The most mesmerising country I have ever seen

I was almost fooled by my own ignorance on the Middle East
The first time someone suggested me to go to Iran I was like "no"

Then, during a 3 year period a friend of mine kept sending me photos of Iran, and one of the first things to puzzle me, was that there was snow

I do feel really stupid and ignorant now, thinking back on how I imagined Iran - I truly believed it was a desert with nothing there

Tehran
It reminded me a little bit of several Asian cities, like Bangkok and Saigon - The only main difference was probably the material the buildings were made of. Instead of the really coloured buildings and blinking neon lights everywhere - The houses had a yellow, brown, beige-ish reflection - The most distinct building are for sure the mosques, which are in bright colours (mostly shades of blue)
While it is hard for people to imagine a Metropol without bars and clubs, Tehran manages just fine on the social aspect. The restaurants are packed, the shopping malls are like anywhere else in the world, and the tea-drinking culture is blossoming - People spend a lot of time with each other, finding other things to bind over other than alcohol, which I personally found refreshing. I like out of the box experiences



I didn't stay enough time in Tehran, but I did get to visit the Golestan Palace. - It was mesmerising! Beside from being an interesting museum with several artefacts from the past, and presents for the Shahs, the architecture was something from a fairytale. many of the locations inside the palace, had mirrors covering the wall, making the rooms infinite. The coloured windows, would make the sun rays bounce of all the mirrors in a way you can only dream of. I have never seen such a building in my life - I had been looking at pictures of several locations in Iran, but there are no pictures to do the beauty justice!






Mashhad
Soon after my arrival, I traveled to Mashhad. The Imam Reza Shrine is one of the most holy places in Shia Islam, and it was a huge honour to visit it. The people I traveled with contacted the guards at the shrine, and without waiting too long, they supplied us with a personal guide.
I'm not really sure how to describe the building, sine i cannot find words to do so. The golden domes of the shrine sparkles all the time, reflecting and catching even the smallest hint of the sun. Again, like the Golestan Palace, several of the rooms had walls decorated with broken mirrors.
The shrine is huge, so you will need a couple of hours, just to see the main parts - Also, in some seasons, the place is very crowded. I went there in the morning, and the streets were still flooded with worshippers


Shiraz
I arrived in Shiraz in the morning, without having had much sleep. So my judgement was maybe a little blurred. One funny note about Shiraz though, was that on forehand, I had been warned about people from here. Not anything really bad, but just that they were very lazy. Iran is a huge country, so the mentality of the people is very different from city to city. Anyway - as I arrived, really tired I needed a coffee - As strong and hot and powerful as possible.
At first my friend went to order the coffee in a small take-away booth on the street. Just meeting an Iranian, the sales guy found several excuses for not making the coffee. Since i was tired of sitting down, I went out of the Taxi, to go and wait for my coffee. As soon as the sales guy saw a foreigner, he could make a coffee. Not only that, but it took him 40 minutes to finish 3 cups of tea and 1 coffee
I couldn't help but laugh a little inside, since I had been told about this behaviour

After a short stop we went to the Nasir al-Mulk Mosque (also nicknames the Pink mosque or the Colourful mosque)
It was very beautiful. We tried to catch the morning sun, to see the real beauty of the place, but there was a group of Chinese who didn't seem to care that there were others at the sight
Again i was stunned by the colourful play and the architecture of the mosque, but the Chinese tourists really dragged the experience down
They had NO respect regarding Islam or what-so-ever. They threw the Quran on the floor, removed the carpeting and upon realising the floor under the carpet was not to clean, they grabbed a chardor (garment used for praying by women) and cleaned the floor! I was really shocked - And beside from that they were so noisy and not behaving properly in a Holy sight! It was so disrespectful that even the other tour guides starting arguing with theirs

Anyway - The day after we went to Persepolis - It was a historical experience, but as so many other places in Italy and other ruins around the world. I liked the Zoroastrian sights, which were interesting with the fire worshipping history.


Esfahan (Isfahan)
We arrived in the late afternoon/evening in Esfahan. We checked into one of the oldest hotels in the world, Abbas Hotel. Again the building stunned with the beautiful architecture and amazing decorations and a fantastic garden.
In the evening we went to see the 33-arch bridge, and the main square in Esfahan, including the bazaar.
I have to say, Iranians have a fantastic sense of details. We went into a small shop, where a lady was sitting and decorating plates. The amount of time the Persian people put into to details are unbelievable. You can be looking at their handicrafts with a loop, and find more and more details within the details - But then again - This is what Esfahan is know for.





For the last couple of days of my visit in Iran, I stayed in Tehran. I had dinner and lunch Iranian style, and got to taste a lot of different delicious foods

I do really regret not coming to Iran sooner, and for not staying there longer.
I will for sure go back there as soon as possible to experience more of this magnificent country



Simona