Category: Authentic Travel in Iran
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Getting High & Low in Naiband, Part II
The vanity of authentic travel: we want real experiences but not the discomfortsThe tourist wants authenticity, but not the discomforts of authenticity. So the tourist gets angry when she experiences the reality of village life in Iran. This is the lesson we learned in the village of Naiband (also spelled Nayband, Nay Band), after we fell in love with its architecture and the children who guided us…
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Getting High & Low in Naiband, Part I
We travel to connect to locals not hotel staffThe unprepared visitor who glances up at the cliff dwellings of Naiband is prone to spit out a bunch of superlatives. “Ali, it’s so beautiful. It’s just like those Moroccan towns in the movies,” Saeideh exclaimed as we pulled up from the highway to Kerman, tired and thirsty after hours of driving along the edge…
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The Loneliness of the Wildlife Ranger
“You can really go mad doing this job.”Mohammadreza Hassankhani, 36, is one of seven rangers in charge of protecting the 1.5 million hectare Naybandan (NAI-ban-don) Wildlife Refuge that sits on the edge of the infamous Dashte-Lut Desert in central Iran, known for being one of the hottest places on Earth. The park is home to at least 177 types of plants; dozens of…
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Shepherds of Iran: Marziyeh & Ali
Marzieh Avari, 59, is the sole resident of the abandoned village of Aliabad (ALI-awe-bawd), inside the Naybandan (nai-ban-DON) Wildlife Refuge in central Iran. The nearest population is in Naiband (NAI-band), 35km away by road or 15 km on foot through the wilderness. Her home sits in the shadow of a disintegrating 400-year-old caravanserai and the…
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Another (Abandoned) Caravanserai
Exhilaration and sorrow upon finding another jewel of the desertStumbling on abandoned or undiscovered historical sites is a common theme for anyone who frequently travels Iran’s 240,000 KM of roads. Saeideh and I aren’t frequent travelers and yet some of our most memorable visits are to the nameless abandoned jewels of an Iran no one today would recognize.
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Massive Glory in Sleepy Town
We find glorious antiquity even in tiny GonabadToday we were again reminded that Iran’s appeal is not limited to what the travel guidebooks pitch. There’s awe-inspiring beauty in many of Iran’s small towns, sans the traffic and expense of the touristy hotspots. s Gonabad (go-NAW-bawd) is 288 km south of Mashhad in northeast Iran. It’s not even on the primary route from Mashhad to…
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Iran Qanat: Swimming & wonder under the desert
Cooling off in an ancient qanat is a treatSwimming on a hot summer day is good. Swimming under the desert in a 2,500-year-old qanat in northeast Iran is extra special. I am 15 meters below ground, inside one of the world’s oldest qanats (aka kārīz) – the system of underground canals and aqueducts ancient Persians invented to transport water from mountains to the desert.…
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The Zoroastrian Dakhma (cemetery) of Yazd
Here the carrion birds feasted on the deadFor 2,500 years Zoroastrians left their dead outside to be consumed by carrion birds. The idea behind the dakhma cemetery (Persian: دخمه) was to avoid contaminating the soil and the fire, both of which are considered sacred to Zoroastrians. The place they ceremonially laid out the bodies is called also known as the Tower of…
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The Chador in the Desert
Photographing a cooperative hijabi can be a lot of funTo millions of Iranians it’s a symbol of purity. To conservatives it represents a critical bulwark against indulgence. To a lot of Westerners it epitomizes misogyny – although, curiously, the critics don’t seem to be as bothered with nuns or the Amish or the conservative Jews and countless others who also cover their heads in…
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Persian Hospitality vs. Iranian Hotel Fiascos
Nartitee Ecolodge is an example of a “homestay” option outshining typical Iranian hotel.Nartitee Ecolodge is fantastic lodging option for tourists visiting of Yazd, Iran. This the story of our visit in 2017.
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How Not to Visit a 7,000-Year-Old City
I arrived in Meybod ignorant and rushed and missed out on the bestHere’s how NOT to visit a 7,000-year-old Iranian city: do your research beforehand, not after getting home.
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Shepherds of Iran: Ibrahim
Ibrahim is a blue-eyed 72-year-old shepherd in the village of Kharaghan, aka Qaleno-e-xaraqān, north of Shahrud. He spends his days tending sheep and goats in the rocky plains just south of the famed Cloud Forest. Some of Iran’s greatest philosophers and Sufi masters walked these same plains through the centuries. “I’ve been walking this field…
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The Anatomy of a Conservative Persian Home Visit
The above image depicts the quintessential visit to a wealthy conservative Iranian home in Mashhad. ————————————————————————————————————————— The Purpose: the annual obligatory Nowruz (the Persian new year’s day) visit to Saeideh’s eldest aunt on father’s side. Guests are all of Saeideh’s siblings, their spouses, children and her mother. The Room: giant, encompassing half the 210 sq…
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Ten-dollar Nightgowns & $5 Gucci Glasses
Tehran’s Friday Bazaar Crowded & BizarrePretty much anything on this planet can be found at Tehran’s Friday Bazaar, at half the price and in a million varieties – if you can stand the crowds. The Jome Bazaar (JOAM-eh, Persian for Friday) is inside a multi-story parking garage near the Embassy of the United Kingdom on Jomhouri and Ferdowsi Aves. It…
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Naderi Cafe of Tehran
A Tehran Institution Lives OnNaderi Cafe of Tehran is a 90-year-old institution, hangout for artists, students, nostalgic elderly, as well as grumpy waiters. The style is 1950’s Paris. Photos of famed performance artists, writers and poets adore the walls. Naderi (NAW-the-ree) has appeared in novels and films. The sweet cappuccino and the thick hot chocolate provide the perfect relief from…
