Iran Map

 

 

 

     Middle East Map

latest picture: May 6, 2013

• click a picture to see details

001  The imposing Sayed Mozafar Mosque

is the main mosque in Bandar Abbas, the

port city in the south. It puts us in the right

mood for Iran with its famous turquoise

tiles, called “seven-color mosaics” .....

002  ..... the niches in the vaulted

ceiling are part of the unique

characteristic Persian architecture .....

003  ..... and the clock between

the two minarets at the

entrance/exit is a curiosity

004  On a hill between Forg and Shahabi,

along the road from Bandar Abbas to Shiraz,

bizarre purple colored peaks of the Zagros

Mountains beam across our lunch spot

005  A beautiful white flower shines

out of the monotony of

the arid landscape .....

006  ..... below us a dried river bed

is meandering across the barren brown

land towards Forg with its cultivated area

It is springtime and nature reawakes

007

008  Globe thistle (echinops)

009

010  View from the "Pol-va Tunnel-e Furk"

to a small green vegetation belt that is

winding through a canyon

011  Emil is enjoying his morning coffee

after our first quiet camping night behind

the truck stop at Dowlatabad

(west of Darab) .....

012  ..... a herdsman comes along with

his goats. They often end up in

Musandam/Oman in exchange of beer

and cigarettes! Speedboats run daily

between Bandar Abbas and Khasab

013  What does this road sign mean?

It’s a religious phrase:

“There is no God but Allah“

014  On our way to Shiraz the onion-

shaped tower of a tiny prayer hall

sticks out between wheat fields

015  Well aligned fruit orchids

often coming into view

016  Emil stores away our table that

we installed for lunch between

our two front seats

017  A mosque in Kamal Abad,

16 miles southeast of Sarvestan that

catches our eyes due to the diversity

in the building style compared to the

traditional Iranian architecture

018  The golden dome and the

golden minarets of the University of

Sarvestan are a stunning contrast to

the brown of the desert mountains

019  A desert scene that evokes loneliness

and that always gives us pleasure

020  White clouds reflect at the big salt

lake of Maharloo, approx. 16 miles east of

Shiraz where also pedalos can be rented .....

021  ..... an approaching storm conjures

a mystic mood on the partially

dried-up salt lake

022  Melon shop in Shiraz: Melons with its

juicy fruit pulp are popular in Iran. Often

they are served already for breakfast .....

023  ..... high on supply are also citrus

and other fruits like the small sour green

plums, in Iran called Gojeh Sabz .....

024  ..... bonbons, sweets and dried

fruit stores are abundant and famous

025  Locals are exiting the citadel

“Arg of Karim Khan” in Shiraz

026  The main feature of the dominating

citadel in Shiraz are its four 46 ft. high

round towers made of ornamental brick

work, one of whom is sloping

027  Red sweet fruits are hanging

heavily on a mulberry branch. When

they fall down, they stain the ground red

028  In the covered market Bazaar-e Vakil

in Shiraz there are not only oriental arts and

crafts, but also things of everyday use

029  The bigger the choice, the harder

to choose: Liliana’s choice is pistachios

of the cheaper sort

030  The hand woven Persian carpet is

the most famous of all Iranian arts. In the

Vakil Souk there is a great variety of designs

031  In the courtyard of the “Nasir-al-Molk“

Mosque in Shiraz, built at the end of the

19th century, Liliana admires the incredible

diversity of ornaments .....

032  ..... many are flower motifs

in pink colors, why the mosque is

called also “Pink Mosque”

033  Each inch testifies the

marvelous craftsmanship

034  The picture of Ayatollah Khomeini

(Ruhollah Mostafavi Musavi Khomeini)

adorns the wall in the museum of the

Nasir-al-Molk Mosque in Shiraz. Born on September 24, 1902, he reached nearly the

age of 87 and died on June 3rd, 1989 .....

035  ..... beside him is the picture of

Ayatollah Khamenei (Ali Hosseini

Khamenei), current Supreme Leader

of Iran. He is born on July 17th, 1939,

and is now a bit over 74 years old

036  Each of the carved pillars of

the winter prayer hall of Masjed-e

Nasir-al-Molk is a masterpiece

of art itself

037  The stained glass windows are

part of the beauty of the winter prayer

hall of Nasir-al-Molk Mosque

038  An Iranian beauty: Contrary to our

visit in 1994/95, nowadays the mandatory

head scarf slips far behind and exposes

much of the hairstyle. The full-length

chador isn’t anymore a must; a jacket

that covers the buttocks is long enough

039  Also the entrance of the

Masjed-e Vakil Mosque shows the

famous tiles with the flower motifs

040  Here we still can find it,

the broom-maker .....

041  ..... and the umbrella-mender.

They belong to the senior generation .....

042  ..... while the younger generation

takes life much easier

043

044

045

Souvenir shops have taken over the courtyard of the old two-storey caravanserai Seray-e Moshir

in Shiraz where in earlier times caravans stopped

046  The Qur’an (Koran) gateway at the exit

of downtown Shiraz on the main road towards

Persepolis, Esfahan und Yazd. It was built

shortly before the turn of the 1st millenium

047  While the eastern side of the

Qur’an (Koran) gateway, which lies

in the Allah-O-Akbar Gorge, is

beautified by some stairways,

archways and water games .....

