Day 7 - Tehran

Today is Sunday, April 27th.   We woke up rested and ready for a new sightseeing day.  Our hotel served a very nice breakfast buffet which we enjoyed in the company of a few of our fellow travelers.  I had not talked about our companions so far because we had just met.  I now can say that this group is the best.  We all get along very well, everyone is happy and most are on their first guided tour even though they are all so well traveled.  I already recognize the witty and funny ones.  I can tell that we will have a ball on this trip. 

We left the hotel around 9a.m.to go to the Sa'adabad Palaces and Museums.   It was originally inhabited in the 19th century by Qajar monarchs.  The former Shah enlarged the complex as a summer home for his family.  The land is immense with many buildings that, at the time, would have lodged all the relatives coming to visit during the summer months. One can only imagine the quality of life enjoyed by all. 

Our guide Ata is the nicest and most knowledgeable young man ever.  He, like a true Iranian, is kind and warm and tries to indulge us by meeting our every wish.  On our way out of the palace, he took us to a little shop and bought us all a typical local noodle dish.  These noodles are fine, sort of like coarsely grated coconut, frozen and bathing in a rose water syrup.  One can add lemon juice to it.  We ate it with a spoon like a sundae.  It was different and quite refreshing.

Now, we are off to the Carpet Museum.  The architecture of this building resembles a carpet loom.  The galleries introduce us to the famous art of Iran, identifying the patterns of the areas where they are woven.  Once again, Ata is there imparting his knowledge and making us see and understand stories depicted in these carpets, something none of us would have understood just by looking at them.  The people of Iran are so accomplished.  Even their carpets depict their incredible culture.

After all this, we went for a late lunch to the Ferdosi Hotel, a large dining room full of people having a good time.  There was a live band there and there was a table full of women who, I think, were having some kind of school reunion.  Their hands were dancing to the beat of the music.  As we passed by their table, with big happy smiles on our faces, they invited us to participate in their good time.   The food was more than plentiful and we all ate to our hearts delight.  There was an array of different rices and bread, many kinds of kabobs, eggplant dishes, all kinds of bean dishes, and so much more.  They also had a very good flan and an assortment of fruits.  This late lunch will do us till we reach Shiraz since we are flying out of Tehran this evening.

We are not yet done, the day is just started. After lunch, we were taken to the National Jewels Museum.  This place is more than anyone can take in.  The museum is really a gigantic safe filled to capacity with more precious stones than I thought possible.  Umbrellas with their handle completely encrusted with diamonds, sword with their scabbard completely covered with diamonds and other precious stones like emeralds and rubies.  There was even a chastity belt full of diamonds and an immense globe covered with dazzling precious stones of all kinds.  I could go on and on, it was mind boggling to see so much priceless stones housed under one roof.  Just too much to absorb.

Later that evening, bushed, exhausted but still laughing and having a good time, we went to the airport on our way to Shiraz.

Day 6. TEHRAN

Our first full day in Iran was really very busy.  Immediately after our breakfast, we set out to visit the Golestan Palace.  It was built during the time of the Safavid  Dynasty, in the 15th Century and it became the official residence of the royal family.  During the time of the Pahlavi Dynasty, which was the last of the royal families, it was used for royal receptions.  The interior comprises a number of large and very ornate party rooms.  The walls are covered with minuscule triangle cut in mirrors, all arranged to form different patterns. The largest of these rooms was absolutely beautiful.  It was about 10,000 sq.ft.,
The whole decor was white and blue and the mirror art adorning the upper walls and ceiling was exquisite. 

Our next trek was among the crowds of people milling around near the Grand Bazaar.  We needed to find a money changer and were looking forward to visiting the packed with people and merchant market but we were not granted permission.  We all followed our guide and tour operator to get to the Glass and Ceramic Museum, located in a most beautiful building that once housed the Egyptian Embassy's.  The carved wooden symmetrical staircase was truly spectacular.  The glass object were also beautiful but for me, the staircase stole the show.

After a brief coffee break, we made our way to the Archeological Museum. There were many interesting objects on display some dating back to the 6th  century BC. Of particular note was a replica of the Cyrus Cylinder. By this time we were museumed out, and sat around and waited to return to the hotel for a much needed break, and then dinner.

