Qeshm Island

Iran

May 18, 2022

Hello,

If I travel to Iran, how can I miss the Persian Gulf and its islands in the Strait of Hormuz?

Qeshm Island is the best choice because of its history, strategic location, and natural features.   

Qeshm is a popular holiday destination for Iranians as well as others from the Middle East.  The island continues to expand with new roads, first class hotels and modern shopping malls.

A lovely beach.

And a short ferry ride to the nearby Hormuz Island.

Bandar Abbas

Port City 

Persian Gulf

Hormoz Gan Province

Iran

May 15, 2020

Hello,

At the National Museum in Teheran, our knowledgeable guide Hassan conducts a discussion of the geography of Iran.

We learn that Iran sits on a tectonic plate that is called “The Iranian Plateau.”  Consequently, the elevation of major cities ahead will be high above sea level.  Isfahan 1574m or 5164 ft.  Shiraz 1500m or 4921 ft.  Kerman 1755m or 5757 ft.  Kashan 2106m or 6909 ft or 1.3 mi.

The Dasht-e Kavir or the Great Salt Desert spreads across the north.  In the south near Kerman, we will visit the Lut or Red Desert.

The most prominent feature on the map is a mountain range that runs like a spine down the west of Iran.  The Zagros Mountains provides a protective barrier against Iraq, Iran’s neighbor to the west.

Shiraz

Iran

May 14, 2020,

Buona Serata,

The sign clearly indicates the restaurant opens for dinner at 8:00 pm.

Roberta and Sergio and I leave our hotel at eight and walk the short distance.

After climbing the steep spiral staircase to the dining room, the manager informs us the kitchen staff is delayed.  No cooks at the moment! 

Shiraz                                           

Iran

May 15, 2022

Hello,

“Jan, you are a hunter!”

So spoke Majdi, my guide in Iran.

Hadji observes that Jan “hunts” for an opportunity to take a special landscape photograph.   He is impressed as I comfortably engage with strangers and then easily pose with them. 

I am never conscious of being a hunter.

Am I enterprising or patient or lucky?

On a lakeside in the mountains, it is just my luck that someone left the radio playing in his parked car.

Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by southern Zagros mountains of Iran. Modern day Shiraz is situated 60 kilometres (37 mi) southwest of the ruins of Persepolis.

The earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BC. It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture. UNESCO declared the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.