048  ..... the western part shows the

monstrous and luxurious “Shiraz Grand

Hotel” and not far away the huge

Lola Recreation Park

049  The “Xerxes Gateway” (the “Gate of all

Nations”) of Persepolis. Persepolis was one of

the four cities of the ancient "Achaemenid

Empire" (550-330 B.C.). The others were:

Shush (Khuzestan province, north of Abadan),

Hamadan (where we were on 5/17/2013) and

Babylon (in today’s Iraq, south of Baghdad)

050  Achaemenid griffin at Persepolis

– a legendary creature, here with the

body of a lion and the head and

talons of an eagle

051  Ruins of the "Palace of the

100 Columns". They were excavated

only in 1930 from sand and dust

Reliefs at the Apadana Palace Staircase:

052  Xerxes, the great king,

leaving his palace

053  Eastern Apadana Staircase: Persian

guards of the great king (there are 2 archers)

054  Darius on his throne with

the crown prince Xerxes

055  A thistle with delicate flowers

– a welcome spot of color

among the Persepolis ruins

056  Rock tomb of

Artaxerxes III Ochus in Persepolis

057  The vivid purple of this thistle

stands out from far against the silent

grey witnesses of the ruins

058  The view to the rock tomb of

Artaxerxes II Mnemon over the ruined

imperial treasury gives us the feel for

the enormous scale of Persepolis

059  Liliana makes a break to absorb

the grandeur of Persepolis. In the back-

ground a part of the "Palace of the

100 Columns"

060  The high columns of the ruined

Apadana Palace rise ghostly towards the

darkening skies of an approaching storm

Reliefs in the Apadana Palace:

061  Leading a Bactrian camel

and a humped bull

062  Lion attacking bull (Taurus): It

depicts the symbolic coming of spring

and the Iranian New Year (Nowruz) on

March 21s, through lion (sun) feasting

on the bull (moon)

063  Assyrians (today’s Iraqis)

offering sheep

064  Emil before Tachara Palace

(Palace of Darius I)

065  The 2¾ miles long entrance road to

the Persepolis ruins: Cars turn (seen from

here) right into the car park. The ticketing

booth is on the right in the pedestrian area

066  Demonstration in Persepolis?

What do these ladies want to achieve

with their banner in front of the

Persepolis ruins?

067  Three of the four rock tombs of

Naqsh-e Rostam, 4 miles from Persepolis.

They are believed to be of Darius II,

Artaxerxes I, Darius I and Xerxes I

068  History goes that the tombs

of Persepolis were modeled on these

069  The relief with the King Shahpur I

on horseback and the defeated

Roman Emperor Valerian is

testimony of a great lost emporium

070  One of the bas-reliefs of the Sassanian

Empire at Naqsh-e Rajab, opposite of the

Naqsh-e Rostam rock tombs, shows

"Shapur's Parade" – the victory 244 A.D.

over the Roman Emperor Valerian.

Naqsh-e Rostam as Naqsh-e Rajab are

also two UNESCO Heritage Sites

071  The village Seyedan between

Persepolis and Pasargad. The Iranian

villages are compact – there’s no housing

sprawl – and adapted to nature

072  Pasargad lies about 50 miles north-

east of Persepolis in a lonely windswept

area. The former first Achaemenid

capital was built 546 B.C. by King

Cyrus the Great. Today the most

important monument is his tomb

(it's another UNESCO Heritage Site)

More websites from Iran:

Iran - part 2: Pasargad (excl.)-Yazd-Esfahan – May 2013

Iran - part 3: Esfahan (excl.)-Chelgerd-Hamadan-Sanandaj-Orumiyeh – May 2013

Iran - part 4: Ferry Port Bandar Abbas-Kerman-Mashhad-Bajgiran – April/May 2016

 

More websites from the Middle East:

Welcome to Kuwait on March 3rd, 1996

Yemen car trip (from Oman to Saudi Arabia) - from May 16th, to June 15th, 1996

Sandstorm in Saudi Arabia on February 4th, 1999

Trip to Dubai in January and February 1999

Oman 1999 - from mid-March to mid-April 1999

Oman 2013 – Part 1 - February 2013: Musandam Peninsula

Oman 2013 – Part 2 - February 2013: Sohar - Muscat - Rustaq - Nizwa

Oman 2013 – Part 3 - March 2013: Sur - East Coast - Island of Masirah - Dhofar

Oman 2013 – Part 4 - March 2013: Salalah & Surroundings (Dhofar) - Nizwa

Oman 2013 – Part 5 - March 2013: Western Hajar Mountains

Fairytale Wedding in Dubai - United Arab Emirates - with our car from February 7th, to May 20th, 1999

Sharjah + Dubai: United Arab Emirates - without our vehicle from February 19th, to 27th, 2011

Sharjah/Dubai/1st Traveler's Festival/Emirates National Auto Museum - UAE with car Nov. 2012 to Jan. 2013 - part 1

Western UAE - Liwa - United Arab Emirates  with car in January 2013 - part 2

Al Ain, Eastcoast & Ras al Khaima - United Arab Emirates with our car in April 2013 - part 3

Turkey – Eastern Anatatolia - June 2013

Socotra - without our car from February 9th, to 19th, 2011:

Part 1: Socotra trip in Yemen (East) – Hadibo - Dihamri - Arher Beach

Part 2: Socotra trip in Yemen (South) – Homhil - Aomak Beach - Wadi Daerhu - Dicksam Plateau

Part 3: Socotra trip in Yemen (West) – Qalansiya - Shouab Beach - Qadama Beach - Momi Plateau - Wadi Ayhaft

Saudi Arabia 2016: Transit from Sudan to the United Arab Emirates