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I reset my camera to the factory settings yesterday and forgot to change the quality back to RAW. Hence, the photos are disappointing. Yet, the fair was bigger than a year before and we felt very wecome.


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Back in Tehran, we tried to escape its traffic but it was found even in the narrowest streets around Bazar-e bozorg (the Great Bazaar)!


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Qazvin exceeded my expectations. Its monumental mosques and historic houses are definitely worth a visit. Of particular interest is Imamzadeh-ye Hossein shrine that is set in a big fountained cortyard surrounded by coloured brick alcoves. It commerorates Hossein, son of Imam Reza. A colourful guard with a duster is from the shrine. At present the ( Read more... )

We went to Astara to compensate for the missed opportunity to photograph the Urmie lake beach that we visited in a hurry. Regretfully, our trip to the Astara beach was too short as well. It is a place that deserves at least a full day visit, which is not difficult to arrange from Ardabil. What we saw was amazing but two hours that we spent there ( Read more... )

When planning our visit to Iran I found that day time temperature in Ardabil in mid August can be as low as 21 degrees celcius. It was hard to believe but it turned to be true. One morning I needed a fleece that I wisely took just for the occasion. I understood that many Iranians travel up north to this cold area in summer (some of them go to the ( Read more... )

Shahr-e Yeri, which is also known as the 'city of the mouthless', is just off  the motorway linking Meshkin Shahr and Ardabil. It is around 60km from Ardabil.

The main part of the site is an open-air sanctury that consists of numerous standing stones with flat relief antropomorphic sculptures, most of which are just minimalist mouthless faces.  At ( Read more... )

It was shocking. Last year when we were in Yazd during Eid Qurban we did not not see anything of the kind...


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