Post #174 29 May 2018

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our drive from Kerman to Shiraz on 17 April, and our time in Shiraz 18 - 20 April 2018.

Shiraz was the final destination of our tour of Iran.

Outside Kerman we stopped at the Shazadeh Mahan Garden (aka Prince Mahan Garden).  Then on to Shiraz. It was a long day: we left Kerman at 8.30am and arrived at the hotel in Shiraz at 8.30pm. The weather was unusual - cool, with low cloud, limited visibility, drizzle, rain and even some hail.  It was the only "bad" day we had in our two and a half weeks in Iran, and as we spent most of the day on the bus it didn't really matter.

Shazadeh Garden

Zahra explaining features of the Garden.  It was built in 1850 and extended in 1870; it covers 5.5 hectares; a fine example of Persian gardens of the Qajar Dynasty; now has UNESCO listing.  You can just see the Main Pavilion, the small white building in the distance at the top end of the garden.

The main axis of the Garden with its large water feature.  Lots of swiftly-flowing water here; the trees and vegetation was much denser here than we have seen in other places.

The impressive Pavilion at the Shazadeh Garden. 

We were particularly struck by the many beautiful large trees in this Garden - all the trees we have seen to date were relatively small but here they were BIG - good hugging trees!

Back on the bus after inspecting the Garden.  It was cool and drizzly today - we were all wearing jackets and coats.

Shiraz City

As we entered Fars Province the highway passed through high, rugged  mountains (dramatic scenery, with patches of green in the valleys).  As we approached Shiraz we saw, for the first time, evidence of intensive and extensive agriculture, also sheep and goats, fig trees, pistachio nuts.  The houses now had steeped roofs which suggested periods of fairly heavy rainfall.

The pleasant street in Shiraz where our hotel, the Karim Khan Hotel, was located. We had a small, windowless room; fortunately the next day we were able to move to an equally small room, but with a window - much better.

The hotel foyer featured a bust of Karim Khan, Shiraz's favorite son (together with the poet Hafez).

One of the new electric buses in Shiraz.  There is also a short metro, which is being extended.

Our hotel was not far from the old Vakil Market / Bazaar, a major attraction.

One of the impressive wide vaulted passageways in the Vakil Market.

The Market comprised stalls selling all kinds of merchandise, including colorful dresses as in this photo - so now we know what women wear under their long (head-to-ankle) black cloaks!

Patrick pleased with his purchase of exquisite copper-ware from the metal artist.

Karim Khan was the founder of the short-lived Zand Dynasty with Shiraz as its capital.  In about 1767 Karim Khan built this Citadel (Castle or Fort) as his residence and where he held court. The four corners feature 14 meter high circular towers one of which - this one in the photo - has a definite lean.  

The main entrance to Karim Khan Citadel.

One of the rooms in the Citadel depicted a scene of Karim Khan receiving a foreign emissary.

Inside a renovated old public bath-house near the Vakil Market which has been made into a museum. Bath houses were important communal centers - as well as providing bathing facilities they also housed dentists, barbers, masseurs, etc.

The Aramgah-e Shah-e Cheragh, one of the holiest sites of Shia Islam; this is where Sayyed Mir Ahmad, a brother of Imam Reza, was killed in 835 AD. 

Female visitors have to wear special full-length cloaks (chador) to enter the Shrine. 

The main Hall of the Shrine - the walls and ceiling are inlaid with mirror tiles. After looking around the Shrine, we sat with a Mullah who answered questions about Islam (he preferred speaking French, so Amelia acted as interpreter).

Iranians love poetry and Hafez is their most popular poet (it is said that every home in Iran has a copy of his poems); he lived 1315 - 1390, in Shiraz. In 1771 philologist William Jones (he was fluent in 16 languages, including Farsi) was the first to translate his poems into English. But he was not only admired by Iranians: Goethe said of  Hafez "He has no peer" and Emerson called him "a poet's poet". 

