Category: Authentic Travel in Iran
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650-year-old Air-Conditioning in Iranian University
The AC still works. No one cares.I don’t think it’s possible for a thinking person to step onto the gorgeous courtyard of the 650-year-old Khargerd Ghiasieh School in northeast Iran and not feel both pity and amazement. Amazement for the beauty of its iwans and the technical engineering devised to use nothing but desert winds to cool down the school’s 32…
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The Architecture of the Persian Mosque for the Iran visitor
Terminology & purpose explained for touristsSometimes I sound like I got a beef with the Persian mosque. Yes, I tend to frown on Iran tour itineraries with way too many visits to old buildings, the same way I complain aplenty about seeing too much of Baby Jesus and Hercules in Europe. But there’s a lot of beauty and wonder to…
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The struggle of the Iranian woman
“I’m tired of fighting …”Her list of complaints against chauvinism is long. Her brother thinks Iranian women should blame themselves.
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Mashhad Day Trip: Purple Valley
Today, we decided to check out the fall colors in an area known as the Valley of Purple, known locally as Valley of Arghawan. Persian: purple.
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Touring History in Iran: Ancient rock art in my backyard
This time we find 4000-year-old petroglyphs 2 kilometers from our apartmentIran still manages to surprise us, this time with 4000-year-old petroglyphs near our home.
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Samane Ehsaninia: A brave Iranian artist
What if you lost all mobility? Iranian Samane Ehsaninia went from total hopelessness to becoming an author, painter and motivational speaker. Here’s the story in her own words.
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Our Iran Road Trip > Meeting a shepherd
The hard life of a shepherd in IranFor the Iranian shepherd, wolves, bears and angry donkeys are never as bad as the bad economy. And now global warming threatens what’s left. Here’s an interview with someone we met on our Iran travels who experiences all this on daily basis.
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Badab Soort hot springs of north Iran
Iran’s Answer To Yellowstone’s Hot SpringsBadab Soort hot springs is a unique must-sea tourist site in the rocky and arid part of the southwest Mazandaran province of Iran. We visited on our road trip through the Caspian Coast region.
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Camping in Iran: Alendan of Mazandaran
Fresh water lake at 1200 meters above sea levelThe beach at this 2-million-year-old lake in the middle of an Iranian forest is the perfect camping site for a road tour of the Iran’s Caspian Coast – even if it gets bone-chillingly cold this late in the fall.
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Mobster turned Moslem servant
“Mortician, wash my dead body calmly”In the words of this former mobster: “I didn’t even have to ask for protection money. Shopkeepers just came out in the street and gave it to me because they knew what I would do to them if they didn’t. But I have asked forgiveness from everyone of them.”
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A Perfect Train trip in Iran
The Tehran to Mashhad “Fadak” line is comfortable and relatively inexpensiveFor the tourist, train travel inside Iran is fast, comfortable and inexpensive. You can see much of the country from inside a private sleeper, wifi and meals included.
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Tour of Caspian Coast: City of Sari
The northernmost province of IranOn our road trip from Tehran to Mashhad, we passed through Sari, one of the largest cities in Iran’s Caspian Coast region.
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Waking in a traditional Iranian village home
Deep unscientific analysis of sleeping on the floor in IranI’m a happy man in an Iranian traditional home because everything – eating, sleeping, receiving of guests – happens not on furniture but on floors covered with nothing but Persian rugs. Empty rooms are peaceful.
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North Iran Tour: Fantastic local food
And avoiding Iranian hotels on our 4th day of escape from TehranGetting non-industrial food in Iran is as likely as running into Joe Biden at the supermarket – unless you specfically ask for farm-fresh food. And beware of Iranian hotels many fake stars.
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Touring Iran’s Caspian Region: Filband
Day 3 of our aimless escape to the highest point in Iran’s MazandaranFilband is a village in northern Iran in the middle of the clouds so dense, you would swear you’re at beach not on top of a mountain. Were having a blast touring Iran’s Caspian Sea area.
