West Asia

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Bulgaria to Turkey by bus

It is amazing how we made the morning disappear with doing very little before our long bus ride to Istanbul at 1200.  We walked to Serdika Bus Station (next to the Train and Central Bus stations) where the bus was already there.  Surprisingly, Metro Turizm, a Turkish company has Bulgarian-registered buses with Bulgarian  livery.  Onboard […]

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Killing a day

I chatted to Sebastian from France at breakfast.  We had a similar flight time out of Imam Khomeini International; mine at 0435 tomorrow morning and his at 0600.  He had similar plans for killing time and we decided to stick to do things together and head to the airport by metro around 1730. We headed […]

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Exploring Tehran

I was feeling lazy and jaded and didn’t want to go anywhere.  It was my third visit to the Iranian capital and the only thing I wanted to see (for the third time) were the National Jewelry Treasury but unfortunately it was closed today. Reluctantly, I headed out at 1000 to explore the neighbourhood sights which […]

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Day stuck at the airport

I had a lazy morning and had a 1030 pickup for the airport.  I said goodbye to Mikel and Puri who left about the same time.     I had a flight booked on Iran Air from Yazd to Tehran.  I always look forward Iran Air’s welcome announcement “In the name of God, the compassionate, […]

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Exploring out of town

We had arranged for a tour to Chak Chak and a few other places today.  We have Mikel and Puri, plus Sophie, the Australian girl that I keep running into through my trip.   The pick-up was supposed to be 0830 (but with a hint of 0900 in the discussion) and Said (same driver as yesterday […]

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Around the old mudbrick town

I had a late start today.  It was 0940 by the time I left the hotel; more than an hour after my usual start time.  I tried to stay in the shadow of the buildings as I wandered around the old town. I made two stops during my walkies, namely Lari House (and old mansion) […]

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To the Heart of Zoroastrianism

The Imam Mosque on Naqsh-e Jahan Square had been closed during the last two days, meaning that this morning was my only chance of seeing it after 15 years.  I left the hotel by foot at 0830 for the 0900 opening and I seem to be getting faster each time by knowing the route and […]

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More of Esfahan

I can feel myself piling on weight from all the good food and the yummy-but-not-so-good food.  I vowed to eat less today and took an egg and some bread from breakfast.  The idea was to get a side salad to go with it and call it lunch. I set off at 0830 by foot across […]

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Exploring Esfahan

Today I get to visit Naqsh-e Jahan Square’s main sights by daylight.  After breakfast, I walked along the shaded tree-lined paths to get to the square.  Even around 0830, it was already preferable to be in the shade and I was lucky that all my routes here are adequately shaded. Getting to the square, I […]

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Abyaneh en route to Esfahan

Our driver with a really bad hairpiece showed up on time at 0900.  We had arranged for a transfer to Esfahan via Abyaneh and Natanz for EUR30 per car.  With Mikel and Puri, it was a convenient sum of EUR10 per person. The ride took just over an hour and we were in Abyaneh by […]

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