Jewels In The Arabian Desert !
Posted On Thursday, September 29, 2011 at at 12:16 AM by Alvin
Modern Metrotropolis In The Land Of Sand And Oil - Dubai, Abu Dhabi And Al Ain
Posted On Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at at 12:47 AM by Alvin
Flying over the Persian Gulf from Shiraz to Dubai took just over an hour, but the modernity of Dubai was a world apart from the historical Iran where we had spent the previous un-forgettable two weeks ! Oven level temperatures greeted us at the Dubai Airport Arrivals but we soon settled down for the night - both feeling a natural "high" in spirit, from having visited the lands of ancient Persia. Little did we expect, our "high" spirit was to last a further three days in the United Arab Emirates as we marvelled at how man-made modernity overcame the inhospitable lands. Everywhere we went : we were soothed by the ever-present air-conditioning (even the road-side bus stops had air-con); we were impressed by the mile-high skyscrapers (Burj Al Khalifa being the tallest in the world); we were transported around the city by the efficient and comfortable Metro - what an impressive city ! We visited the souks by Dubai Creek and the huge shopping malls Dubai Mall (with an in-built floor to floor aquarium !) and Mall of The Emirates and they could easily each have taken 5 hours to explore.
The next day, we took a 2 hours' bus to the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and we were made speechless by the opulence of the mosque as it was covered in precious stones, white marbles, colorful sparkling chandeliers and giant end-to-end Persian carpets ! Our trip to the Al Ain date palm oasis 2 hours from Dubai, gave us a better and more complete picture of the U.A.E. and we were mighty impressed as we made our way home after this journey.
Memorable Journey Through This Beautiful Country !
Posted On Sunday, September 25, 2011 at at 7:35 PM by Alvin
Fond Farewell From Shiraz To The Friendly Locals
Posted On Saturday, September 24, 2011 at at 2:01 AM by Alvin
Our 7 hours' bus journey took us gradually from the harsh desert scenery in Yazd, to the lush and green territories of Shiraz - our last stop in Iran. Since ancient times, Shiraz had been a fertile region for growing the local "Shiraz" red grapes which made the Syrah wine famous world wide. We saw lots of grape vines and cultivated lands around Shiraz as we travelled towards the coast of the Persian Gulf. We settled quickly upon arrival to this rather commercial city and ventured to the Karim Khan Fort during sunset. Step aside please Rome, as we took 3 buses the following day to the magnificent site of Persepolis - the ancient capital of Persia ! The site was full of rock carvings, fallen stone columns and of course loads of tourists. We also visited the nearby rock tombs of the past Persian Kings in Naqsh-e Rostam before successfully hitching a lift back to the bus station, from the middle of absolutely nowhere !Before we left Iran, we had to stress that the people we met in Iran showed us hospitality aplenty and made the journey so memorable :
- the bus ticket conductor in Tehran running in front (!) to lead us the way to the station toilets;
- Mostafa, the young man from Yazd who drove us around town to the right bus station when we were completely lost (thanks again !);
- the old man in Isfahan, who walked with us for 10 minutes (in the midday heat) to point us the obscure building that was our hotel; and
- the countless Hello's; Welcome's and hand shakes offered to us almost unfailingly everywhere we went; these peoples wanted nothing from us but to show us their openness and hospitality.
THANK YOU AGAIN !
Yazd And Still Further Into The Desert - Chak Chak
Posted On Thursday, September 22, 2011 at at 12:20 AM by Alvin
Reluctantly leaving the Persian elegance that was Isfahan, we headed to the Iranian desert town of Yazd. We arrived at 2P.M. and found the town virtually "closed down" with hardly a living soul around. We quickly figured that similar to Southern Europe, Yazd was simply taking a Siesta from the unforgiving sun and dry heat (40C). We did likewise and "hid" inside our traditional hotel which was beautifully restored to resemble a historical palace with a large court yard decked out with comfortable tables and chairs for taking tea.
At about 5P.M. when the sun gave way a little, we ventured out to this interesting city and visited the Water Museum that detailed the famous Quanat - ancient irrigation systems and tunnels dug deep down in to the desert floors and channeled water from wells to all parts of the city - very informative and in fact still used today. The skyline of Yazd was characterised by the numerous windtowers and ice houses where the dry and hot desert air could be cooled to refrigerator temperatures for storing foods and provided a livable environment. Last but not least, the ancient alleys of the old city were built narrow with high walls to minimise the impact of the harsh sun rays - ancient wisdom which we were to come across again in MASDAR, the Green Future City of Abu Dhabi in our later journey. We even walked 10km (passing 5 big round-abouts) to the Towers Of Silence - an ancient Zoroastrian (拜火教) worshipping and burial site - we spent the rest of that afternoon cooling off by having tea in our lovely courtyard ! We spent a morning further in the bone dry desert and visited the Zoroastrian sacred site of Chak Chak and to our amazement, after all this walking in the dry heat, we have each lost 2 kilos !
Isfahan - Half Of The World
Posted On Sunday, September 18, 2011 at at 2:30 AM by Alvin
After three hours' bus from Kashan through mainly rocky mountains scenery, we were immediately energised by the sights of the beautiful boulevards, mosques, covered bridges and grand squares of this elegant city at the heart of Iran - Isfahan (Esfahan). We stayed on the Avenue Chahar Bagh Abbassi which was thronged with shoppers, mosques, kebab stands, perfumeries and was 5 minutes' walk from the River Zayandeh with the famous Si-o-Seh Pol (33 Arches Bridge) and the romantic Khaju Bridge.
We spent time exploring the Vank Cathedral (Armenian origin), Jamel Mosque and the Naghsh-e Jahan Square - the second biggest city square in the world (after Beijing's Tiananmen) and an eye-feasting array of Iranian and Islamic architecture which included the Imam Mosque and Ali Qapu Palace; we strolled along the "dry" River Zayandeh during sunset and came across local families relaxing by the river banks; and we took a bus out to Miner Jambon and watched the "shaking" of the Shaking Minarets as well as climbing the Ateshkadeh (Zoroastrian Fire Temple 拜火教 - more of these temples later in the desert town of Yazd) for a superb view of this majestic and glorious city. We truly had a wonderful time here in this friendly place. The numerous memorable monuments in the city led to the famous Persian proverb : Isfahan is Half Of The World !
