Esfahan is one of the cities you should have seen before you die. The Naqsh-e Jahan Square is the second biggest square in the world but according to my host “of course the most beautiful one”. I would believe him.
The square has two mosques, both two of the prettiest I’ve seen so far. The square was used for horse raises in the past which the ruler watched from the balcony of his palace.
Today, you can visit the bazaar around the square and watch the craftsman creating their handicrafts, buy some gaz (local nougat), or let yourself be invited to a tea with the carpet sellers. If you have space in your luggage and money in your pocket you should of course also buy one. The smaller bazaar in the square is linked to the grand bazaar further north of the city, making Esfahan one big shopping paradise.
If you need a break from the shopping experiences you can go to the river and have a walk along the riverside (or in the river bed actually since it is dry at the moment) to some of the prettiest bridges I’ve seen so far. If you come at night you can listen to the locals chanting songs or just chill out with the crowd. I’ve been waiting for the water to fill the river and pools the entire week, but it hasn’t rained much the past years and Iran is pretty much dried out – I couldn’t see the river and the garden pools in their full beauty unfortunately.
The Armenian quarter comes very close to what I would call “hipster”, bringing coffee shops and tons of coffee shops to Esfahan and its most expensive restaurant (I haven’t been but I heard the food is delicious). I was just happy to get a coffee instead of a tea every once in a while but hadn’t been lucky to find a really good one.
I didn’t do much in Esfahan. I climbed the mountain next to it to have a view of the city by night and visited the music museum with an impressive collection of traditional Iranian instruments. Most of the time I just walked around the square, tried to have breakfast in my favourite café as often as possible, and hung out with my host or some other people I met.
I also went to the desert for a night, which turned out to be a bit windier then expected. Luckily it calmed down at night so we could camp next to the sand dunes and make a fire while watching the stars outside.
And suddenly seven days had passed and it was time for Chaharshanbe Suri.
Chaharshanbe Suri
A week before the Persian new year, all Iranians go crazy on (self-made) firework and jumping through fire to get rid of the bad from the last year. “My yellow (= bad) to you, your red (= good) to me”. You give the fire all your bad stuff and in return it gives you passion and power for the new one. Sounds like a good deal to me. It might also burn your eyes or cost you a leg.
I first heard of Chaharshanbe Suri when I got a message of a Couchsurfer warning me I should be careful that day as everybody goes crazy and his friend lost an eye two years ago. When I asked one of my Iranian friends he replied “oh yeah, last year fifteen people died in the celebration. In Esfahan you could hear the firecrackers exploding everywhere.” I imagined Berlin on new years just with self-made bombs exploding next to you. I was a bit torn apart as I really wanted to go to a party that night to see the celebration but I still wanted to wake up the next morning with all of my body parts attached and intact. Luckily, I met a girl from New Zealand who is an Aupair in Esfahan for a few months and her family invited me to come celebrate with them. A family party cannot get out of hand completely, right? When we arrived everybody was already in party mood and the fire was about to get started. It wasn’t one fire but three and for the very brave ones they also lit up a couple of spitting volcanos in the middle. After running through the fire, partying with the family and sending off sky lanterns it was time to go home again. It was a short but intense party and I was happy to see an Iranian family celebrating this day together.
The next day, it was time to pack my stuff again and head to Shiraz.
