Yours truly, on the roof of the Sultan Amir Ahmed Bathhouse, Kashan, Isfahan Province, Iran
In another part of Asia, across the vast Indian Ocean from Bali, another New Year takes place in March, Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Nowruz coincides with the March Equinox (which is today), symbolizing spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and the day in which the sun crosses the equator and enters the Northern Hemisphere, which also means that it’s gonna get really hot, pretty soon around these parts of the world! Hmmmph!
Here’s a little write up on Persia (i.e. on our Iran trip at the end of 2016), which I prepared for the Company’s magazine a year ago. It should be 300 words or more. If published, I’d be richer by AED 200! (It’s not much, but any money is good money, right? …If earned honestly, that is). Unfortunately for me, they didn’t pick my article!?! (That may be because I wrote 2 articles on the Iran trip. I thought I’d cash in on 2 articles with 1 trip, since there’re so many things to see). That didn’t work, but my first article (on Dizin, Iran) was published! Hehe.
Here’s the article, and pictures of Kashan, a Persian town filled with bazaars, traditional villas of rich merchants and public baths, the sort of setting you’d imagine if you were a Prince of Persia! Here goes!
“What does that hole in the ceiling do, Papa?” Timche-e-Amin-od-Dowleh (Aminoddoleh Caravanserai), Kashan Bazaar
“To let the genies come in…” (Nah, just joking) – Close-up view of the ceiling of the Aminoddoleh Caravanserai
Adventures in Persia
The name Persia always evokes a sense of ancient empire in my mind, of magic lamps and badass thieves, with treasures hidden in magical caves, of exotic belly dancers and flying carpets,... Well, that’s what you get when you watch too many action fantasy films or play too many computer games… (Can’t blame me when I grow up playing games like the Prince of Persia, can you?)
Well, Persia is just across the sea from Dubai, or 2 hours by flight, and it’s easy to visit and cheap. It’s actually called the Islamic Republic of Iran now. Sure, there’re no flying carpets, or skimpily clad veiled girls doing belly dances, but there is still a treasure trove of places waiting to be seen. There are ancient remains of great empires, like Persepolis, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site. There are historical palaces, mansions, gardens and town squares like the Naqsh-e-Jahan Square in Isfahan. There are beautiful Iranian mosques with its turquoise coloured theme and hanging beehive-like formations (murqanas). There’re traditional covered bazaars with its Persian rugs and people that are nothing like the religious zealots that the West portrays Iranians to be. Of course, there’ll be that bad egg in the basket, but overall we found Iranians to be friendly, helpful and forthright.
There’re also ancient hill villages, exotic desert towns, desolate salt lakes, and mountains where you can ski in winter and where wild flowers blossom in spring. And best of all, there’re so little tourists, you can have the place all to yourself (the less popular places anyway, when we were there in winter).
So do I recommend a trip to Iran? Definitely, especially if you are a cultural buff. After all, Iran is not only the seat of everything Persian, it is also the de facto centre of Shia Islamic culture.
And what about the kids? Nope, there’s not much for the kids here unfortunately, unless your kids love running around, which in that case, there’re plenty for the kids, …Isfahan’s town square is one of the largest in the world, for example. And of course, there’s the snowy mountains near Tehran for skiing, and for a good ol’ snowball fight!
Hammam-e-Sultan Amir Ahmad (Sultan Amir Ahmed Bathhouse), Kashan, Iran
Close-up view of the ceiling, Hammam-e-Sultan Amir Ahmad – holes in the ceiling seems to be a trend, huh?
And here’re some traditional Persian merchant houses: -
Our hotel during our stay in Kashan – Manouchehri House, the left-most 3 windows on the ground floor was our room
Dining room of the Manouchehri Traditional House Hotel
Iranian mommy (Anu) serving naughty kids breakfast at the Manouchehri Hotel dining room
Entrance of the Tabatabaei Historical House, one of the many historical houses in Kashan, of which the most well-known are the Tabatabaei, Borujerdi and Abbasian Historical Houses
Compound of the Borujerdi Historical House
Lunch at the Abbasi Teahouse and Restaurant, which is actually a part of the Abbasian Historical House – Having lunch here was one of the highlights of our Iranian trip I’d say!
“C’mon, let’s dig in. The food’s here!” Abbasi Teahouse & Restaurant, Kashan, Iran – That blue jug contains doogh, a yogurt-based drink like lassi, which is drunk like water in Iran!
The backstreets of Kashan, between our hotel Manouchehri Housse, and the Bazaar of Kashan – Kashan is a cosy little town where most of the attractions are within walking distance of one another
The Agha Bozorg Mosque at dusk, Kashan, Isfahan Province, Iran
