Final night in Iran

Above:  Abbasi Hotel courtyard.  Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Shaking Minarets

Kim didn’t sleep well due to the traffic noise. We changed room after breakfast to a quieter one. Kim also had a cold, so wasn’t particularly happy.

We took a taxi to Chehel Sotoun, a pavilion with forty columns set within a park, but it was closed.

We continued to the Shaking Minarets (officially Manar Jonban) out of town. There were two small minarets on the roof of a small building. A man climbs up the inside of the minaret and wiggles himself violently to shake the minaret. The minaret shakes surprisingly more than I had expected and the opposite minaret does likewise!

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Back at Esfahan’s main square we shopped for some souvenirs. We noticed that bank kiosks in the bazaar, with stacks of money, are unlocked. It must be quite safe in Iran. We had earlier seen children, maybe around 6 years of age, hailing taxis for themselves.

Stopping at Oasis Carpet Shop, we were offered green tea and candy. We chatted with them and learnt that a GSM SIM card costs about USD1000! But calls are very cheap. An incidentally it is Prophet Muhammad’s birthday tomorrow.

We ate lunch at Amir Kabir’s Restaurant. It was very slow again. We ate a green herb omelette plus a hot dog. Together with a cola and watermelon shake, the total bill was NZD4. I love Iran!

Vank Cathedral

After Kim had a little nap, we took a taxi to the Vank Cathedral. It looks like a mosque and had mosque-like patterns up to about human height. Above that there were many Russian-style paintings up to the dome level, but also had many more mosque-like patterns.

[Edit: While I didn’t take any interior photos during the visit, I was fortunate enough to re-visit vank Cathedral fifteen years later and take some interior photos which you can see here.]

There were many chador-ed visitors at the Vank Cathedral. It is good that Muslims feel comfortable visiting a Christian place of worship. Iran feels quite open in this sense. Many Armenians settled in Iran escaping Turkish persecution. In fact the museum at the cathedral has many displays of the Turkish attempt to exterminate Armenians in 1915-18.

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Chehel Sotoun

We returned to Chehel Sotoun, meaning Forty Columns, named because of the pavilion with that many columns set inside a garden. This time, it had just closed. But they let us in for free for quick visit. The pavilion appeared a bit dilapidated but the murals and decorations on the inside were stunning. In the gardens, the pool was a little bubbly.

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Abbasi Hotel

We walked past the Gold Bazaar to return to the Abbasi Hotel for tea. This time we enjoyed the atmosphere in daylight. The waiter carrying about six cups of tea impressed us and we tried to capture him on camera with limited success.

As planned, we went upstairs to the Chehel Sotoun Restaurant located within the hotel. It was a beautiful restaurant. The lamb kebab (pieces) were delicious and so was the chicken schnitzel. The sides were so-so. The crème caramel was very smooth and not over-sweet and we also had a dry cake. All-in-all, the two meals came to NZD25, or NZD12.50 per head. Not bad for such an exquisite hotel.

We had more tea in the courtyard. I loved the place so much because of the architecture, garden setting, velvet sky and Persian music. I vowed to return to Esfahan. [Edit: I did fifteen years later.] I felt kinda sad that this was the end of our Iran adventure. But it was such a nice way to end.

We chatted with a couple of Iranian guys, one living locally and another in Dusseldorf. The first guy loves America and President Bush!

A short taxi ride took us back to our hotel for our last night in Iran.

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Water and Wealth

We noticed in Iran, including, Esfahan, there are lots of fountains and trees. Water is a sign of wealth, I’ve been told. It makes sense in a desert environment, I guess. There are pipes and valves which can be opened to flood roadside areas to irrigate the plants periodically.