Earthlooping and Hssn at the main square of Esfahan
Esfahan is probaby the most famous and the most visited of the Iranian cities. After much reading about it and after spending 4 days there it definitely is a must in any Iranian trip due to its many sights, although you can get a bit disappointed because most of the places are right now undergoing some renovations and the government has transformed some parts of the city into a "too European looking" places. Anyway, you'll love Esfahan, for sure.
What you can for sure skip is a trip to the nearby desert village of Toudeshk. Nothing there but dust and stones and a nice but nothing special guesthouse.
What you can for sure skip is a trip to the nearby desert village of Toudeshk. Nothing there but dust and stones and a nice but nothing special guesthouse.
After a 3 hour bus ride from Kashan, we arrived at Esfahan bus station. According to Google maps, there's metro in Esfahan, but that's totally false, so we took a local bus to get to our hostel. In Iran you cannot book any hostel in advance through any of the major Internet booking sites (you can book expensive hotels through Iranian sites or by phone), so the procedure it's always the same: show up at the place and hope there's some bed available. Most of the time it works.
This time we chose the popular and cheap Amir Kabir Hostel, and it was quite better than expected. Close to the center, 500000 rials per night with breakfast and a courtyard where to relax. Not bad.
After leaving the stuff in the hostel, we headed for Esfahan's main square, said to be the second biggest in the world. It is the main sight of the city and it is really impressive and big, although it has recently been renovated and in my opinion it has lost a bit of charm.
After leaving the stuff in the hostel, we headed for Esfahan's main square, said to be the second biggest in the world. It is the main sight of the city and it is really impressive and big, although it has recently been renovated and in my opinion it has lost a bit of charm.
The main entrance to the bazar from the square
Anyway it is still beautiful, with the main entrance to the bazar on one side, the big blue mosque on the other one, and a palace and another beautiful mosque in the two other sides. It looks quite perfectly designed. As it was a bit late, we only walked around the square a bit and into the bazar to have a glimpse of it. And just by that you can realize this is probably the most beautiful bazar in Iran, at least they have the most beautiful handmade products on sale. After that, some fast food (yes, even if Esfahan is touristry, not many food options besides the tiring kebab, pizza, hamburger thing) and back to the hostel.
Esfahan main square with the Blue Mosque
The following day was mainly devoted to find a place with a decent Internet connection. I had a Skype conference with Centre d'Estudis Prat and the Internet speed and connection in Iran is not the best in the world. After much searching, we finally got to a hotel with a quite decent Internet to carry out the video-call. When it finished it was around 3 in the afternoon, so we decided to leave the main sights for the following day and go to visit a church and the river nearby.
On the way to the church (Vank Cathedral), we came accross a special Muharram celebration. It was a street parade with a lot of people and even some kind of floats singing and carrying out different rituals. Religion is really a big thing here and especially during the Muharram month, so a lot of special events are going on. You could see people hitting themselves with a steel kind of weapon, singing religious songs, walking in procession... quite impressive everything, so we stayed there for a while.
On the way to the church (Vank Cathedral), we came accross a special Muharram celebration. It was a street parade with a lot of people and even some kind of floats singing and carrying out different rituals. Religion is really a big thing here and especially during the Muharram month, so a lot of special events are going on. You could see people hitting themselves with a steel kind of weapon, singing religious songs, walking in procession... quite impressive everything, so we stayed there for a while.
Muharram celebrations
Heading to Vank Cathedral we had the first sight of the river and the famous old bridges of Esfahan. As it was Friday (the day off in Iran) both the bridges and the shore of the river were totally full of Iranian families having picnics, children playing and even people having a dip into the river. But instead of picnicking we went on to the Cathedral, only to find that it was closed on Fridays. So nothing, no cathedral this time and back to the bridge, the river and the center of Esfahan, where we tried to look for an exchange office, but again, all of them were closed on Fridays. Actually the best thing you can do on a Friday in Iran is just take a day off, go picnic or relax somehow, because if you try to go sightseeing or do any activity you'll likely be stuck and find everything closed.
Anyway, while asking for an exchange money office, one of the guys at the few open shops in the bazar offered us to change some money, and actually at a very good rate, so the money problem was solved and we even got some tea in the shop. These Iranians are, again, really nice! Then back to the hostel and the following day devoted to the main sights.
Anyway, while asking for an exchange money office, one of the guys at the few open shops in the bazar offered us to change some money, and actually at a very good rate, so the money problem was solved and we even got some tea in the shop. These Iranians are, again, really nice! Then back to the hostel and the following day devoted to the main sights.
We started early in the morning by having breakfast in the courtyard of the hotel before heading to the Jameh Mosque of Esfahan, some 20 minutes walking from there. The mosque is the biggest one in the Islamic world but unfortunately is not functioning as a worship place anymore but as a museum, for which you have to pay to get in. Once inside, the place is huge, with a big central square and different buildings you can get into. The visit is recommendable, but not really a must, as the place is quite run-down and these Iranians don't really know how to take care of places, as it is quite dirty and undergoing renovations everywhere, so you'll see scaffoldings and workers all around. Anyway, there are a few worth a visit places and spending at least one hour wandering around the place is advisable. And, as in much of Iran, you are almost the only tourist there, so you have the place for yourself.
