Bush's Revelation

President Bush announced today that Iran is not Iraq. I feel much better now. :)

Earthquakes and Visits to Small Towns

Hello Everyone,

I am not posting as much writing as before, because I think that pictures speak for themselves most of the time (and of course I am very busy)...although many people have complained that I'm too brief. This last week I had a four day weekend and I took a small trip to the towns (not villages according to the residents) of Kashan and Bidgol. They were quite wonderful, because in comparison to Tehran -- there was fresh air, no traffic and definitely a small-town atmosphere. The religious holidays appeared to encompass the entire country and all the men, at least in Kashan, were involved in the processions. Most were actively participating, but some were just watching. Some people in Tehran claim that most people just watch. For those of you interested, the earthquake was not felt in Tehran, but it just reminds the country again how vulnerable everyone and everything is to earthquakes. I feel that many people in Tehran are worried about the earthquake that Tehran is expecting...especially the foreigners who are just here visiting. They always ask me if I am worried like they are. I guess I am! So, the pictures below are from Kashan and Bidgol, and the first two are at the Shah's Palace. Please feel free to let me know what kinds of pictures you'd like to see.

SA'D ABAD Complex - In a veritable forest, you can find on the slopes of Alborz Mountains around 12 buildings that belonged to the Shah (King) of Iran. I am in front of the White Palace, which was once the Shah's summer residence, with 54 rooms. The boots, made of bronze, are all that remains of a giant statue of Reza Shah Pahlavi (The Shah of course!). The rest of "him" were sawed off after the Revolution when Mohammad Reza Shah was thrown out of the country. I can only imagine how big the original bronze statue had been, because the legs themselves were ten feet high...There wasn't much of interest inside the museum of the White Palace.

We went to visit the Shah's Palaces this week. Here was one of his bedrooms. There were many beautiful decorations on the walls, made from carved reflective glass. It's so bright though, it's almost blinding! 

The animal was so white!

First of all, I am not posting this photo to disgust you. I think that it's quite an original photo because the blood is so red and the animal's fur was so white. I know many Iranians might not like me to show that there are animals killed on the street like this sometimes (only Sometimes!) but I think it's important to show that in the smaller towns for festivals they like to commemorate by sacrificing the animals. I think that every time there is a national holiday or a religious holiday, especially in commemoration of Biblical sacrifice, you can see beautiful animals being sacrificed right out on the sidewalk. I believe I understand that the person who kills the animal should not eat the meat himself.

PARROT in Tea HOUSE

A Parrot is hiding in an old public bath, now transformed into a tea house. I am visiting Kashan and seeing much of the old architecture, a lot of which has been transformed. These days were the religious Islamic (Shi'a) holidays of Tasua and Ashura.

Prayers During the Religious Holiday

Mosque and Shrine in the daylight. The women are all wearing black chadors here except a few scattered in white. The little children are playing on the side. There is also a Shahzadeh located here - a relative of one of the religious imams. A few pictures below you can see the same Mosque and Shrine building in the night sky with the bright lights turned on.

Cooking Gusht o Loobiya

In the small town, there was food prepared for *so many people* - made in this monstrous pot. They had already finished cooking but when they heard I wanted a photo of their cauldron, they started stirring again. This made the little boy run to see what was cooking. Haha! The food was being cooked for many people at the mosque that owned this large pot. This was a delicious food, mashed beans and mutton into a stew that you scoop up with flat bread. It was definitely a community affair!

The Old City Walls

We're sitting in front of the old city walls. It is one of the few remnants of the ancient city of Kashan. Unfortunately, they have not really been renovated in just about all places of the walls segments. Behind us though is a renovated piece. There was a small playground in front of the wall where the slides let children land on hard gravel and rocks. There were only Afghan children playing there *for some reason.

This is Sialk. It is one of the richest archaeological sites of Central Iran. The various items being found date from as early as the fourth millennium BC. Emerging from the dust is a Ziggurat - perhaps pre-dating those of the Mesopotamians. But basically, you can see that an entire city was being dug up from the ground. My hosts say it’s the first civilized town in history…I’m not sure what that means. This was walking distance from the place where I was staying, and I genuinely believe that under my hosts’ house there would also be remains of thousands of years ago. They just laughed at me.

Laundry Detergent!!

Here's a Brand of Detergent that Will Never sell in the United States! ...Lemon Barf!!! I've been laughing for months in the supermarket every time I go in. In Farsi, Barf means SNOW...but someone should have told them to write something else, anything other than BARF on a box!!!

This is NOT Tehran!

Tehranis want me to make it clear that this is NOT Tehran. I am in Bidgol, a wonderful smaller town right over a bridge from Kashan....what an atmosphere! I had a delightful time visiting different places here and seeing their commemorations for the Ashura holiday.

Night-time Ceremonies for the Holiday

This is the religious holiday called Ashura - which draws many crowds to the mosques and shrines and just to the streets. There was a large gathering at this mosque/shrine at night, where they said some prayers and chanted. It was very beautiful and the lights of the green dome were incredible. The children all had flags. This is the same setting as above, but in the daytime it was without the green lights, and the blue tile showed more.

Watching the Celebrations

After struggling below, and trying to take pictures from the women's section of the festivities, I was offered by a nice lady to come to the upstairs of the Mosque for better viewing of the ceremonies below. It was a great chance to get better photos and see the inside of the majestic building - the outside of which you have seen above in daylight and nighttime. Here, I am wearing a chador, the traditional religious dress for the women. This dress is not required, but during the religious days, all the women of the town I was visiting wore this out of respect. It's always good to be respectful, and definitely not good to stand out. Many people were happy that I chose to join them for the holidays and wished that I was as comfortable as possible in my travels around Iran. This dress is remarkably difficult to hold onto and I am unable to fully grasp not only how to manage it, but also actually grasp onto the fabric as I am walking. It often fell completely to the ground, which greatly amused my hosts. Normally, I just wear a scarf on my head.

In front of Shrine and Mosque 

Beautiful and VERY heavy parade items... 

The black flags of the commemoration are framing...I'll get back to you on the name.

Commemorations 

Lots of Animals were killed out in the open to prepare huge meals for the town...they are being skinned here. 

Just in case you weren't sure.... 

Thanks for the Bear Max! 

A perfect couple 

I wish this were the case. 

I am standing in the middle of a usually VERY busy roundabout.  

My street this morning, when I decided to venture out alone. There were practically no cars...just a few stupid pedestrians like myself and crazy taxi drivers who don't even have snow tires. We saw one accident this morning while driving to the area of the demonstrations, the taxi ahead of us swerved and hit a parked car!! It's very icy! 

The snow still continues - the fourth day!!. I am now at a main intersection in Tehran at 10:30 am -- trying to get to the commemoration celebrations of the revolution. 

My front door was a mess....