iran 8: esfahan nesf-e Jahan, esfahan is half the world

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Rama Arya

Esfahan is like a fabled town straight out of a medieval story with its ethereal mosques, opulent palaces, picturesque bridges and fabulous bazaars, all set around the most beautiful square in the world, the Maidaan Naqsh-e Jahan.

Naqsh-e Jahan meaning “pattern of the world” owes its splendour to the vision of Shah Abbas the Great. Began in 1602 as the centerpiece of the Shah’s new capital, the square was designed to house the finest architectural jewels of the Safavid Empire. Measuring 512 meters long and 163 meters wide, it is the second largest square in the world after Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Royal equestrian arts and polo games were once put on show here for the Shah and his court. Continue reading →

iran 7: the desert city of yazd

Posted on June 11, 2018 by Rama Arya

I am nearing Yazd. The landscape is stunning. Towering, barren, sedimentary mountains streaked with iron oxides flank both sides of the road. It has been a long day, driving through hundreds of miles of arid wilderness. As I wind my way through the burgeoning city, millions of street lights twinkle in the darkness in warm welcome.

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Yazd is one of those not-to-be missed, no-matter-what, highlights of Iran. Wedged between two desolate deserts, it has long been a prosperous staging post on the caravan route between Esfahan and Central Asia. The city was an important center for Iran’s pre-Islamic religion, Zoroastrianism, and still has the largest Zoroastrian population in the country at 12,000. Continue reading →

iran 6: shiraz, the heartland of persian culture

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Rama Arya

Drink until the turbans are all unbound,
Drink until the house like the world turns around.
~ Hafez, Sufi poet (14th Century)

I’m in Shiraz, the heartland of Persian culture. Shiraz was one of the most important cities in the medieval Islamic world and the capital of the Zand Dynasty from 1747 to 1779. Through its many artists and scholars the city earned a reputation for being the “House of Learning” and was synonymous with education, nightingales, poetry, roses. and at one time, red wine. It is home to one of the oldest universities dating to the 7th Century AD. Two of the world’s greatest poets, Hafez and Saadi are buried here. Continue reading →

iran 5: the city of darius I, esther and avicenna—hamedan

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Rama Arya

Hamedan (also spelt Hamadan) is one of those cities where you can stroll through 2,500 years of history in a single afternoon. Cuneiform tablets of Darius I and Xerxes I proclaiming their kingship, Esther’s tomb, Avicenna’s 11th Century mausoleum, and a European style street plan with elegant squares designed in 1929 by German engineer Karl Frisch make up the Hamedan of today. And amidst this eclectic mix of history live a people with a traditionally deep-seated respect for knowledge and the sciences. Education is very highly regarded in Iran and literacy is around 80 percent. More than 60 percent of university students are women. Continue reading →

iran 4: the story of persepolis

Posted on May 31, 2018 by Rama Arya

“Passer-by, I am Cyrus the Great, I have given the Persians an empire and I have ruled over Asia. So do not envy me for this tomb.”
~ Inscription on the tomb of Cyrus the Great, Pasargade, 6th Century BC

I love rambling through archaeological sites, running my fingers over millennia old ruins, walking down worn out paths where before me countless souls had also passed along. Where history was made and destinies defined. Sites like these are humbling, making us realize how small we are in the bigger picture. And yet such sites also fill us with a deep sense of pride in humanity’s political achievements and artistic endeavors which are a legacy belonging to all mankind.

Continue reading →

iran 3: takht-e soleyman, epicentre of zoroastrianism

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Rama Arya

The unspoilt expanse of Western Iran is desolate. Its people simple. Barren red mountains stretch as far as the eye can see, in sharp contrast with the clear blue skies above. Decade-old cars of forgotten makes and models plough highways punctuated with police checkpoints at rapid regularity. I’m on my way to Takht-e Soleyman, the spiritual center of Zoroastrianism, and on to Takab for the night, a minuscule town less than a hundred miles from the Iraqi border. Continue reading →

iran 2: soltaniyeh’s mongolian sultans and exotic bazaars in zanjan

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Rama Arya

The adventure begins. I’m off to north-west Iran. There is something terribly exciting about visiting places away from the beaten path, meeting people who are not part of the global cloned collectivity. There is somehow always a heartwarming uniqueness in isolated individuality.

Western Iran is largely underdeveloped with a mixed history. Whilst it has enjoyed the spin-offs of being part of the famed Silk Road, it has also suffered the most in the Iran-Iraq war.

Soltaniyeh, a Mongol town built in the 14th Century, is my first stop. The mausoleum of the Mongol Sultan Khodabandeh, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has the world’s second highest dome at 48 meters high and 25 meters in diameter. Continue reading →

iran 1: tehran … museums, palaces, bazaars, and mosques

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Rama Arya

Note: I travelled to Iran in October 2007 for two weeks. Iran has been one of my most memorable travels to date. I am republishing the series comprising 10 posts till this mid-June. Refreshing my personal memories. This is the first post in the series—on Iran’s capital city Tehran and its museums, palaces, bazaars, and mosques. Hope you enjoy the reads. 🙂

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“Why are you going to Iran???” “Coz I want to.” “But why? You’ve really gone cuckoo. Just look at the current global political scenario!!!” “I’m going because I want to go that extra mile. Cross that extra river. Go beyond preconceptions and expectations. Learn for myself what really is out there.” “You’ve gone cuckoo, period!”

Salaam. I’m off to Iran. It was not an easy task explaining my choice of holiday for the year. 🙂 But, hey, who cares. I’m going where my heart wants me to go. I want to walk through the ruins of Xerxes’ Persepolis, wonder at the beauty of Esfahan, and smile and play with Kurdish children before it is all too late. Before it all becomes another Baghdad, Kabul or Libya. Come along with me? Continue reading →

why the carnival mexico cruise tops america’s must-do travel list

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Rama Arya

There is something about a cruise which meanders through the oceans, stopping en route at exotic ports of call, as I discovered last month. I don’t know when I last ate so much, laughed so much, or bonded so much with my fellow-travellers—my mother and sister in this particular instance. To top it, I got to explore magical places every day.

The cruise was a 5-day extravaganza by Carnival Cruise Line with stops at Santa Catalina Island just off the coast of Southern California and Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico. A Las Vegas-styled liner with a guest capacity of 2,056, the 14-storey ship prides itself on giving its passengers unforgettable holidays filled with carnival-like fun. And no, it is not just a marketing spiel.

Don’t fret, I am not going to bore you with pictures of the three of us eating and laughing ourselves silly. What I would like to share is what the cruise was all about and what made it one of my most memorable travels to date. Hope you enjoy the post as much as I enjoyed my five days at sea. 🙂 Continue reading →

are you a wannabe, could be, or should be travel blogger?

Posted on January 12, 2017 by Rama Arya

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Ever wonder how you fare as a travel blogger?

Recently I designed an online assessment tool on travel blogging for one of the organisations I partner with. It is a simple quiz. 11 questions. But it helps one figure out where one stands. Are you a wannabe, could be, or should be travel blogger?

Please click here to start the quiz.

And if you wish, do feel free to share your scores in this post’s comments section. 🙂