Picnic by the river on a Friday
From the mosque we entered one end of the bazar, which leads to the main square. The bazar is huge, with plenty of shops selling everything and nice hidden caravanserais (small courtyards surrounded by rooms used in the Silk Road times for merchants to stay overnight) which are definitely worth a visit. By looking at the shops an hour or two easily go by and eventually you get to the main square. Here's the place you're likely to see the biggest concentration of tourists in the whole Iran, at least in wintertime, and that means maybe 10 foreigners at one time.
After asking for a place to go up and from where to see the square from above, we were told that it is not possible anymore. There used to be two teahouses but the government shut them down. Wise asses! The only place to climb and have some views right now is the palace in the square, but it was undergoing renovations, so no chance of having an aerial view of the square. Anyway, from the ground you have a really impressive view. What you can do is visiting the two mosques, although, again, you can be a bit disappointed as the main one is undergoing renovations and the place looks much better from outside. We visited both of them and waited to be dark to see how the square is lit, which is actually nice but not a jaw-dropping experience.
After asking for a place to go up and from where to see the square from above, we were told that it is not possible anymore. There used to be two teahouses but the government shut them down. Wise asses! The only place to climb and have some views right now is the palace in the square, but it was undergoing renovations, so no chance of having an aerial view of the square. Anyway, from the ground you have a really impressive view. What you can do is visiting the two mosques, although, again, you can be a bit disappointed as the main one is undergoing renovations and the place looks much better from outside. We visited both of them and waited to be dark to see how the square is lit, which is actually nice but not a jaw-dropping experience.
A Quran in the Jameh Mosque
Back to the hostel and next morning to Toudeshk, a desert village one and a half hours from Esfahan that according to both the Lonely Planet and internet reviews is a really nice place to relax, to have a view of the desert and to spend some time in a guesthouse with a real Iranian family, so we decided to give it a try instead of heading straight to Yazd.
Early morning bus to the station and from there to Toudeshk. We had previously booked our accomodation there, in the only place available: Tak-Taku homestay, a house where Mohammad (the owner) lives in with his brother, nephew and sister-in-law.
Toudeshk has two parts: the old and the new village, both of them really small. The old village is where the homestay is, and it consists mainly of mudbrick houses. Mohammad picked us up and drove us to his house. the house has a main living room, a kitchen, an outside toilet and the room for the guests (actually for the customers, as you really pay for it) which is quite nice. For 25 USD you get accomodation and 3 meals. But really, for being where it is, in the middle of nowhere and with almost nothing to do there but to sit in the room or take the bikes for a while, it is really overpriced.
Early morning bus to the station and from there to Toudeshk. We had previously booked our accomodation there, in the only place available: Tak-Taku homestay, a house where Mohammad (the owner) lives in with his brother, nephew and sister-in-law.
Toudeshk has two parts: the old and the new village, both of them really small. The old village is where the homestay is, and it consists mainly of mudbrick houses. Mohammad picked us up and drove us to his house. the house has a main living room, a kitchen, an outside toilet and the room for the guests (actually for the customers, as you really pay for it) which is quite nice. For 25 USD you get accomodation and 3 meals. But really, for being where it is, in the middle of nowhere and with almost nothing to do there but to sit in the room or take the bikes for a while, it is really overpriced.
This is Toudeshk. Miss it!
We were welcomed by Mohammad, introduced to his sister-in-law, gave some food for lunch and told there was nothing to do there, just relax. Ok. We went to explore the surroundings a bit to make sure Toudeshk has nothing special at all, back to the homestay, some more food consisting of soup, bread and a bit of meat and to sleep. Next morning a bit of breakfast and to the bus to Yazd.
Really, Toudeshk is a totally avoidable place. Maybe the experience was not totally fulfilling because Mohammad was feeling a bit sick and he didn't give much conversation, but neither did the other members of the family, so I don't really understand all the good opinions on the Internet. Besides, for 25 USD and being Iran, is far too much money for what you get.
Really, Toudeshk is a totally avoidable place. Maybe the experience was not totally fulfilling because Mohammad was feeling a bit sick and he didn't give much conversation, but neither did the other members of the family, so I don't really understand all the good opinions on the Internet. Besides, for 25 USD and being Iran, is far too much money for what you get.
Mudbrick houses in Toudeshk
To sum up, we had a really nice 4 days in Esfahan, which is an unavoidable city if you are visiting Iran. Besides, some other nice experiences with people came out: the shopkeeper exchanging us money and inviting for tea, an old man giving us explanations about the bazar, people being interested about us... and Hssn, a guy who rushed to take pictures with me and the Earthlooping banner in the main square and later invited to visit him at his home in the North of Iran if I ever happen to be in Iran again. Thank you all!
On the other hand, Toudeshk is a totally missable place, you better head to Yazd after Esfahan or go somewhere else. Tak-Taku homestay is overpriced, Mohammad is helpful and nice, but you'll find a lot of people like him in Iran and they will not charge you 25 USD to stay at their place doing nothing, they are more likely to invite you to their place, give you food and take you sightseeing for free.
Don't forget to check the Esfahan travel guide! Pictures coming as soon as all the Iran posts are ready!
On the other hand, Toudeshk is a totally missable place, you better head to Yazd after Esfahan or go somewhere else. Tak-Taku homestay is overpriced, Mohammad is helpful and nice, but you'll find a lot of people like him in Iran and they will not charge you 25 USD to stay at their place doing nothing, they are more likely to invite you to their place, give you food and take you sightseeing for free.
Don't forget to check the Esfahan travel guide! Pictures coming as soon as all the Iran posts are ready!
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