he tells us, and has written five books but can’t get them published here (why, remains unclear). He offers us a little poem which he writes down in Carla’s notebook - I can put it on my website, he says. So here it is:
Windows
People tell me
That windows
Don’t have feelings or a heart
But when the glass of a window
Is steamed up
And I’m writing with my finger on it
The words “I love you”
Then the window panes
Start to cry!
Sepāhān
(Moghpoet[at]yahoo.com)
The ‘forgotten’ genocide
Our next goal is the Armenian quarter of Esfahān, Jolfā, South of the Zāyande river. It’s immediately obvious this is one of the more wealthy areas of Esfahān. We visit two churches there, their inside completely covered with superb paintings; the gilding is real gold! The Bethlehem church is smaller and only opened (with a huge key) on request but it’s more intimate than Vānk cathedral and I prefer it for that reason.
Connected to Vānk cathedral is a small museum. One of the exhibits here is devoted to the genocide of Armenians in Turkey early last century (around 1915 if I remember correctly). While Armenians everywhere are pressing for acknowledgment of this horror, Turkey still officially denies it ever took place. Here, documentation is presented, in the form of letters and telegrams with clear instructions to kill all Armenians without mercy and even quite shocking film images — except there is no way to tell whether it’s authentic. The estimate is 1.5 million Armenians were killed, and the same number deported to neighboring countries (one of the reasons why so many Armenians live in Iran now, and are allowed their own language and religion and left in peace). Armenians all over the world commemorate the genocide on 24 April, demanding Turkey finally acknowledges it.
(If this is what happened, I think they should, and not be allowed into the EU until they do — but is it? Arguments from both sides actually sound equally convincing.)
Friday 2004-06-11 - Tehrān, Iran
A hasty taste of the capital
For some reason we couldn’t get a flight from Esfahān to Mashhad as planned, so today we first take a flight to Tehrān and fly on to Mashhad in the evening, which gives us a chance to spend a little time in the capital. It’s not an attractive city, we’re told, but at least there are some good museums — some of them closed today because it’s Friday. We make the best of our time here. On most days, traffic is deadly here in this city of 15 million inhabitants, but since it’s Friday most businesses and shops are closed, and crossing the street isn’t a gamble.
Our first stop is at the Historical Museum and the Museum for Islamic Art next door (one ticket for both together). We have only two hours — much too short, 3 hours for each would be normal — but it’s still worth the entry price. The Historical Museum with its superb exhibits in chronological order helps to put into perspective all the things we’ve seen from different periods during the last weeks in Iran. The prehistoric finds, refined figurines and delicately decorated pottery (many pieces depicting ibex) are very interesting, too. Far too little time is left for the Museum for Islamic Art but they have some spectacular exhibits as well. Definitely a place to come back to, with enough time to spend.
After that, a visit to the mountain (hidden here under a multitude of restaurants and teahouses around a stream full of empty bottles) where Tehranians come for the fresh air — and some to do some real mountain climbing farther up; a park (no grass here on the mountainside, but plenty of trees and many seats in the shade, most of them occupied of course); and finally a modern shopping center where the (expensive) shops are actually open.
After that tour we leave for the airport again for our flight to Mashhad and have a nice Iranian dinner on board.
Tuesday 2009-05-19 - Khuzestan, Iran
Petroglyphs
Around Izeh, in the The Natural-Historical Landscape of Izeh (on Iran’s “tentative list” of World Heritage sites), we admire Elamite petroglyphs at two different sites: Narsi Na (Koul Farah) and Tarisha (Ashkoft Salman). Amazingly hardly any tourist comes here, but the location is away from a little-traveled road and a long distance from Esfahān. At the second site we’re guided by a local herder who guided scientists exploring this site many years ago. Although it’s little-known, there is a lot to see, and even though the reliefs are partly badly damaged by erosion (rain, probably acid rain) they are quite impressive. We can see lines of people offering gifts to the king, quite similar to the scenes depicted at Persepolis.
Unfortunately I´m stuck partway through with an empty camera battery, with the backup far away in the bus — there´s no time to walk back and up to the rocks again.
It´s a long way…
From Izeh where we had our lunch, it was still another 330km to Esfahān — it seemed as though we had all the time in the world. But after meeting our paranoid friend (more leasure time) we pass through Dehdez, and here the mountain roads start in earnest: it´s much steeper now, with many hairpins and a maximum speed of 30km per hour; the road seems to be dangerous as well: we see skull-and-bones on warning signs along the road. Just before 20:00 it´s still another 115km to Esfahān, and the sun has disappeared behind the mountains: it´s getting dark fast.
Our tour leader Noyan tries to keep us amused by declamating old Persian poetry, and a little later he does a historical quiz (prize: a book of historical maps). But we´re all tired and grumpy, though at 22:45 the mood lifts when we see a lot of lights in the distance: obviously a big city. Esfahān? No, it´s Shahr-e Kord — still 80km from Esfahān… At least now the road gets better and we can make better speed. Still, it´s almost 02:00 when we´re finally at our hotel, and we haven´t even had dinner!
At least, for those who want it, the hotel can arrange for a light meal to be brought to our rooms: Carla and I share one: a plate with two buns, a fried egg, some cheese, and a packet of milk (next morning we find out this little snack cost 100,000 Rials: more than €7.50!). When we finally go to sleep it´s 03:00.