We drove to the restaurant for dinner which we had been told was going to be the most tender lamb chop in Tehran. The tables had been arranged to accommodate our entire group, and the lamb chops arrived on long skewers to be divided by the server. We were also served a green salad and various beverages including nonalcoholic beer. All in all it was just OK.

Day 5 LEAVING ISTANBUL FOR IRAN

Today, we made it to the Istanbul Airport in record time and, rather than just roam around aimlessly, we went straight to our gate after checking in.  We were sitting there for about one hour but no one showed up at that gate.  It turned out that the gate number had changed.  We were now expected to board within the next 15 minutes at a gate at the other end of this gigantic airport.  We arrived just as our tour organizer was about to have us paged.  Our flight was uneventful but we were already forced to get used to no alcoholic beverages.  Oh what a hardship for me!  Once in Tehran, most Americans had to be fingerprinted but not the Canadians, most probably because Canada does not do it to Iranians so they don't do it to us.

Our hotel is very nice and we went out yesterday afternoon and evening and all I can say for now is that the Iranian people are happy to see us, asking us if we like their country and welcoming us. After a well deserved rest in our hotel we got back in the van and drove to the Northern part of Tehran, and then climbed for a half hour to a very interesting part of the city, full of small restaurants, candy shops and other forms of entertainment. We sat, rather uncomfortably on a raised platform covered with carpet, and were served a delicious dinner of various types of kabobs humus, eggplant and other things that we couldn't reach from our cross legged position. When we had finished our meal, it was a major maneuver to get uncrossed and erect again! When it was time to return, it was already quite dark, and one had to be quite careful to the many breaks in the pavement to avoid falling into the holes. This was our first day in Tehran. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

 

 

Day 4 Last day in Istanbul

The weather cannot be nice everyday so today is a rainy one.  The grass is very green here and the fruit trees are in bloom, there are flowers everywhere and all this beauty needs water.  Today is the day it gets it. 

We have just spent our last day with Jorg and Maria.  We met them near their place where we got in a taxi and went to an area recommended by a friend of Jorg.  I must confess that I have forgotten it's name.  It is right by the water of the Golden Horn.  There again, there are rows of merchants of all kinds but it is famous for it's potato specialty called Kumpir.  They bake a gigantic potato, open it out in the center and then with a knife, they start mashing the potato keeping it attached at the bottom.  They had salt and cheese to the mash and, always with the knife, they mix thoroughly until the cheese is melted.  Now  comes the time to add what you prefer.  There is a row of things to choose from such as diced peppers, diced tomatoes, shredded carrots and many more ingredients.  Unfortunately, we went and had breakfast by the water so we were too full to have one just then.  It starting to rain heavily and we made our way back to Jorg and Maria's place not realizing that we had now missed our opportunity to have the famous Kumpir.  Hopefully, they will go today since they only leave Istanbul tomorrow.  As for us, we can only read about how delicious it was when Maria writes about it.

Later the same day we decided to try to get into the Basilica Cistern one more time. As usual there was a long line at the ticket wicket, but since it was our last chance, we stood in line and waited. To our surprise the line moved quite fast and in about 15 min. We were at the wicket and down the stairs into the cistern. As the guy in the hotel had told us, most very old houses in Istanbul have a cistern below the house which collects and stores water. The one at the hotel was below the lobby area and had an adobe-like domed roof which was visible through the glass floor. In contrast, the one below the basilica was huge, a few hundred meters in each direction. There was also a story about a couple of Medusa-like characters that lived in the water of the cistern, and interestingly during the excavation of a section a couple of huge stone heads were found.

Later in the evening Jorg consulted his ever helpful smartphone, and found a highly rated restaurant for our last dinner together. The meal at the Amedros was excellent, and a fitting end to our stay in Istanbul. We said our goodbyes and took the tram to our respective hotels.

