we decided that our next destination will be Esfahan. Our bus was supposed to leave at 5 pm, but we realized that it's not so obvious.. it leaves when the driver wants ;-) surprisingly the bus was a comfortable Volvo with air condition and even more surprisingly Iranian highways are really modern (and definitly much better than those Polish ;-))!
we stopped once on the highway as some people wanted to eat, and others wanted to pray. the place was very small- there was only one wc, one restaurant and one shop. we decided to buy something to drink in the shop and what we discovered? the shop was selling only... knives...it had like 500 different kinds of knives... I really don't know why in the middle of the highway there was such a shop (and none else!) and who would buy such an item while travelling... ;-)
we got to Esfahan quite quickly. it's another weird thing - lonely planet was saying that this journey takes about 17h, but we arrived there 5h earlier than we thought - which means at 5am. maybe because of the crazy driver, but I'm not sure if the not crazy do exist in this country!!! Ours was driving with one hand, with another he was eating and moreover he had a mini screen on which he was watching a movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and he was driving at least 140h/h!!!!!
But actually after what I've seen in Tabriz I wasn't very surprised! it's quite a challenge and almost impossible thing to cross a street! nobody cares about the traffic lights, and when you're already on the street, you have to run,cause the car will smash you, but it won't stop...It's also very normal if there are 4 people on motor or 9 people in the car... ;-) motors driving on the pavements as well as on the bazaar's streets is also normal.
but ok,we're still in the bus and of course we're its biggest attraction. people are as usually very nice, but sometimes it's becoming a bit annoying..
example: a woman gives me a piece of pizza
me: no, thank you.
woman:no, but please,take a pizza
me:no really thank you
woman: I really would like you to eat it
me:but I'm really not hungry
woman:but I really insist
so ok,I'm taking this pizza and I'm throwing it away later,because I dont wanna eat it...
we arrived to Esfahan very early in the morning and another surprise was waiting for us. and this surprise is an old guy - English teacher whom we met at some stop station and with whom we spoke about 2 minuts.. it turned out that he took another bus and he decided to wait for us 30 minuts (at 5am!)....ok, so he took us a taxi and he drop us to the hostel (famous Amir Kabir), then he insists we meet him the next day at Imam Square..we say ok, but the next day it turns out that he waits for us in front of the hostel...we say him we don't have time and from now on we decide to be more assertive with annoying people... well... yeah... we were assertive only 2 minuts as some young guy started to talk to us. he seemed to be nice, but after, he didn't want to leave us! his mouth didn't shut at all, he kept on talking, he was so boring and annoying. and he didn't want to leave us even when we stopped talk with him and told him we were waiting for our friends.. I really don't know how to deal with these people...
Esfahan turned out to be really nice city! we're not surprised that it is considered to be a "pearl of Persia" and "a half of the World". The central place was Imam Square with its Imam Mosque and Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque.
We visited also amazing Vank Cathedral and Jameh Mosque.
And when it was too hot we were going to the parks and hidden in palaces - Hasht Behesht Palace and Chehel Sotun Palace.
The evenings we were relaxing at the border of the river with a view tothe Bridge of 33 Arches
In Esfahan we discover also that Iran is smaller that we thought. In the hostel we meet our Trans Asia train buddy -Andre from Germany. The last day we also meet our French couple from the train :-)
Few times I've also seen a"morality police" and was also hiding! unfortunately for girls (and boys) it's not allowed in Iran to go buy car with a boy(s), otherwise they might have problems. It's not allowed either to walk on the streets together, without mentionning the fact of kissing or having sex... these are the rules we know do exist here in Iran, but for us - Western people it's really difficult to understand and accept. I'm facing them for first time already in the train, when I was sitting together with the boys in their compartment (with open doors) and controller told me I was not allowed to sit there and had to move.. but why we cannot have just a small talk?
MORALITY POLICE LOOKING FOR INNAPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR
the police wanted from me once something, but I have no idea what... I was talking with some Iranian girls and when I asked them what they wanted, the girls just replied: "oh nothing..don't worry..". anyway myself and Asia don't worry indeed - I wear turban instead of a scarf (I'm too hot in neck) andAsia don't wear a a tunic. apparently as far as we don't break Iranian rules in an obvious way (i.e. we don't walk naked) they're quite tollerant with the foreigners... let's hope..
we stopped once on the highway as some people wanted to eat, and others wanted to pray. the place was very small- there was only one wc, one restaurant and one shop. we decided to buy something to drink in the shop and what we discovered? the shop was selling only... knives...it had like 500 different kinds of knives... I really don't know why in the middle of the highway there was such a shop (and none else!) and who would buy such an item while travelling... ;-)
we got to Esfahan quite quickly. it's another weird thing - lonely planet was saying that this journey takes about 17h, but we arrived there 5h earlier than we thought - which means at 5am. maybe because of the crazy driver, but I'm not sure if the not crazy do exist in this country!!! Ours was driving with one hand, with another he was eating and moreover he had a mini screen on which he was watching a movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and he was driving at least 140h/h!!!!!
