Jun 7, 2013

Travel Diary Iran 2013 - Day 7 (Yazd - Isfahan)

After last days extensive and long day in Yazd we decided to leave Yazd for Esfahan today. So after breakfast we packed and left the hotel in Yazd for this time and visited some two more places before hitting the road. One of the places was the Zoroastrian Fire Temple of Yazd.





The road from Yazd to Esfahan passas just the edge of the desert revealing what is surrounding Yazd, bare sandy desert.


Afer 4 hours of driving the 320km of road we arrived in Esfahan at about 2pm (point B to C on the map). The change of climate and temperature between the previous city and this one was nothing than obvious.



The first thing to do was to find a restaurant and we found a good one which was very poplular and had a lot of beautiful classic paintings and on its walls with good food too. After the restaurant we found our hotel, which also was very beautiful.

After checking in we head out to the see a pair of beautiful bridges that over the Zayandeh river that flows through the city. We spent the rest of the day walking along the river and around the two bridges (Si-o-seh Pol Bridge and Khaju Bridge).

Si-o-seh Bridge


The Khaju Bridge (Pol-e Khaju )

See all the panoramas from the restaurant, the hotel and the bridges in the Esfahan Gallery at http://stockholm360.net/list.php?id=esfahan

Travel Diary Iran 2013 - Day 6 (Yazd)

A full day in Yazd seeing unforgettable historical part of the Yazd city and a number old houses that had belonged to the upper class citizens and now converted to either hotels, museums, or faculties of the university.


Enchanting all adobe walls and houses with wooden doorways.

Although not summer yet, it was very hot during the day, 33-34°C (around 92°F) required a lot of water to hydrate.

We also visited the Dolatabad Garden, which is one of the nine gardens that are protected by the World Heritage as a representative example of the Persian Gardens. The other ones on display at stockholm360.net are the Bagh-e Eram Garden in Shiraz and the Chehel-Sotoun Garden in Esfahan.


Inside the Bagh-e Dolatabad Garden Pavilion with exquisite color glass works. Yazd is also known for its sweets and silk weaving, therefore we visited some shops and bought both silk and sweets.

Travel Diary Iran 2013 - Day 5 (Shiraz-Yazd)

After checking the car we drived towards Yazd, a city at the border of the desert, the city of houses with wind catchers. A city that almost entirely was build of adobe.

The car drive took about 6 hours including a stop for lunch in Abarkooh. Most of the 450km road was non-oncoming traffic.


Here you can see an Ab-Anbar, a traditional reservoir or cistern of drinking water in Persian antiquity. The wind catchers lead the cool wind to the underground storage tank keeping the water ventilated and cool during warm days.


We got to the hotel and made a fast visit to the town to visit the Jame mosque av Yazd.

Travel Diary Iran 2013 - Day 4 (Persepolis - Naqsh-e Rostam)

Several trips during this day were made, all of them very interesting but the day became very long.
First we went to Persepolis, the most impressive and magnificent palace compound from Achaemenid's empire 500 BC. A vast Palace ruin plateau that takes several hours to visit. Unfortunately the compound museum was closed at the visit time.

Persepolis Bull Gate
Two colossal stone bulls flanked the northern portico of the Throne Hall in Persepolis. Here you can see one of them in its original place. The head of the other of the two bulls now resides in the Oriental Institute in Chicago.

All Nations Gate - Pesepolis
The Gate of All Nations, protected by bulls (front) and mythological creatures, called lamassu's, bulls with the head of a bearded man. 

Persepolis - 100 Columns Hall Gate (the Throne Hall)
This throne hall was Persepolis' second largest building, measuring 70 x 70 meters.


After Pesepolis we went to Naqsh-e Rostam, a site about five km northwest of Persepolis with several monumental royal tombs carved into the cliff from Achaemenid's empire (among others the tomb of King Darius I the Great (522-486 BC)) and several rock reliefs from the Sassanid empire 200-600 AC.

Naqsh-e Rostam

Then we also visited Nqshe Rajab, a small site with more rock reliefs from the Sassanid era.

At the end we decided to go a non-historical site, Behesht-e Gomshodeh, a green valley some 200 km to the north from our position. After a very hot day, which resulted that we burned all parts of the body that were not covered by cloths, this place was very pleasant indeed.

Behesht-e Gomshodeh

360 degrees VR panoramas from all these places at stockholm360.net.


Jun 2, 2013

Travel Diary Iran 2013 - Day 3 (Shiraz)

Today we went to Arg-e Karim Khan, a citadel compound built in the beginning of 1800s.
The main reception room, the court yard, the private hamam (bath house) and the outside view are on display.


These two panoramas from the court yard and the private bath plus one from the main reception room and an outside view of its walls and tower can be seen as 360 VR panoramas at http://www.stockholm360.net/list.php?id=shiraz.

Jun 1, 2013

Travel Diary Iran 2013 - Day 2 (Shiraz)

Today I decided to visit a couple of gardens of Shiraz starting with arguably the most beautiful garden of Shiraz, Bagh-e Eram Garden (the Garden of Eden). This garden is one of the nine gardens that together are taken by the World Heritage classified as  a protected world heritage property as "Persian Gardens".

 

World Heritage Brief Description
The property includes nine gardens in as many provinces. They exemplify the diversity of Persian garden designs that evolved and adapted to different climate conditions while retaining principles that have their roots in the times of Cyrus the Great, 6th century BC. Always divided into four sectors, with water playing an important role for both irrigation and ornamentation, the Persian garden was conceived to symbolize Eden and the four Zoroastrian elements of sky, earth, water and plants. These gardens, dating back to different periods since the 6th century BC, also feature buildings, pavilions and walls, as well as sophisticated irrigation systems. They have influenced the art of garden design as far as India and Spain.

See Bagh-e Eram's 360° VR panorama here.

The next garden I visited was Bagh-e Delgosha Garden (The Garden of Heart's Delight). Also a beautiful garden.

See Bagh-e Delgosha's 360° VR panorama here.

I had visited another nice example of a Perisan garden, Afif-Abad Garden, previously
See Bagh-e Afif-Abad's 360° VR panorama here.

Other fine examples of Persian Gardens in Shiraz are the Hafezieh garden and Naranjestan Ghavam garden. 

After the gardens I went to the Khajuye Kermani tomb on the hills over Quran Gate.
From there you have a view over Quran's Gate, Quran's Square and parts of Shiraz.

See the 360° VR panorama here.

All the panoramas from Shiraz can be seen in the Shiraz Gallery.