Tag Archives: Shiraz

Day 274 – Pasargadae

Looking along the nave with the stained glass windows

Looking along the nave with the stained glass windows

Time for us to move on. Shiraz has been very nice to us but we only have 30 days in Iran so we need to see more. However, we didn’t quite manage the early start that we had wanted. First, we slept in a bit and then met other travelers just outside the hotel. They saw us packing the bike and started a conversation…which was pleasant and thus lasted more than 30 minutes.

Second, there was one more sight in Shiraz we wanted to see. The mosque of Nasir-al-Molk is famous for its stained glass windows which colour the whole interior in the mornings. By now it was 10.30 am so “morning” had to be stretched a bit but we still managed to see some of the glory that guide books and postcards promise. It was an amazing sight.

Pasargadae! Success!

Pasargadae! Success!

From Shiraz we rode the 110 km to Pasargadae which is another archaeological site. Because it was so late, we had a roadside lunch before arriving at our next destination. It was another case of “we don’t have vegetarian food” and then serving up bread, yogurt with herbs and, especially for me, grilled tomatoes while Flo got his kebab.

In Pasargadae, the tomb of Cyrus the Great is the prominent sight. I liked it and Flo, as a history geek, was quite excited. We took many pictures of the tomb before moving on to the other things on display. I now seriously didn’t feel well so I sat down in the shade while Flo hopped from sight to sight and from sign to sign like a puppy. I’m glad he still had fun even if I was more of a spoilsport.

...and yes, you can! Just need to go off-road for a bit

…and yes, you can! Just need to go off-road for a bit

There was no way we would make it to Yazd tonight but we hadn’t really counted on it. Buying a cheap bread-cheese-veggies dinner in a shop was easy so we were all set for another night of camping. We kept riding until we found a spot that looked promising then went off-road for a bit and around a hill to be well and truly out of sight. Pitching our tent is routine work so in almost no time, we were set for the night; with enough time to spare for a nice, hot cup of tea to make my throat feel a little better.

 

Day 273 – King of Kings

“My name is Darius, King of Kings, King of the Universe”

Persepolis. I have known this name for more years than not. Capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Darius and Xerxes. The way we travel, we usually only learn about what there is to see a week or so in advance. There are a handful of places though that stand above this. Places like Uluru, Borobudur, Angkor Wat … and Persepolis. Today we went just there.

Teamed up with Jan for this day trip which is a good opportunity for riding pictures

Teamed up with Jan for this day trip which is a good opportunity for riding pictures

We joined up with Jan, who we had met on the ferry, for this day trip, as he is also in town and keen to do the trip. The site is an easy 60 km from the center of Shiraz along the road to Esfahan. We arrived there by 10 am and parked the bikes right at the entrance car park to get changed (small mistake, more later). The admission price for foreign tourists is steep, at $10 NZ per person, given the average meal costs us about $5 for two.

The site itself consists of several structures in varying states of conservation or reconstruction. All this is set on a massive level platform, half cut out of the hillside, half build up with massive stone blocks. When Alexander the Great burned the city to the ground and looted the treasury, there was still room to spare for a palace or two. As a bonus, behind the platform up the hillside are two huge tombs cut straight into the rock face.

This represents about the level of care taken at this site ...

This represents about the level of care taken at this site …

Overall, we both were a bit underwhelmed by the site and the presentation. It is always amazing to stand in the presence of such an historic place, but we felt clearly lacking in information. The sparse signs, some of them missing, had barely more information than half the guidebook entry on the site. By the looks of it, most archaeological work had stopped in 1979 and not much has changed since.

Maybe the Persepolis Museum housed in the badly restored “harem” of Xerxes (think AC’s visibly sticking to the outside) held some more solid info, but another $10 each were too steep for us to be tempted to try. So we left, with all the great photos of this epic place we could wish for, in search for food.

The remainder of the second gate

The remainder of the second gate

We did, literally, pay the price for not negotiating the price for parking before we went in. At first, they asked for a ludicrous amount – 10x of what was on the sign (in Farsi) for cars. In the end, both Jan and we paid more than we should have and were a bit frustrated with ourselves.

Jan was keen to visit Naqsh-e Rustam, a necropolis cut into the rock about 12 km from Persepolis. We failed to find food on the way, but did find a minor site with some bas relief carvings instead. At Naqsh-e Rustam, we turned back once more at the entrance due to the steep entrance fee. $20 to see the tomb of Darius the Great? Maybe 3 months ago, but now … we can’t get ourselves to pay that. Funny how we are developing the same kind of attitude that we frowned upon in other travellers a year ago …

We made our way back home alone then, leaving the tombs to Jan to explore. Food is still hard to come by for Nina. After two tries, we gave up and bought supplies for a picnic. There were some nice spots overlooking Shiraz on the way. When we got back there though, it had started raining once again. We went, with picnic supplies and all, back to our room and collapsed for a while.

