The best of Iran

I m now ending my stay in Iran. The city from which i m writing now is Kerman, still 500km from the border with Pakistan but i can say the coming week will be the last before entering the english Indies.
So , since Kasan, i went to some of the most beautiful and historical places in Iran.

The first one was Esfahan, a myth in itself. It is maybe the most beautiful islamic city, people say, and one of the most pleasant in the world.
Esfahan is the place where you can see the best of persian architecture. The Imam square is, i think, as nice as is our belgian Grand Place. In evening, there s a really special atmosphere there. All families come there for pic-nic and enjoying the last sun rays of the days.

Apart from this wonderful place, Esfahan is also nice for its old bridges along the river (which are also worth to see in evening), the shaking minarets...and maybe just a talk in english or french with its student always interested to know your opinion about Iran.

In Esfahan, i also had the "luck" to see and hear the president AmadiNeijan who came in the city for a meeting with is people. The whole Imam Square was full. The perfect time to get an idea about the opinion of the iranians about their president...I think a lot of them don t like him , but the less educated of them still support him expecting their situation to change...

But, i did my own opinion about him quite easily when i saw on the wall flags where were written in capital letters "Down to USA", "Down to Israel" ! Why ??

The second place i went after 3 days in Esfahan was Yazd, the desert city. One of the oldest city in the world. You can imagine the mud-made houses, the narrow streets avoidind too much sun, and wind-catcher systems to keep the streets fresh. A quiter place than Esfahan, where i stayed in some really good-value hotel. It s also the place of Zoroastrianism, the old religion of Persia before of invasion of Islam.

Third place: Shiraz, the cultural capital of Iran. The city of all famous poets in Iran. One of them is Hafes. His tomb (see the picture on the right) is workshipped like Imam s ones. And also the closest place to explore Persepolis, one of the most ancient historical site in the world, dating from around 500 BC, the first Persian Empire. A nice place even it does not remain that much after Alexander the Great destroyed it after his coming.

Each time, traveling in between these places i had the oportunity to try Iranian hospitality. Hitch-hiking also, even if not common in here, was really easy. Much more than in Europe ! Here s the family of one truck driver who invited me to his place for dinner and spend the night as well.

Wonderfull Sceneries! Enjoy the desert !

New trucks design as well ! Check this out !