Yazd, Iran

One of my favourite town stays in my trip to Iran has to be Yazd. While Esfahan attracts with its beauty, Yazd attracts with its simple authenticity.

Yazd is a stop in many typical Iran itineraries, although for shorter trips, it seemed to be left out for the more convenient Tehran-Esfahan-Shiraz route. Being one of the oldest towns in the world, it has its fair share of historical and cultural attractions, including quite abit of pre-Islamic Zoroastrian religion/culture. All these, like the Fire Temple and the Towers of Silence etc is easily found in guidebooks/online etc.

Admiring the interior of the Jame Mosque

For me, the highlight is the old town itself, which of course, is one of the attractions as well. I love wandering in the alleys and discovering unique encounters within the uniform coloured adobe maze. There is a historical air about the place, and everything you see is probably as is since the olden days. Unfortunately, this also means you do see parts or sections that has crumbled and nothing has been done to it. The people in Iran are also among the friendliest in the world, and chatting with the local residents can sometimes be as gratifying as gazing upon an expansive landscape. And capturing the expressions of the kids are also quite a delight!

Yes, you could cycle too!

The wind towers of Yazd

Life within the old town

Joys of travel encounters

Travel portraits!

For those souvenir shopoholic, Yazd's textiles and silk weavings are of good regard and even Marco Polo noted its quality when he visited the town on his journey. And you could get yourself Persian carpets too, and make it fly! (of course, current day carpets gotta fly by plane within some cargo hold or something.... ;) ). And to make any stay complete, alot of the accommodation options in Yazd are converted/renovated from old traditional houses which seemed to retain alot of charm, especially the beautiful courtyards for you to rest after a good day out.

Do include Yazd in your Iran itinerary!

Respite after a hard day's "work"

Masouleh Iran

Nestled along a slope of the Alborz mountain range in western Iran, Masouleh is a perfect town to get away from city life, especially if you have spent too much time in the frantic traffic of Tehran.

While situated 1050m above sea level, the town is not far from the Caspian Sea. Its climate is quite special, as the predominant weather feature of the town is its fog! As such, most of the houses are covered in a yellow clay which allows better visibility in the fog. Add to the fact that the houses are all built along a slope, and thus the view of the town from afar can be really pictureque!

The houses are also interconnected in such a way that its architecture is unique in the whole of Iran. Firstly, no vehicles are allowed into the town, as the streets are too narrow anyway. More interestingly, the layout of the houses is such that, the roofs of the houses are also the courtyards (and streets) of other houses!! Hence, the special architecture of Masouleh is popularly known as "The yard of the above building is the roof of the below building". So it's pretty interesting wandering up the streets of the town (and tiring as well).

I was also lucky that when I was there in Nov, I encountered their first snowfall of the season. So literally in 2 days, I managed to see 2 different views of Masouleh! Pace in the town is remarkably laidback, and many Iranians (esp from Tehran) like to come here to spend their weekend holiday. While Masouleh can be visited in a day trip, an overnight stay is highly recommended if you are keen on photography. The only issue for me is, if you have a heavy backpack, lugging up the slope is no fun!!

Masouleh can be reached via shared taxis from Fuman. From Tehran, there are comfortable buses to Rasht, where you then transfer to Fuman (again shared taxis). There may be buses from Tehran to Fuman too, according to various sources, but I have not found any. While it may not be that convenient to access to, once you reach Masouleh, you'll be glad you did!

Alamut Valley

One of my favourite places I visited during my trip in Iran is the trip to Alamut Valley. Famed for some great scenery, trekking opportunities and a famous castle ruin, backpackers and guidebooks gave really positive feedback for the place.

However, I went when the season was plunging into winter (Nov), and the night before, there was a heavy snowfall that blocked parts of the road such that I almost could not make the journey. So, I didn't have any trekking opportunities, but the resulting white landscapes more than made up for it! The whole journey as we entered the valley had us glued to the car window, and forcing our driver to make a couple of photography stops. And the amazement did not stop as we reach the village of Gazor Khan, our entry to Alamut Castle.

Perched on a steep cliff, Alamut Castle is one of the famed Castles of Assassins. This castle, led by Hassan-i Sabbah, is a stronghold of a Ismaili Muslim group. Part of this group, The Assassins, target high level figures and many stories of their history and origins etc can be found on the Net. As romantic as the history may sound, the hike up the snowy paths and stairs were alot more down-to-earth. Reaching the entrance, a soldier-cum-guard would register our presence, and then escorted us into the castle ruins. The ruins itself, though, were just stones and corrugated metal sheetings. But it's the commanding views that catches our breath away, and possibly explained why Alamut roughly means “Eagle’s Nest”! The view of the entire Alamut valley, with pretty Gazor Khan below all covered in a beautiful white coat was simply phenomenal! Truly one of the best landscapes I've seen in a while!

Alamut can be reached via shared taxis from Qazvin, a city north of Tehran. I managed to meet up with 3 other travelers in Qazvin, and shared taxis can be arranged from the hotel. From Gazor Khan, shared taxis back to Qazvin leaves early mornings 5-6am. There are a couple of homestays in Gazor Khan (as listed in Lonely Planet guide), and it's definitely recommended to stay a night or two if you're intending to trek/hike (where weather permits).

For me, the views atop Alamut Castle would stay foreever etched in my mind....