Tehran
Our first full day in Tehran was a Friday, the Iranian weekend. As a number of the sights we’d planned to see were closed we decided to join the Tehranis on a walk in the foothills of the Alborz mountains above Darband. We enjoyed the fresh air and mountain scenery but yet again it was the people whom we met who made the day for us.
After visiting the Sa’ad Abad palaces we climbed from Darband to a mountainside hotel. There we met Ali and Hamed, displaying typical Iranian hospitality we were invited into the hotel for tea. After tea and completing a loop above Darband, Ali and Hamed led us back down to Tajrish square where they treated us to a delicious bowl of halim.
During the rest of our stay in Tehran we enjoyed checking out the National museum, Golestan palace and the bazaar. The highlight as far as sights was concerned was undoubtedly a chance to see the Iranian Crown Jewels. My favourite item was the jewelled globe where the oceans were made from emeralds and the land from rubies.
Finding good food in Tehran proved as frustrating as elsewhere in Iran. We didn’t manage to find anywhere selling the lamb’s brain soup for breakfast though we did find some tasty warm chicken liver baguettes and very good honey and thick creamy yoghurt breakfasts.