The Eagle and the Serpent
Location: Ali Qapu Hotel, Esfahan
Date: 27th April, 2008
Back to ancient history today, with a trip to the Sialk Hills, a settlement from 5500BCE.
We then hit the road to Esfahan, via the Nantaz Nuclear facility which is apparently causing a bit of a fuss. We saw a couple of military bases and a number of anti-aircraft emplacements – the Iranian Government are clearly taking its security seriously, and there’s no doubt in my mind they’ll bring the reactor on-line just as soon as they’re ready. As for the Iranian military, all I’ve seen are well prepared, disciplined soldiers supported by reasonably modern hardware and a good infrastructure. It would be no “Iraqi Freedom” taking these guys on…
Anyway, after a tour of the plant (only joking!), we drove to the mountain village of Abyaneh, recognized by UNSCO for its unique ochre colored mud-brick buildings. The women here wear brightly colored headscarfs and there seems to be no-one under 70 living here at all!
The temperature up here was far more pleasant, and we spent a couple of hours wandering around the village, visiting a small, disused Zoroastrian Fire Temple and the Zeyaratgah shrine. We also visited an old house, which doubled as a traditional clothing store and Kristy bought some jewelry.
After lunch, we visited the peaceful, tree-lined town of Natanz. We saw the 14th Century Jameh Mosque and the shrine of a local Sufi mystic, the Imamzadeh-ye Abd al-Samad.
On the way out of Natanz, I noticed a small dome-shaped building atop a mountain some way south of town. Amir knew a story about it, and the story of the dome goes something like this. Shah Abbas was riding with a small detachment of his army near Natanz. While resting by a stream, his men attempted to drink. The Shahs eagle, which was flying up ahead, dived at the men, screeching and flapping in their faces. Shah Abbas, not know for his patience, killed the eagle. His men started to drink, and immediately died. The eagle had been able to see the wicked serpent upstream that had poised the stream. Filled with remorse (which it seems he never showed his subjects), the Shah built a dome on a nearby mountaintop in remembrance of the eagle that tried to save their lives.
After a bit more driving and some traffic on the outskirts of town, we arrived at the Ali Qapu Hotel in Esfahan.
http://www.aliqapuhotel.com/
A house and gardens
Location: Amir Kabir Hotel, Kashan, Iran
Date: 26th April, 2008
Happy Birthday Kristy! I, of course, got her a book about travel!
Man, it got hot today. We drove about 400 km from Hamedan to Kashan, dropped a couple of thousand feet (to 3500) and dropped a couple of degrees of latitude. We also got closer to the Lout desert, so that all meant it got hot.
We arrived in Kashan in the middle of the afternoon, and drove straight to the Tabatabei house. The 3500sqm house was the house of an obviously wealthy merchant who made his money in carpets (what else!?!) in the mid-19th Century. Wonderful courtyards, with fountains and flowers, with cool underground areas and wind-towers to catch the breeze direct it to various parts of the house (think 19thC a/c), made it a pleasant place to spend some time.
Also extremely pleasant were the Fin Gardens, Bagh-e-Tarikhi-ye Fin. With a natural spring, rivulets, pools, old Cypress trees and all kinds of plants – as well as being several degrees cooler than the outside, made me want to stay all day. It was also full of giggling schoolgirls who wanted to take a photo of themselves with Kristy and I. Famous for a few minutes – remind me *never* to win an Oscar…
Fin Gardens also has its share of stories, from the stream that was discovered by Soloman (maybe the King, or maybe someone else), to the murder of a Caliph. Checkout the Wikipedia entry for more.