We took a group photo at Hafez Tomb. Patrick produced a book of Hafez poems and asked each of us to read a verse out loud - a special moment - our way of paying tribute to a great man and his country.

Hafez's Tomb attracts many visitors every day, including many children / school groups; he is a real folk-hero; many know his poems by heart.

We had dinner in the huge ultra-modern Haft Khan complex, featuring eateries on five levels.

We ate in the traditional-modern restaurant in the basement, stunningly decorated in white. Being in such a modern, relaxed atmosphere one of our ladies let her hijab fall to her shoulders, but the manager admonished her "We have many local Iranian guests here" he said, "and some may be offended if you don't cover your hair". 

The patrons were entertained by a group of singers and dancers performing Iranian folk music and dances. The place was lively. Three of us got up to dance to the music, but after a while we were asked to resume our seats - was it our poor dancing or did we offend local mores? Probably both.   

We visited gorgeous Nasir al Molk Mosque, better known as The Pink Mosque.

Some of the pink tiles which gave the Mosque its colloquial name.

Beautiful stained glass windows in the Pink Mosque.

Sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows made interesting patterns.

Persepolis

The ancient capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persepolis is 53 km north-east of Shiraz. Construction began with Darius 1st who took the throne in 520BC, and was extended by subsequent kings. It was the heart of a vast empire, designed to awe visitors by its scale and beauty. 

In 330BC Alexander the Great conquered Iran and Persepolis was destroyed. Some historians think a fire started accidentally, but most believe that Alexander wanted to assert his ascendancy (and incidentally, avenge the sacking of Athens by the Iranians two centuries before).

Personally, I was a little disappointed that there was so little of the original site left.  But fortunately there was enough to excite and stimulate the imagination of what had been there.

The main entrance was Xerxes Gateway, also called the Gate of All Nations.

Ruins.

A view to the hill behind.

The northern wall of the former Apadana Palace features a series of marvellous reliefs depicting delegations from 23 subject nations bearing gifts for the King of the Achaemenid Empire, an annual event during Nowruz, Iranian New Year, which usually occurs on or about 21 March and marks the beginning of Spring.
For me, these stunning reliefs were the highlight of the ruins of Persepolis.

A birds-eye view of Persepolis from the Tomb of Artaxerxes half-way up the hill.  Zahra told us that in 1980 a group of Islamic radicals came to destroy what was left of Persepolis, but the local population rose in opposition and stopped them. Some of the trees in the middle-distance were planted for the celebrations hosted by Shah Mohammad Reza on 12 - 16 October 1971 to commemorate 2,500 anniversary of the founding of the first Persian (Achaemenid) Empire by Cyrus the Great.  It was a hugely extravagant affair, costing many millions of dollars, and some commentators say it marked the beginning of the anti-monarchist discontent which culminated in the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Necropolis

Six kilometers from Persepolis is Necropolis, a royal burial ground.  The four tombs dug into this huge rock are believed to be Darius 1 & 2, Xerxes 1, and Artaxerxes 1.

Walking up to the burial point from the car park.

One of the tombs.

Zahra explaining the meaning of the relief cut into the cliff below each Tomb.

Last supper

On our last night in Shiraz the owner of the travel company, Sanaz, invited everyone back to her apartment for dinner.  Her mother Simin and father Ali were there to lend a helping hand.

Sanaz and her mother Simin with the wonderful feast, including local specialties; certainly the best meal we had in Iran.  Apparently Iranians are discouraged from inviting foreigners to their homes - if asked, we were to say we are all family friends!

Sanaz and Simin explaining the preparation of Iranian food.

Patrick thanked Sanaz for her hospitality and Zahra for looking after the group so well during our tour of Iran.  

The members of the group during Patrick's speech, from left: Phil Huntley, Jenny Osbourne, Jim Short, Millie Young, Eve Mahlab, Frank Mahlab, David Lamb, Ali (Sanaz's father) and Richard Broinowski; this was the last time we were all together.  Tomorrow we will fly to Tehran in preparation for flights out of Iran.
Ruth graciously thanked Patrick (and Amelia) for all their efforts on our behalf.

