Iran Map

 

 

 

     Middle East Map

latest picture: May 12, 2013

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073  The 4’000 year old cypress in Abarkuh

is said to be the oldest cypress in the world,

the oldest “thing” in Asia and according to

the newspaper ”China Daily” the second

oldest tree in the world. It’s 82 ft. tall

and has a circumference of 46 ft.

074  Also in the small village of

Abarkuh we find a mosque with

beautiful tiles and mosaics

075  A ‘colorful’ store in Abarkuh

overstuffed with all kind of goods

Be it in a village or out on a limb, characteristic Islamic structures always appear:

076  The Jameh Mosque of Abarkuh is

said to be oriented towards Jerusalem and

not as usual towards Mecca due to its age

077  These two minarets belong to

the former religious Nezamieh school

078  Interesting building with

graffiti near Dehsir along the

road from Abarkuh to Yazd

079  It is not a special picture, but for us it

means seeing the first snow since a long time. Last time it was Mt. Taranaki (8’261 ft.)

in New Zealand (picture No. 254) on

May 12th, 2008 – now it’s Shir Kuh

(13’370 ft., southwest of Yazd resp. Taft

080  When we drive from Abarkuh

towards Yazd, table mountains come

into view at the 8’645 ft. high

Qohrud Mountain range

081  We follow the rugged mountains

at Eslamiyeh before the road descends

into the desert plain towards the

city of Yazd

082  The Masjed-e Jameh (the old Friday-)

Mosque is towering over the historic city of

Yazd. According to UNESCO, it is "the

oldest living city on earth“

083  The Masjed-e Jameh in Yazd with

its beautiful tiled portal, flanked by two

157 ft. tall minarets. It is said to be Iran's

highest mosque, having also the tallest portal

084  The courtyard of the mosque

with the arch over the Mihrab (niche)

pointed towards Mecca

085  The skyline of Yazd with the backdrop of the Qohrud Mountain range: Left the towers of the Hazireh Mosque, in the middle those

of the Amir Chakhmaq Mosque and right the ones of the Jameh Mosque with the dome of the Bogheh-ye Sayyed Roknaddin tomb

086  Hazireh Mosque, also known as

Ruzeh-E-Muhammadeyeh, is situated at

Imam Khomeini Street, about 500 ft.

southwest of the Clock Tower

087  A possible Imam on his way

088  A wooden scaffolding – called

Nakhl – a ritual object for the

Ashura Procession, an Islamic

(Shiite) day of mourning

089  A sweet little girl in Yazd. Already in

young age they learn to dress traditionally

090  A little “bundle of joy“ in

her mother’s arms in Yazd

091  No matter what kind of dresses small

girls are wearing, they always look adorable

092  The three-storey “Amir Chakhmaq

Complex” with its attractive alcoves is an

eye-catcher of Yazd. Today the mosque

is functionless

093  The clocktower of Yazd matches

the citys architecture. It is known as

“Markar’s Clock Tower“, in honor of

Pashotanji Markar, a Zoroastrian, who

did a lot for the Iranian minority religion

094  The "badgirs", the windcatchers or

windtowers on Yazd’s rooftops, catch the

slightest breeze and direct it into the house.

They are the landmark of this conservative

town – here at Chakhmaq Square

095  Emil is wandering through one of

the narrow lanes that crisscrosses the old

city of Kooshk-e Now and Fahadan

096  Encounter with Felix, Marius and

Fabian from Germany in Yazd. They are

on their way to the Central Asian

Republics with their Mercedes van

097  The residential quarters of the

old town of Yazd look almost deserted

due to the high walls that shield their

houses. Here in the quarters of

Kooshk-e Now and Fahadan

098  Weekend pleasure at Esfahan`s

Khaju bridge (east side). Decorated

with blue tiles, is ranks as Esfahan`s

most beautiful bridge that

crosses the Zayandeh river

099  The Si-o-Seh Pol bridge is the

more famous and bigger bridge than the

Khaju. It has 33 arches and is 977 ft. long

and 45 ft. wide. At night it is illuminated

wonderfully (east side)

100  Here again the Khaju bridge, but

the west side. The water flows here to

the bridge. With 24 arches it is smaller

than the Si-o-Seh Pol, i.e. "only"

436 ft. long and 40 ft. wide

101  The eastern side of the Si-o-Seh Pol

bridge at daylight. In earlier times there were

teahouses in the arcades of the bridges where

people gathered. Today they disappeared.

