“What did you like best about the trip,” Anna asked over our last breakfast together.
Without hesitating, I answered, “The people and the food.”
Anna looked confused by my answer and didn’t seem to know how to respond, so I returned the question to her.
“Oh, I really liked the mosques,” she replied, “I didn’t think they would be so elaborate…”
It’s funny how we had been on the same tour and yet had remarkably different experiences. For me, the tour was just a way to get into Iran and travel around the country with other people. But, after Persepolis, the tour quickly disintegrated into disorganization and disappointment for me.
I found allies in Chad and Oscar, who had also made friends with Iranians, and we were more on a mission to interact with locals, rather than to stick to the tour group. We broke away often and walked the streets on our own, greeting everyone we passed, intent on having a more local experience than a touristy one.
These are some of the snaps we took on our walks.
After we visited Persepolis, we spent the whole day on the road, arriving at Yazd after nightfall. When “stay at a private home for dinner” turned out to be a buffet dinner at a hotel (- at least, we got to try camel; it tasted like beef), we hit the pavement to explore Yazd at night.
Yazd’s clock tower.
Trying the local soft-serve.
Oscar and Chad. (FYI, the thumbs-up sign means “up yours” in Farsi sign language, although more than a few locals know that it means a different thing to the rest of the world.)
Disappearing down Yazd’s alleyways.
The Amir Chakhmaq Complex.
We yelled “Saalam!” at some kids on a motorbike and they immediately U-turned to shake our hands and say hello.
The Jameh Mosque, which was right by our hotel. As we were returning from our walk, the group was just heading back from dinner. Those are Andrew and Jing on the bottom right, also taking photos of the mosque.