Shiraz
Our first task after checking into our hotel in Shiraz was to purchase a manteau for me. At Sharjah I had changed into one of Matthew’s shirts in order to adhere to Iran’s laws regarding how women should dress in public. Finding a manteau was no problem. The lady at our hotel pointed us in the direction of a street lined with manteau shops. After much deliberation I opted for a black pin-stripped number which I was to wear every single day for the next three weeks.
We were fortunate enough to meet Isabella and Hazel, two girls from Hong Kong, who were staying at our hotel. Like us they were on a tight budget and were keen to share a taxi to Persepolis with us.
We spent the next day being driven around by the very nice Mr. Farhad visiting the impressive ancient city of Persepolis, the tombs at Naqsh-e Rustam and the bas-reliefs at Naqsh-e Rajab.
The rest of our time in Shiraz was spent visiting the sights around the city such as the Vakil bazaar, Hamam-e Vakil and numerous shrines and mosques. I had my first experience of wearing a chador when we visited the tomb of brothers Amir Ahmad and Mir Muhammad, Shah Cheragh. I stood out as I struggled to wrap the chador around me then hold it in place whilst trying to carry my bag and remove my shoes. We had read in our guidebook that non-muslims were not officially allowed inside the shrine. Isabella and Hazel had, however, visited two days earlier with no problems so we decided to give it a go. At the women’s entrance I asked a female attendant if I could visit the shrine. I was answered with a big smile and a hand on my shoulder. The woman at the shoe counter on realising I was a foreigner, reached into her handbag and handed me a handful of sweets. The interior of the shrine was absolutely spectacular with every centimetre of the walls and ceiling covered in a mosaic of mirror glass.
Shiraz gave us our first taste of Iranian cuisine (excluding visits to the Persian restaurants in Newcastle). On the whole we ate disappointing kebabs and ‘sandwiches’. We were, however, impressed with dizzi, a delicious Iranian stew, and bastani (Iranian ice cream) which the whole of Shiraz seemed to eat in the evenings.