Day 3 istanbul

We woke up to another beautiful day.  After breakfast, Maria and Jorg met us at our hotel.  Maria was feeling better after a good night's sleep.  It was really nice to see her again. Our morning was a repeat of the previous day, waking through the busy little alleys of hundreds of merchants, making our way to the Sultanahmet area.  Our destination was the Spice Market, from where we planned to navigate to one of the local eateries for breakfast. Somehow we got waylaid in the winding streets and found ourselves in the Grand Bazaar! It was similar to the Spice Market  but on a much larger scale and seemed to have every thing under the sun. The gold section was immense with all kinds of baubles, bangles and beads made from 22 to 24 carat gold. The carpet section was also huge, staffed with persuasive salesmen armed with the most original lines intended to get you into their shops. Finally, as it was getting late and they still hadn't had breakfast so Maria and Jorg settled for a bagel from one of the street vendors washed down with fabulous fresh and sweet O.J.

We were hoping to get into the basilica cistern as we had missed it the last time we were in Istanbul but, when we got there, there was a long line in the hot sun waiting to get in, so we decided to give it a pass and try again another day. As an alternate, we chose the Blue Mosque but as luck would have it, we got there at prayer time, and unless we were prepared to go in and pray, we would have to wait. So we went to the Hagia Sofia.  At the entrance, we met a smooth talking guide who was just overflowing with knowledge about the Hagia Sofia. We managed to get a discount from his somewhat exorbitant price and hired him to show us around the church which was undergoing major renovations and had a large scaffolding occupying half of the main room. His talk covered the Greeks, the Romans, the Mongols and the Hittites and a bunch of other less known people finally leading up to the Roman Emperor Justinian who built the church in the 5th century. It was a lot to take in!

Later in the day we met up with Norma, our Iran tour leader, for a pleasant dinner at the Pudding Shop after which we headed for our respective accommodations.  We were all exhausted after such a busy day.  Being here with our good friends is great.

Day 2 Istanbul

Today was beautiful and sunny and after a copious Mediterranean breakfast, we took to the road.  We made our way to the spice market where one can see hundreds of merchants selling their wares not only spices.  You can find sweet shops, fish, meats of all kinds, cheese, Turkish pottery, soaps and many more merchants, all wanting you to buy from their store.  The crowds of people are just incredible.  One can barely walk.  It is Monday, does no one work in Istanbul?  It got quite hot, even Bernie was feeling it.   Once out of the market, we meandered through the narrow streets of the city, looking for a place to buy a SIMM card and, when we found one, the young lady serving us could not understand us anymore than we could understand her.  Luckily, a young man walked in who spoke English,  and we were able to complete the transaction. We now have an Istanbul mobile number with which we can contact our friends from Belgium who have European mobiles that can seemingly work anywhere!   A holiday is never complete without enjoying the local food so we has lunch at an outdoor restaurant.  We shared a Mezza combination plate complete with fresh orange juice for me and a nice cold Efes for Bernie.  Feeling more than satisfied, we made our way to our hotel for a well deserved late afternoon nap. 

On our way

We are seven and a half hours into an approximately ten hour flight from Toronto to Istanbul. The flight from Ottawa to Toronto was quite pleasant as neither the airport nor the plane was very full. Unfortunately it raised our hopes, that perhaps the flight to Istanbul would be similarly sparse. It was not to be. We are packed in like sardines, every seat taken in a Boeing 777. This is the same type of aircraft as the infamous MH370, and as I look around at the number of people on the flight, it difficult to believe that that many have disappeared without a trace. We had dinner about one hour into the flight. It was OK, with free alcoholic beverages for those that wanted them. It is difficult to eat too much, as there is limited room for expansion if you do so. The two of us have been up several times as have others, to pace the cabin and get the blood circulating. Thankfully we do not have too long to go. Presently we are over Innsbruck Austria at an altitude of 11,277m with exactly 2 hours to go. Our next post will be from the ground in Istanbul. See you then.

We landed safely in Istanbul after a long tiring flight only to be faced with hoards of people crowded together, in no semblance of order, all needing to clear passport control.  We finally made it after being pushed  and shoved for 3 hours.  Our taxi driver must have been a frustrated Formula 1 driver and got us to our hotel, across the Galata bridge,on the other side of the Golden Horn, in no time at all.  Our hotel is nice enough. It is clean and modern.   We walked around before going to bed and, after being harassed once too many times, we succumbed and had dinner underneath the bridge where one can find numerous fish restaurants, probably catering to tourists judging by their prices.  That said, the Seabream we chose was very fresh.

We are now going to bed.   It is eleven and we are exhausted.