Harvesting mint on Damavand. // Photo Jon Snyder. Sunday was the day before we flew back home. We spent the day driving to Damavand Mountain, the 18,000 foot peak a couple hours northeast of Tehran. The day was very cloudy, so we weren’t able to catch a good view of the peak, but we still …
Bijan and the Tehran cyclists at the tree planting. If you’ve ever seen Tehran traffic you know they put the hard in core. Photo Jon Snyder. On Saturday we had two Peace Tree planting ceremonies. The first was at a kindergarten in North Tehran. I would tell more about what happened there but I was …
Breakfast before hiking. Friday. A great day with Nasim and Jafar in the mountains north of Tehran. We saw some amazing rock climbers, including some young women bouldering. You try doing that in a scarf! We also saw a Iranian pro climber attack a route like I’ve never seen in person before. Wish we could …
The ride back from the airport at 3AM. Thursday We arrive at our hotel a 3AM. I go to sleep with the help of Tylenol PM. I think that’s why it’s so hard for Shahrokh to wake me up in the middle of the night. Why is he getting me up? Jackson has thrown up …
Tuesday May 13 In a book you can’t tell how big it is. It’s like 20 ancient archeological sites in one. Tombs, palaces, collumns, and some really cool rock animals. Persopolis is the third ancient site we’ve seen today. We also saw the tomb of Cyrus the Great, and hillside tombs of Darius and Xerxes. …
The Royal Mosque at Imam Square, Esfahan. The ancient architecture here can be mind-boggling–the colors, the detail, the symmetry, it’s like landing on a different planet. In Spokane a 75 year-old building is a marvel. Here they are 300-400 year-old structures sitting abondoned in a wheat field.
Listen to description of visit to synagogue, mosque, and carmel shop to sweeten tea. Click here to listen.
Everyone at Abayaneh. We wake up today in the mountain town of Abyaneh. I look out our hotel window to see a village built in to the hillside of bright red rock–like a a Persian town dropped down on Mars. After breakfast we walk down to the village, tightly packed collection of houses sharing walls …
Eating lunch at the old fort outside of Kashan. 5/8 Day 4 It is very hard to find the time to write and post entries. When I do theInternet speeds are usually like dial up. Sorry I can’t do more. Today we left Tehran and drive south in a hired van. We lunch near Kashan …
Jackson under the full moon, Tehran in the background. 5/7 Day 3 This morning is more emotionally intense than I was expecting. Shahrokh sleeps in so he is missing out on visiting Iman Khomeini Shrine, the huge unfinished multi-million dollar building where the Ayatollah Khomeini’s body is interned. On the subway out we are getting …