But actually after what I've seen in Tabriz I wasn't very surprised! it's quite a challenge and almost impossible thing to cross a street! nobody cares about the traffic lights, and when you're already on the street, you have to run,cause the car will smash you, but it won't stop...It's also very normal if there are 4 people on motor or 9 people in the car... ;-) motors driving on the pavements as well as on the bazaar's streets is also normal.
but ok,we're still in the bus and of course we're its biggest attraction. people are as usually very nice, but sometimes it's becoming a bit annoying..
example: a woman gives me a piece of pizza
me: no, thank you.
woman:no, but please,take a pizza
me:no really thank you
woman: I really would like you to eat it
me:but I'm really not hungry
woman:but I really insist
so ok,I'm taking this pizza and I'm throwing it away later,because I dont wanna eat it...
we arrived to Esfahan very early in the morning and another surprise was waiting for us. and this surprise is an old guy - English teacher whom we met at some stop station and with whom we spoke about 2 minuts.. it turned out that he took another bus and he decided to wait for us 30 minuts (at 5am!)....ok, so he took us a taxi and he drop us to the hostel (famous Amir Kabir), then he insists we meet him the next day at Imam Square..we say ok, but the next day it turns out that he waits for us in front of the hostel...we say him we don't have time and from now on we decide to be more assertive with annoying people... well... yeah... we were assertive only 2 minuts as some young guy started to talk to us. he seemed to be nice, but after, he didn't want to leave us! his mouth didn't shut at all, he kept on talking, he was so boring and annoying. and he didn't want to leave us even when we stopped talk with him and told him we were waiting for our friends.. I really don't know how to deal with these people...
Esfahan turned out to be really nice city! we're not surprised that it is considered to be a "pearl of Persia" and "a half of the World". The central place was Imam Square with its Imam Mosque and Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque.
We visited also amazing Vank Cathedral and Jameh Mosque.
And when it was too hot we were going to the parks and hidden in palaces - Hasht Behesht Palace and Chehel Sotun Palace.
The evenings we were relaxing at the border of the river with a view tothe Bridge of 33 Arches
In Esfahan we discover also that Iran is smaller that we thought. In the hostel we meet our Trans Asia train buddy -Andre from Germany. The last day we also meet our French couple from the train :-)
Few times I've also seen a"morality police" and was also hiding! unfortunately for girls (and boys) it's not allowed in Iran to go buy car with a boy(s), otherwise they might have problems. It's not allowed either to walk on the streets together, without mentionning the fact of kissing or having sex... these are the rules we know do exist here in Iran, but for us - Western people it's really difficult to understand and accept. I'm facing them for first time already in the train, when I was sitting together with the boys in their compartment (with open doors) and controller told me I was not allowed to sit there and had to move.. but why we cannot have just a small talk?
MORALITY POLICE LOOKING FOR INNAPROPRIATE BEHAVIOURthe police wanted from me once something, but I have no idea what... I was talking with some Iranian girls and when I asked them what they wanted, the girls just replied: "oh nothing..don't worry..". anyway myself and Asia don't worry indeed - I wear turban instead of a scarf (I'm too hot in neck) andAsia don't wear a a tunic. apparently as far as we don't break Iranian rules in an obvious way (i.e. we don't walk naked) they're quite tollerant with the foreigners... let's hope..
Our first day in Esfahan is also a first day of Ramazan -which means that Muslims are fasting from the morning till the sunset and we're not supposed to eat and drink in public either. And at the beginning we were always hiding while drinking, but then we discovered that so many Iranians eat and drink on the streets, so we do the same. And apparently they can accept it,but they cannot but wonder when they see smoking women. Once, Asia was smoking on the balkony - and EVERY person from EVERY car was staring at her as at a polaar beer. our question with no answer is:"what is worse in Iran? smoking woman or a woman without a scarf??"
our another question is: "why girls start to fast during the Ramazan when they're 9 years old, and boys when they're 15?????"
my favourite place in Esfahan is Bazaar. the last day we meet Mohsen who showed us his carpet shop and other interesting places in Bazaar. I promised him that next year I'll buy a carpet from him -Inch'allah... :-)
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