OK - I know a few of you were interested in a review of this tour so here goes.
I was on the second JY tour to Iran in October. It does not look like this tour is going next year by looking at the website so this may well be more for your interest rather than contemplating the JY tour itself????
Well the plane is on its descent into Tehran, time to get the headscarf on. Entry into Iran went absolutely fine. We landed in the early hours and with the sun rising on a glorious morning we headed for our hotel on the other side of Tehran. First impressions of Tehran....everything was normal! I knew my preconceived notions about Iran as being a dark and scary place would be well off the mark - this was the reason I personally done this tour.
Tehran suffers bad congestion so it's not the easiest nor quickest place to get about. We done 3 things in Tehran. A couple of them were museums which although interesting, is not really my kind of thing as I prefer to get out and see the place I'm in. You may know the Azadi Tower (Freedom Tower) - a symbol of Tehran. This was not on the itinerary and we had not seen it in passing. After enquiring myself with our TM John about where it was, it was arranged we would visit here briefly the next morning on the way to the airport for our flight to Shiraz. I believe last month's tour did not see this unique landmark and I would have been a bit miffed if I had not seen this. At this point I must say our local guide Fatima was very accommodating in adding things to our day not on the itinerary.
Shiraz had a wonderful bazaar. Me and someone else actually got disorientated and were going down parts we had already walked down but somehow could not find our way back to the meeting point. We were shortly rescued by the TM and only 5 or so minutes late so no real harm done. After lunch we had a break in the hotel mid afternoon during the hottest part of the day and in the late afternoon/early evening we visited a couple of tombs of much loved Iranian poets. It was a lovely time of day to visit these attractions, especially as the sites are visited by the locals later in the day - a relaxed atmosphere. In between we got a treat from Fatima of either saffron or rose water ice cream - I had rose water and it was absolutely gorgeous and gooey.
We got to Persepolis early the next morning. Ruins of a once great complex destroyed by Alexander the Great. They really are quite ruinous but some interesting parts and some wonderful reliefs. We visited some other substantial rock carvings in the nearby hills. Back in Shiraz we were supposed to only see the Eram Gardens however Fatima took us to a beautiful mausoleum where we were required to wear a chador - glad to say it was a nice patterned one rather than the black cloak. We were treated to tea and biscuits by the lady curator. This again was not on the itinerary - well done Fatima for taking us here, good choice with the lovely mirrored tile interior and peaceful courtyard.
If you have seen photos of Shiraz there is a beautiful mosque with coloured glass windows which consequently throws coloured light inside the mosque when the sun is in the right direction. Unfortunately this was not in our itinerary but luckily I mentioned it to our TM John and he said he would ask Fatima if she would take us there prior to us leaving Shiraz the following morning. Fatima kindly obliged and first thing in the morning, the light was perfect to see the mosque in all its glory - just like the pictures, so a happy bunny.
A journey day the next day from Shiraz to Esfahan. An interesting changing landscape with a visit to the tomb of Cyrus on the way.
Two full days sight seeing in Esfahan. The first day we spent most of our day on foot visiting the mosques and palace at the famous square. The Imam mosque is jaw droppingly huge and beautifully decorated. Esfahan is famous for its Islamic architecture and I'm now a expert on "squinches". The square is also much used by the locals and it was wonderful to see families enjoying picnics on its lawns - the Iranians so love their picnics - even a road roundabout will do! The next day in Esfahan we used the bus a lot to get to get to various attractions from shaking minarets to an Armenian cathedral. 26 seats on the bus and only 10 of us including John and Fatima so a bit of a squeeze!
After Esfahan another travel day back to Tehran with a stop at Kashan and a couple of tea stops courteously arranged by yes, you know who, the lovely Fatima. Our driver and his bus boy did very well too getting us about and looking after us.
So, in general, great weather, great food, good transport, good hotels...it's a pity our trip was not longer and taking in other places. The dresscode...it is what it is and was no bother. I erred on the side of caution wearing longer length tops purchased from a website. Female tourists in the places we visited can get away with a longer blouse hanging over trousers. Long trousers are a must however whilst all my sleeves were long I think you would get away with just the elbows at least being covered. The headscarf was worn at all times...the only exception being the privacy of the hotel room and maybe a fly few minutes on thus bus if the curtains were pulled over; how daring of me!
It's no lie the Iranian people are among the most friendly people you will ever meet. It really was difficult to walk past anyone and for them not to say at least hello. Many others wanted to chat and it was delightful to experience this. People are people and the Iranians are a genuinely friendly and welcoming people. I hope the Iranian people got as much from me as I got from them - our exchanges can only be good. For those with any concerns, I felt 100% safe all of the time and as a woman was never ever made to feel uncomfortable. It was pleasing to see women out on their own.
I've written too much but I hope I've helped shed a bit of light about Iran although I do not proclaim to say I know it all - I can only tell you what I experienced and it was all good. Fatima told us to go home and tell people it's not a "crazy" place - job done.
Angie
