Shiraz to Esfahan, Iran

26 -28 May 2008

Atmospheric Imam Square

As we walked back over the Si-o-Seh Bridge towards our hotel, some young men who spoke English fluently accosted us. Like some young people we’d met in the streets of Shiraz, they were interested to know what people outside Iran thought of the Iranians and what Angela thought about having to wear a scarf. After a while, we were joined by another older man who had been listening to our conversation. He had lived in the U.S. for many years but decided to return to Iran to live with his family. Although we were dropping with fatigue after our long, frustrating day, we enjoyed chatting with these fellows for a good half hour. They were eager for news of the world outside Iran, even though - thanks to their knowledge of English – they could get access to foreign news on the Internet.

27 May. We did the sights, visiting the 17th century Hasht Behest Palace and Chehel Sotun (40 columns) Palace, so called because its 20 columns are supposed to all be reflected in the adjacent pool. We didn’t quite count up to 40, though. We had a nice lunch at the Traditional Banquet Hall restaurant off Imam Square.
We returned late afternoon to Imam Square for some bazaar browsing for souvenirs and Persian carpets. There is a wonderful atmosphere at sunset at Imam Square and it looks particularly impressive at night with all the lights. The square is difficult to photograph effectively as it’s so huge – over half a kilometre in length. It’s the second largest square in the world after Tiananmen in China.
28 May. We went back to Chehel Sotun Palace at opening time this morning in the hope of getting a better photo but the light wasn’t brilliant. Then we checked out a couple more carpet shops in the Bazaar-e Bozorg before finally deciding on the first one we’d liked yesterday. We rounded off our sightseeing with visits to the Ali Qapu Palace and Imam Mosque on Imam Square, and then took a taxi to Khaju Bridge which doubles as a dam over the Zayandeh River.