Nina was not feeling so well, so we stayed in for the rest of the day and did some overdue homework instead, updating the blog and checking our emails.

Day 272 – City of poets and gardens

The pavilion over the grave

The pavilion over the grave

A whole day to explore Shiraz lay in front of us, with local tour guides. Punctually at 9.30 am, Ali and Tannaz, Hamid’s nephew and niece, picked us up from the hotel. Since we didn’t have any plans, the tomb of Hafez, a famous poet, was our first stop.

We all hopped into their car and while we were still on the way, we were invited for lunch by Ali’s and Tannaz’ mother Mozhgan via phone call. Such a lovely invitation! Trying to avoid awkward situations later, I immediately asked if it’s something I can eat as a vegetarian. The promised Shirazi food would be rice with vegetables and an optional addition of meatballs which sounded perfect and delicious. 🙂

The tomb of Hafez is an alabaster tomb stone inscribed with one of his poems in a pagoda set in a beautiful garden. Since it is spring, every flower was in bloom which gave the whole thing a colourful touch. Everyone learned something about weird flower names: Snapdragon is called the Farsi equivalent of “monkey”, while in German it is “baby lion’s mouth”. Continue reading →

Day 271 – Shiraz

Posing over the breakfast table, especially vegetarian just for me

Posing over the breakfast table, especially vegetarian just for me

The girls were sad that we had to leave so early, while they were still in school, but the way to Shiraz was long and we needed the time on the road. We did, however, jump in the car with all of them on Azemeh’s morning school run to say goodbye. Such smart girls, it was a pleasure to meet them.

Azemeh made a special vegetarian breakfast treat for Nina – a tomato and egg affair that tasted delicious. We took a round of goodbye photos and packed the bike. Then, it was time to leave for good. We are so glad to have had the chance to share a day in this family’s life and experience Persian hospitality first hand. It did not stop at their door, either. Azemeh insisted to guide us to the edge of town, where the road that we would need to take goes east. Thank you all!

What a lovely road!

What a lovely road!

We followed the road east across a vast plain until we hit the first of the mountain ranges between us and Shiraz. Instead of following the route suggested by our hosts, we decided on a little detour further south. The shorter route would have led us past Pasargadae and Persepolis. Both of them we wanted to do as a day trip from Shiraz, and we hate doubling up on routes. This way, we got the chance to see some more beautiful scenery and go past three almost dried up lakes.

Flo on his way to play with the salt

Flo on his way to play with the salt

We had a short rest at the first one, before re-fulling and pushing on. A few kilometers out of Shiraz, we passed the last lake – this one is a salt lake. There was a sort of jetty going down and we had a bit of fun playing around with the salt on the shore.

Once we were in Shiraz, we gave Hamid (our contact from Dubai) a call. Instead of him, his wife answered the phone and informed us that Hamid was currently in the operation room for surgery on his hands. Two days after we had left, Hamid had broken both his hands in a motorcycle accident. But this is Persia, after all. In no time, we were offered help and two blokes dropped us off at the hotel we had quickly looked up in the Lonely Planet.

Pretty knackered after a long day of riding, we only went out one more time in search for dinner and some light sightseeing. Dinner proved to be hard once again, with all the recommendations failing to offer any vegetarian dish for Nina. This is kebab land.

Checking out the handicraft

Checking out the handicraft

For now, we resorted to some people-watching across from the old palace, with a cup of tea from a street vendor. It turned out to be mostly people watching us, though, and we continued to one of the three bazars. We saw Persian carpets, spices and all manner of more or less useful wares, but still no food.

As we came out of the bazar, we decided to go for the safe route of bread and cheese instead and started to ask around. Turned out we walked just right past the bakery, obscured by a crowd of shoppers. We got a nice bread straight out of the oven and some veg and cheese and headed back to the hotel. On our way back, it actually started raining – the second time in two days for us in Iran.

Back in the hotel, during dinner, Hamid got in touch with us (bless him) fresh out of surgery. He got us in contact with his sister who lives in Shiraz and soon we got the offer of a guide for sightseeing for tomorrow morning. Pick up 9.30 am. All was well – we love Iranian hospitality.

P.S.: Get well soon, Hamid!