Here the water flows from the bridge away

102  High shady trees, flowers and

benches along the Zayandeh River –

here on the right riverside –

invite for a stroll

103  A group of young ladies is

enjoying a “shisha” (water pipe) at

Esfahan`s river promenade

104  The huge “Naqsh-e Jahan Imam Square”

in Esfahan, also called Imam Square, measures

1’667 ft. by 525 ft. (17.4 acres) and is with the

mosques a UNESCO Heritage Site .....

105  ..... shocking is a poster on

Esfahan`s most famous square with

the slogans: “Down with Israel “and

“Down with USA“. Also loud-

speakers are present as a support .....

106  ..... the Imam respectively Shah

Mosque with its fine wall mosaics from

the Safavid-area is one of the two

mosques on the square – the other

one being Lotfollah Mosque

107  The two of us in front of the pool

(361 ft. x 52 ft.) at the "Naqsh-e Jahan

Imam" Square in Esfahan

108  The main feature of the six-storey

Ali Qapu Palace in Esfahan is the elevated

terrace that overlooks the Big Square .....

109  ..... attractive is the wooden ceiling

with its artful niches and inlay work

110  The Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque on

Esfahan`s “Naqsh-e Jahan Imam-Square”

has no minarets and shows an overwhelming

richness of intricate patterns and mosaics .....

111  ..... its dome is made of delicate

cream-colored tiles that change color

depending on the solar radiation

112  View of Esfahan’s "Naqsh-e Jahan

Imam-Square: Straight ahead is the Imam

resp. Shah Mosque, left Sheikh Lotfollah

Mosque and right the Ali Qapu Palace

113

114

115

Esfahan`s bridges and parks along the Zayandeh River are favorite spots to gather and picnic,

particularly on Fridays, when the weekend takes place

Masjed-e Jameh (Friday) Mosque: The whole complex reflects many periods of the around 800 years old Islamic art.

It is the largest mosque in Iran and is also a UNESCO Heritage Site

116  The minarets and the Nezam al-Molk

Dome are on the south side; to the left

on the east side lies the East Iwan

(an Iwan is a vaulted and on one

side open hall resp. entrance)

117  Mesopotamian crows

(Corvus cornix capellanus) are eyeing

curiously the activities in the mosque

118  West side with West Iwan –

the North Iwan doesn’t have minarets

119  Gold shops – here in “Bazar-e Bozorg”,

the Great Bazaar – are always very well

stocked and visited. Women love gold

jewelry. For them it is also a kind

of provision for old age

120  Health-oriented: Dried fruits

and nuts belong to the

diet of the Iranians

121  Looking neatly starts already

during childhood. Shops display a

tempting choice of kid’s dresses

122

123

124

The Flower Garden "Bagh-e-Golha", east of the Bozorgmehr bridge, in Esfahan shows its full beauty.

The deep green firs, the glowing roses and colorfulness of flowers – it is a true Garden of Eden

125

126

127

A small lake belongs to Esfahan`s Flower Garden "Bagh-e-Golha".

Between flowering carpets of water lilies fishes, ducks and tortoises are swimming around

128

129

130

Different species of flowers are in full bloom, it’s now spring time here. In their intensive luminance they are a really beautiful sight

 

More websites from Iran:

Iran - part 1: Ferry Port Bandar Abbas-Shiraz-Persepolis-Pasargad (between Persepolis and Yazd) – 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