After his speech Patrick handed out "prizes" to members of the group who had distinguished themselves during the tour. Vera was one of the recipients for providing so many snacks during bus trips.  

Another sad moment when we said goodbye to our wonderful guide Zahra, and our wonderful driver Hamid and his wonderful assistant Wahid.  They really worked hard to ensure that we got the most out of our tour of this fascinating country. Good, honest, kind people. 
Thank you for making our stay in your country so enjoyable!

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From Shiraz we flew to Tehran, had another day there (covered in the first post on Tehran), then to Dubai where we all went our separate ways.

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And so ended a most memorable visit to Iran, a fascinating country and culture.

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Reflections

(But we just scratched the surface in two-and-a-half weeks in the country)

Nice people, friendly, seemed open and glad to see foreigners.  We saw little evidence of police or military, but maybe they are just under the surface?

Good personal security.  We felt safe walking around, even at night - not that we were about very late (could it be the lack of alcohol - in our society alcohol often results in aggressive behavior?). But like in any big city one has to be on-guard in Tehran: a young man on a motor bike tried to snatch Ruth's handbag - a shock when it happened - luckily she held it securely and he left empty-handed.

No signs of abject poverty; we only saw two beggars.  People seemed to have enough food to eat and clothes to wear.  There seemed to be plenty of fruit and vegetables in the markets, and inexpensive (we heard that the government controls the price of foodstuffs, but couldn't confirm).  

Zahra gave me some indicative prices (I have converted to approx US$, using exchange rate of US$1=Rials42,000) Apples & Oranges about $0.75 per kilo; Tomatoes, Cucumber, Potatoes, Egg Plant, Lettuce all about $0.50 per kilo; Lamb & Beef about $10 per kilo, Chicken $5 per kilo; Eggs about $0.20 each; Milk about $0.80 a liter.

Water is a major issue.  We only saw two big rivers, in Isfahan and Shiraz,and both of those were dry!

Tehran dominates in all aspects of life in Iran: Political, Social, Economic; it is by far the biggest city.

Lots of cars in all the cities we visited; most small and many old. Relatively few motor bikes and bicycles. Pedestrians have no rights.

Economy flat; little foreign (or local) investment; little construction; exchange rate fluctuating wildly.

Food is relatively bland: chicken and lamb kebab with tomatoes and cucumbers and yogurt served at every meal.

What of the future?

Things don't look too bright at the moment.  President Trump's decision on 12 May 2018 to pull out of the Nuclear Agreement and reimpose sanctions will hurt.  The other signatories, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China, have pledged support as long as Iran continues to meet the conditions of the Nuclear Agreement (which it has done to date), but we'll have to see how things work out. 

In response to wild fluctuations the Government announced an official exchange rate of US$1 = Rial 42,000, but a black market started immediately (up to 70,000) which does not augur well.

Politically, seems to be a stalemate.  One gets the impression that some (many?) people would like to see a change of system but the Islamists have a firm grip on power. The demonstrations which flared up suddenly in December and January were quickly and ruthlessly suppressed (an estimated 22 people were killed) but difficult to know how deep or widespread the dissatisfaction is. 

It is 40 years since the Islamic Revolution and 30 years since the end of the Iran-Iraq War, does a whole new generation want change? They seem to be challenging the boundaries of acceptable Islamic behavior, but evolution seems more likely than revolution.

So, is the demonisation of Iran by the US and Israel media justified, the question I posed in my first post on Iran?  Based on our very limited 2-week experience we would say it is NOT justified.  Is the Iranian Government fostering terrorism abroad?  Perhaps - we had no opportunity of assessing that accusation.

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From Iran we went to Penang (Malaysia) and then Singapore.  Those visits will be the subjects of my next two posts.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex Olah & Vera Olah

Canberra, Australia

Tuesday 29 May 2018