An amazing landscape

Apart from the excursion in Yazd, until then we had mainly visited big cities: I really wanted to experience some wild nature.And I could not be happier about what I saw.

We travelled in a lonely narrow vally along a river surrounded by rocky mountains. The beauty of the landscape was astonishing. On the other side of the river, for a long while, Azeirbaijan.

Deep north

From Tabriz we took a local bus to a small town close to the Armenian (and Azeirbaijan) border with Alessandro, Filippo and Lorenzo. The day was almost over, but we decided to visit an ancient monastery in the nearby, and then reach the border (we had read it was open all night). We found a car driver who accepted to carry us (all of us plus our big bags!), we bargain as much as we could, and we left.

Tabriz

Tabriz has the most beautiful bazar I saw during the trip. It is really huge and crowded, like a labyrinth city made of covered hallways and courtyards. You get lost as soon as you turn the first corner. Every product has its own sector: fruits and vegetables, jewels, carpets, etcetera. Be sure: there is all you need (the matter is if you find it).

The earthquake

Another event influenced our decision: the earthquake that hit the northern part of Iran while we were deciding where to go after Isfahan. Due to the earthquake damages, it was not sensible anymore to go to some rural areas in the north suggested by the guide. So, in the end, we chose to go to the Armenian border directly, only stopping in Tabriz for one night.

We change the trip

After Ishahan we went back to the capital city, and we enjoyed the company of our local friends. Our first idea was to fly back to Italy from Teheran. Instead, we flew back from Tbilisi, Georgia. Why? Because we had met Alessandro, Filippo and Lorenzo, three nice young men from Milano, who had told us that they had shifted their flight because they wanted to visit Armenia and Georgia too. We liked the idea and we did the same.

Isfahan

Isfahan is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen in my life. It you need a reason to go to Iran, Isfahan is a good one.

The charm of the city was a surprise, after the general ugliness of the other cities. An amazing central square surrounded by old buildings, many huge wonderful mosques and luxorious palaces (with internal exhibitions), stunning parks and a lot of green everywhere, some ancient romantic bridges over the river, a nice bazar. Truly, a beauty that makes you hold your breath.

Internet and satellite television

Censorship of the web has been increasing a lot in the last years; yet, it is quite easy to avoid it. For example our friends living in Iran normally use Facebook, despite the access to it being prohibited. The choice between allowed websites and forbidden ones seemed random: I could open some Italian newspaper websites but some others not, I could open www.google.com but not www.google.it, and so on. After I came back, Iran announced the plan to replace the World Wide Web with an isolated domestic Internet network; this plan should be put in place in 2013.

Satellite television is prohibited too; yet, it is widely widespread, and our friends had it at home.