One more day in Esfahan

In Esfahan I found Yuki and Miwa again from Tehran so we exchanged eachother the pics we had taken on m first day there when we had spend the day with Hossein. Here is one of me and Miwa in Hossein house taking notes on what he was telling us! :)

They are heading back to Tehran tommorrow and im going to go to Yazd. Esfahan is a beautiful city, with impressive bridges crossing the Zayandeh River. Even better is the Imam square by day and by night with the imam mosque and the Ali Qapu Palace which are beautiful!!! The pictures will come once I get home and can get them onto a computer. I dont know how many times I have been in that square in the few days that I have been here. I have established myself in the hostel where all lonley planet travelers go and from here I will be traveling up and down to multiple cities. I wanted to go to a dessert village described as having 160 people and 2 camels but I called and they said its too hot to go and its closed due to sickness...so forgeting about that option! Today I have been to the armenian quater Jolfa and seen a beautiful church of Bethlehem - no pictures allowed. All the walls where painted with detail and precision and it was beautiful. Many mosques are painted in turquoise and lighted by night, you just want to sit and look. Immam square yesturday was full of people having their picknick on the grass, guys and girls playing with balls, motorcycles going around, shops selling icecream and as in all cities carriages with horses going around. However these carriages seem to have their magic. The best is that everybody does their thing, playball,go with motorbike etc super fast and yet no one seems to be bumping into eachother.

My main worry at this point is what will I do when I go back home and I cant eat iranian food. Im ready to search for iranian restaurants the day I get home. The food is simply delicious, I have had such varied food, from eggplants,garlics,olives,meet,kebab HEILEHUP (delicious...however that is writen in Farsi!)

As you can imagine yesturday everything was closed because it was Friday, thus weekend. Like a sunday back home, all the shops closed. People insist I look from here and ask me questions in Farsi, I stare at them :) Afterall this culture is close to ours, eating times are late shops close in the middle of the day and driving isnt like Holland. I think in Spain we would drive like in iran if it wasnt for the fact that the point system is freaking people out!! Saeed was trying to drive Dutch Style in Esfahan. He started using the yellow light to change lanes, he didnt beep at the people crossing the street etc, it was funny but it didnt really work :)

Today is the 1 year aniversary of the elections and they had said maybe something might be going on. On TV they announced they did not want groups of more than 2 people walking in the streets as they were scared people would do protests, but I have seen very little police in the streets and no real problems. They had also said that if protests would go on then they would cut phone lines and internet, but luckily all is under control.