Shelley Dark
- Oct 23, 2016
#22 Practicalities Iran Oman
Dear buddies At then end of each trip I like to give you an overview of the practicalities of travelling to the country I've just...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 19, 2016
#21 let's go buy a goat
Ali's first words to us when he picked us up at 8am this morning were ‘ok, let’s go buy a goat’. Photos of the Sultan are everywhere in...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 18, 2016
#20 Jabal Shams
It was a very pretty dawn from our balcony at Alila this morning. Time to pack up to leave. I had a grown-up looking Omani breakfast...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 17, 2016
#19 Alila and Jabal Akhdar
Junipers grow in Oman, but only up here on Jabal Akhdar. This one must be very old. Hardy and evergreen but extremely slow growing, they...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 16, 2016
#18 from desert to mountains
We slept very well in our desert tent, dreaming of Lawrence of Arabia or breakfast, and were up early to take a few photographs before...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 15, 2016
#17 from coast to desert
For more formal occasions Omanis put the turban on over the cap because it gives a regular shape. Our model was on the desk of the Al...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 14, 2016
#16 weekend in Muscat
Saturday Here we are in Oman. What a change in climate! It's the same temperature as Iran, but we've gone from zip humidity in the...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 13, 2016
#15 dust of Iran to humidity of Oman
The excitement today on the way to Kashan was to be seeing a nuclear plant. Habib has been saying for days that we are going to see one,...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 12, 2016
#14 Imam Square and Ali Qapu Palace
Today was a two palace day! First the Chehel Sotoun Palace. Shah Abbas II was the seventh Safavid Shah of Iran, ruling from 1642 to 1666....
Shelley Dark
- Oct 11, 2016
#13 Isfahan
Must tell you a funny Persian saying that our guide Ali told us yesterday: 'Cash vinegar is better than credit halva.' True in any...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 10, 2016
#12 Yazd to Isfahan
We were up on the roof at dawn this morning just before the sun rose to see cloud for the time time since we've been in Iran. From this...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 9, 2016
#11 Yazd
Here at the Garden Hotel the staff spray the walkways with water several times a day and there is the constant cooling sound of swiftly...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 8, 2016
#10 overland to Yazd
The road between Shiraz and Yazd weaves through valleys on the high plateau of the Zagros Mountains. The trip took us nearly 11 hours...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 7, 2016
#9 wearing a chādor
Today is Friday, the day of prayer like our Sunday. The weekend is Friday and Saturday, with Sunday being a normal working day. We...
Shelley Dark
- Oct 6, 2016
#8 Persepolis
We were to be at the bus this morning at 5am with our tripods so that we could be at Persepolis, an hour away, at dawn. We were excited...