What were we thinking, driving into Shiraz in the evening in the heaviest after-work traffic? Our sat nav said it would take three quarters of an hour, but my Google Maps already warned us and corrected it to 2 hours. "Oh well, it won't be too bad!" We must have done the maths without the traffic in Shiraz.
My goodness, 2 lanes become 6, the traffic jams in all directions, of course you overtake into the oncoming traffic jam, which doesn't really make things any better. Gerd is calm, I'm hyperventilating, to put it mildly.
After just under 3 hours we arrive in the city centre. Shiraz is a big city, but much smaller than Berlin, for example. I quickly order a parking space at Universum, which we get right in front of a pizza joint. We want to wait until half past ten. By then the traffic has calmed down and we head for a car park in a side street.
I make us a cup of tea, Gerd gets a burger and falafel for me from the snack bar. And comes back with fresh, warm bread that a woman has given him: "Welcome to Iran!" We spread thick honey on the warm bread for dessert and are happy. I notice how Gerd's tension is also easing, he lies down in bed "just for a moment" and lets us hear him sleep deeply and loudly.
OK, should I drive a bit now? But I wake him up gently around half past ten, we roll around three more bends and are allowed to stop in one of the public car parks. A few more cars are parked for us, then we close the blinds and go to bed. What a day!
We want to start the morning in the Nasir-ol-Molk mosque, just a few minutes' walk from our pitch. After paying the usual entrance fee, I am put into a chador, and once again the women laugh from the bottom of their hearts. My legs peek out of the chador by at least 40 cm. Actually, I should be completely covered. But what am I supposed to do? 1.81 metres is 1.81 metres.
The mosque building is rather inconspicuous from the outside, but its full beauty unfolds when you go inside. The sunlight shines through the colourful glass windows and bathes the room in a magical atmosphere. We sit down on the carpets and try to feel the magic. But we are not the only visitors here; the focus seems to be less on the mosque and more on the many selfies taken at the right angle to the window, light and colourful spots of light on the carpet. The pleasure doesn't quite materialise, but not everything has to be so incredibly moving.
Instead, we immerse ourselves in a wonderful Persian world in a small café in a side street. We have a cosy breakfast and think about how the day should continue. After a hearty breakfast and a few cups of tea, we are ready for the bazaar. Because we want to leave Shiraz today.
Yes, we know it's a shame, Shiraz has so much to offer. But we're more in the mood for nature.
So we stroll through the really beautiful and large bazaar, I make a find and buy 600 g of pure Persian wool for knitting (not so easy here, most of the wool is used for carpets and knitting wool is mostly acrylic) and we stock up on tea, spices and other things on our shopping list.
We let ourselves drift, the energy here is really strange and beautiful, but we realise: We've had enough of the city, we're looking forward to the vastness of the Iranian plateau of the Zargos Mountains.
Merci for "travelling with us
We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.
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