Iran: Day 13

12/11/2012

Today we journey to Tehran!  Along the way we made a few stops.  Our first stop was Abyaneh, an ancient Zoroastrian village.  Abyaneh is literally built out of the surrounding mountain so the homes look like extensions of the hills.  The people of Abyaneh are super friendly!  All of the little old ladies said that God has blessed me with beauty!  They were so sweet and wanted to take pictures.  There is a medium sized hotel in Abyaneh (that was almost completely empty) that we stopped at for lunch.  To my surprise, our waiter could speak some English!  The village is absolutely magnificent.  Many of the homes are still inhabited today by very old Zartushti that seem absolutely content with life.  Almost every street corner (by street I mean small walkway) has one or ten grandmas and grandpas, dressed in their traditional clothing, sitting and chatting or simply watching the sun.  This would be the perfect place to escape for a while.  The mountains a short distance from the village contained strange looking doors leading inside them as if they were inhabited by cave dwellers... however, after a few strange looks Baba explained to me that homes for sheep have been dug into the mountains to keep the heard warm during the winter months.  The next set of mountains are continually covered in snow and produce water for the village.  Unfortunately, like a vast majority of Persian historical sites, the village is in a bit of disrepair.

The picturesque Abyaneh

Us having a traditional lunch at the hotel.
BTW - Zam Zam Cola contains more sugar than you would think is possible to dissolve
in such a small bottle and is in no way related to the holy Zam Zam water.

Me at the hotel.  It may not look too bad in this picture, but there were about 100 steps to the main door.

One of the little old ladies and me

This was actually one of the doors to the main mosque (even Zartushti villages have mosques)

Parts of the village lay in rubble...

A view from the mosque

These ancient homes are still inhabited
(not my picture)

Just chillin'... and sewing

Traditional men's clothing
(Not my picture)

Yummy, fresh bread!
(Not my picture)

The homes for the sheep

Our next stop was Baq-e-Fin.  Baq-e-Fin is located in Kashan, just outside Tehran.  Baq-e-Fin is a historical garden originally created in 1590 and in the early 1850's served as the prison and later place of death for Amir Kabir.  Amir Kabir is a famous Iranian cheif minister who is credited for creating the first universities (women's universities?) in Iran.  Amir Kabir was a definite social changer in Iranian history.  He was eventually assassinated due to his progressive ideas.  Baq-e-Fin is definitely a place I wouldn't mind being imprisoned in. for a week or two...

This is what you see immediately upon entering the garden's gates

A reenactment inside the hamam of a scene with Amir Kabir
(on the left with the funny looking hat) 

Commemorating the place where Amir Kabir was unjustly murdered

There are many water ways, ponds, streams, and pools throughout the garden.

The central main house

the largest of the pools.

I'm on top of the world pose

All of the water flowing throughout the garden is fed by a natural steam flowing down from the mountains at such a high speed that no pumps are needed to flow the water throughout the garden.

Baba got in on the top of the world pose too!

Okay... we can both be on top of the world, I suppose.

Of course, no visit to an Iranian building is complete without the ever present most popular pictures in Iran.
We're watching you!