Abyaneh en route to Esfahan

Our driver with a really bad hairpiece showed up on time at 0900. We had arranged for a transfer to Esfahan via Abyaneh and Natanz for EUR30 per car. With Mikel and Puri, it was a convenient sum of EUR10 per person.

The ride took just over an hour and we were in Abyaneh by 1015. There was an entrance fee of IRR100K payable towards the village at the entrance which I didn’t mind. I wouldn’t like strangers walking up and down my street contributing to noise, intruding on my privacy etc for nothing.

It was nice to walk around the red mudbrick buildings of Abyaneh but it was hard to take photographs. Not all of them are pretty close-up. They’re not done-up Disney-style but are sometimes haphazardly patched up. Combined with odd angles and sometimes shade, I ended up with very few pictures.

Locals here speak an old version of Persian, Middle Persian, I’ve been told. The mean wear baggy long trousers while women wear a short (relatively speaking in Iran, down to the mid-calf) skirt and floral hijab.

We wandered to the end of the village and had a drink there before returning along a slightly different route, taking over an hour.

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: Abyaneh is one of the oldest villages in Iran. The reddish houses are built with mud-brick and plastered with straw and mud. Photos from Wikimedia. It was too hot to hike to a suitable viewpoint to get this angle.

: Abyaneh is one of the oldest villages in Iran. The reddish houses are built with mud-brick and plastered with straw and mud. Photos from Wikimedia. It was too hot to hike to a suitable viewpoint to get this angle.

: Scarves for sale in Abyaneh.

: Abyaneh is one of the oldest villages in Iran. The reddish houses are built with mud-brick and plastered with straw and mud.

: Abyaneh women wear a floral hijab. Tourist girl joins in the local trend and my Spanish companions can’t resist having a picture taken with her.

: Around Abyaneh.

: Abyaneh locals wear very baggy trousers (men) and floral hijab and a shorter skirt (women).

: Around Abyaneh.

It was about 1130 when we set off for Natanz. I tried to get the driver to take us to a viewpoint where we could get a shot of the entire village but he said it would involve a long hike.

At Natanz, we wanted to see the mosque which had a beautiful facade but it was closed. Instead, we heard chanting and the low beating of a drum. It was a holiday today, mourning the death of Imam Ali (prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law).

The chanting, accompanied by the drum, the beating of one’s fist on the chest plus the people dressed in black was all very moving. We stayed for a little while and was then dragged into a pottery shop.

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: Ceremony mourning death of Imam Ali (Prophet Mohammad’s son-in-law). It was very sombre, haunting and moving, with the chanting, beating of a drum and many people dressed in black, beating their chest.

: Ceremony mourning death of Imam Ali (Prophet Mohammad’s son-in-law). It was very sombre, haunting and moving, with the chanting, beating of a drum and many people dressed in black, beating their chest.

: Mosque at Natanz.

: Mosque at Natanz.

We returned to the car for the 1h plus ride to Esfahan. I nodded off during the ride which is so unlike me. I think the heat was getting to me.

We reached Esfahan at 1400 dropping the Spanish duo at the Amir Kabir Hostel (which I stayed in 15 years ago). The driver asked for a tip and they obliged. I suppose it was OK since his price was EUR15 cheaper than the first driver I talked to on the street.

It was a bit of a circuitous route to get to my hotel due to road works and when I got dropped off, he asked me for a tip bigger than the one I had offered. Very un-Iranian.

The Tourist Hotel isn’t very charming with its choice of name but it was lovely. The room turned out to be a huge studio with a partitioned kitchenette and couch area. Esfahan is bad for backpacker accommodation so I treated myself to a faceless but comfy hotel. It was the right choice as the Spanish duo had to move from the Amir Kabir after a night as it was dirty and noisy.

After a rest, I visited the Abbasi Hotel briefly, one of the reasons for returning to Esfahan.

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: The exterior of the Abbasi Hotel conceals the gorgeous courtyard setting inside.

: Courtyard of the Abbasi Hotel.

: Courtyard of the Abbasi Hotel.

: Courtyard of the Abbasi Hotel with its tea house.

: Courtyard of the Abbasi Hotel with its tea house. Wikimedia Commons.

: Courtyard of the Abbasi Hotel with its tea house. Wikimedia Commons.

: Courtyard of the Abbasi Hotel with its tea house. Wikimedia Commons.

: In the lobby area of the Abbasi Hotel.

: Detail in the lobby area of the Abbasi Hotel.

From there, I walked to Naqsh-e Jahan Square in time to see the glow of the evening sun on the two mosques (whereas the Palace was backlit by the sun).

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: Naqsh-e Jahan Square in the evening.

: Imam Mosque on Naqsh-e Jahan Square.

: Imam Mosque on Naqsh-e Jahan Square.

: Imam Mosque on Naqsh-e Jahan Square.

: Naqsh-e Jahan Square in the evening.

: Sheikh Lotfallah Mosque on Naqsh-e Jahan Square.

: Naqsh-e Jahan Square in the evening.

: Naqsh-e Jahan Square in the evening.

: Naqsh-e Jahan Square in the evening.

: Naqsh-e Jahan Square in the evening.

I was ready for dinner before sunset and I couldn’t find anywhere to eat. Asking at a hotel, I was led to a restaurant where I had a delicious plum-and-lamb stew. With rice, a soft drink, and a salad, the total soon added up! It was rip-off pricing close to the tourist heart of Esfahan but I expected it. All-up it was just a little more than a McDonald’s combo in New Zealand.

After dinner, it was perfect time to see the square by night. It was absolutely buzzing with picnickers. People had been streaming in earlier with baskets, gas-tanks, tea urns, etc. It seemed like a lot to carry for quite a long distance but they’re very serious picnickers! [And next morning, the grounds were all litter-free which means they’re also tidy picnickers.]

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: Naqsh-e Jahan Square by night.

: Imam Mosque on Naqsh-e Jahan Square by night.

: Imam Mosque on Naqsh-e Jahan Square by night.

: Imam Mosque on Naqsh-e Jahan Square by night.

: Sheikh Lotfallah Mosque on Naqsh-e Jahan Square by night.

: Sheikh Lotfallah Mosque on Naqsh-e Jahan Square by night.

: Picnickers in Naqsh-e Jahan Square by night.

I walked back to my hotel with a detour to look at the Si-o-se bridge by night before calling it a day. It was really strange trying to buy a big bottle of water and some milk in my walks around Esfahan. There seemed to be no convenience stores like the ones that are all over other Iranian towns. Perhaps I’m accommodated in the wrong area for these. I had to resort to just small bottles of water and no milk.