After a day and a half of uncovering the mysteries of Kashan, "our Mohammad" brought us to the end of his city, from where we reached the toll gate, and started hitchhiking. A big car stopped just few minutes later, Although our future driver knew what we were doing, as he lived in the UK for couple of years, he was somehow suspicious. As of my Iranian look, he assumed that I was a local guy using a naive redheaded girl to find a free ride, or maybe rob the drivers. We showed him our passports, and once he realized that we are just nice happy hitchhikers, he was glad to give us a ride. Few hours later, as we reached Esfahan, we already became friends. And we went to celebrate our new friendship in a coffee shop, while waiting for our couchsurfing host to join us.
Once, one of the biggest cities in the world, and the important stopover on the silk road, today Esfahan is the third largest city in Iran. It served as a capital twice in Persian history. Due to its mesmerizing Islamic architecture, large historical gardens, palaces, bazaars and long beautiful bridges, the city's beauty is hardly to be matched with any other Iranian city. Therefore, back in the 16th century, the city got a nickname "half of the world", which is still being referred to today.
The Unesco site, famous Naqsh-e Jahan Square, was built by Shah Abbas in the 16th century, and was always busy place connecting merchants, entertainers, travelers and officials. Shah's intention was to centralize the power in Esfahan, and so, he connected religion, trade and power within the square walls, built in two levels. Shah's mosque and Ali Qapu palace, connected by Imperial bazaar which is inside the walls, make this place as one of the largest square in the world.
Zaynade river divides the city in two parts, and it's connected by some of the most beautiful bridges I have ever seen. Old Persians used to build them here since 4th century. One of many architectural masterpieces is Siose Bridge (also known as the bridge of 33 arches) - the longest bridge in Isfahan, built on the initiative of Iranian General back in the 16th century.
Anya and me explored the city with the help of Kourosh - our host, a local Esfahani, who lived for a long time in the US. After he moved back, he got a dog, who feels like a wanted criminal in this city, due to the strict Islamic rules of the country. Therefore, the discriminated dog, always waited for us either in his car, or in his house. Kourosh's big smile, unusual sense of humor, and surprising responses to curious locals made our experience of Esfahan quite unusual and enjoyable. We met many people thanks to him, took a bath in the central fountain, swapped music CD with some random car while waiting at the traffic light and even organized sort of a party at his house. At the end of the day, many of us (including locals) ended up staying overnight at his house...
Once, one of the biggest cities in the world, and the important stopover on the silk road, today Esfahan is the third largest city in Iran. It served as a capital twice in Persian history. Due to its mesmerizing Islamic architecture, large historical gardens, palaces, bazaars and long beautiful bridges, the city's beauty is hardly to be matched with any other Iranian city. Therefore, back in the 16th century, the city got a nickname "half of the world", which is still being referred to today.
Zaynade river divides the city in two parts, and it's connected by some of the most beautiful bridges I have ever seen. Old Persians used to build them here since 4th century. One of many architectural masterpieces is Siose Bridge (also known as the bridge of 33 arches) - the longest bridge in Isfahan, built on the initiative of Iranian General back in the 16th century.
Anya and me explored the city with the help of Kourosh - our host, a local Esfahani, who lived for a long time in the US. After he moved back, he got a dog, who feels like a wanted criminal in this city, due to the strict Islamic rules of the country. Therefore, the discriminated dog, always waited for us either in his car, or in his house. Kourosh's big smile, unusual sense of humor, and surprising responses to curious locals made our experience of Esfahan quite unusual and enjoyable. We met many people thanks to him, took a bath in the central fountain, swapped music CD with some random car while waiting at the traffic light and even organized sort of a party at his house. At the end of the day, many of us (including locals) ended up staying overnight at his house...
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