Arabic, Russian english

Our host at this little,hotel and his,wife home school,their children.  They are following an American,Russian curriculum and they can speak English russian and Arabic.  The wife is Russian and has just returned from Moscow where she was dealing with the Estate of her recently deceased mother. The father is Palestinian.  We found this place on trip,advisor and at first I was dubious as being cheap can mean anything but it is perfect for,a rest which is,what we, ended.  These commas keep appearing as the key for comma is near the space bar.....sorry

Aqaba

Will openly say that,this,is. Great spot.   We are alone in this little hotel.  There is.nothing to,do,but lie in the sun and read ormswim.  There Are. No restaurants near by so our host cooks for,us.  He produces a small menu.  For breakfast he arrived with a large oval platter covered and within there rs.was delicious omelette cucumbers tomatoes and those wonderful estuff eggplants.  I am going to try and find a jar of,them. .  Flat bread, a bowl,of hummus tea.

Rosemary went divingtsmof veg.   this morning in the Red Sea, she found descending hard on her ears.  We came back to our nice hotel and had delicious Turkish coffee.  We made lunch of plums and apples taken from the hot springs hotel.

Last night our host made us a good meal of chicken and lots and lots of vegetables.  Tonight we are to Dorado fish stuffed.  We drink drink water and about 6 with rather,stupid hilarity we offer each other a chilled glass of Water!!!

It was hot today over 30. But it is cooling as we are out on beach chairs,waiting for the call to,supper. We have removed our bathing suits and put on longer pants.  Rosemary has a burn fromthe sun and I,anointed her with silver,jell.

Hot springs

We arrived fromWadi Rum. At about five,  we left wadi Rum at 0700. Somup at six.  Sleeping in raised above the ground tents.  Lots of blankets. But a long walk to the LOo in the middle of the night, chose the easier route. One wild ride, hanging on for dear life in the back of a pick up truck.
The ride across the sand dunes reminded us a bit of Namibia and Egypt.   We were told to expect jeeps but in actual fact they were converted pickup trucks.  The back of which had iron benches welded to the floor and cushions to soften the bumps.
We stopped enroute at an ancient. Castle site. Climbed up up amid wild flowers.  The desert has bloomed after the extraordinary rain.
We swam in the natural hot pool. Hoping it would help,our colds. Then eventually got to a bar..R spent a long time showing the bar man how to make a martini.  We had to drink it and the three drinks plus water came to fifty dollars,
Our room faces the gorge opening east. This is the first bed room that I have been in which did not have an arrow indicatingthe direction for Mecca.

Hot springs

we woke at 0600 at Wadi Rum. In the middle of the desert,,, amazing mountains etched by light and shadows from the sun.  Supper was an amazing event.....we herded over to a big mound of sand withncoalsmburningnon top.  Two strong men dug out the sand  revealing a cloth covered lump.  The cloth was shaken free of sand, removed, revealing a large metal lid.  This li here’d here’s was swept clear of  sand. Eventually a 4 Layered object was lifted free..lots of small chickens, also sorts of vegetables. Etc.  We feasted!   Dancing and music followed.  We reluctant climbed into our  tents,
We are now at Hot Spring near the dead sea !  Many hours of driving.   To thid hotel.  We were given keys to a room, key did not work,,I stayed with  luggage. New key..OMG. People in bed.  Young..horrified at our intrusion
New room several floors up.
Went swimming in hot pool. Washed clothes showered.nwent to,bar.  r asked for Mojito. Not potable
Asked for martini   Made with lemon juice and sugar...R showed him how to make  dry martini.
Bar tender. Who probably is a Muslim. Does not drink.

After then tour

we are nearly finished with ago tours,an English company and a far cry fromG they do stay in A better class of,hotel though,
Rosemary and ImRe botjntired and have colds. lr is especially troubled by a terrible cough.  So we are going to a low end hotel in Aqaba. I wanted to stay on th sea but R wanted to save money save money so we will see what the hotel is like,  supposed to have two pools and we have our own bungalow
Then after three days we will go to then
Dead Sea and stay inthenHoliday Inn on the Jordan side .
The back to Amman and home to our
European adult children.

Food

the food in Iran was perfectly ok but boring.  They have little access to out of country goods and as they are depressed do,not make great effort... the tea rooms were always interesting some very old. Likem700 Years.  InJordan there is more flavour to,the food and R and I took a class inJordanian food last night.  It was disappointing as there was. Huge crowd and a big menu...4 cold Mezze 1 hot soup. And a dish for,which they are well known,,upside down chicken called MagLouba
We did not get to make the entire meal but rather there six tables with at least 6 to 10 at each table so at our table we made babganoush and tahini salad.and the lentil soup.

Petra

Olive tree out the front door

Our rock home

Petra

We arrived inPetra yesterday it was cold but not snowing and the rain was ended.  We are on the 9 level. Reached by out door stairs. Each room is made of rocks on the outside. And plaster walls we have quite the view.  It is like each or is an individual rock house,

Olive trees out the front door

Music centre in isfahan

The mist interest tambourine style with steel rings around the rim which bangs on the inside o the skin when shaken 

Jordanian Hills

Al jarash

Responses
It is reassuring to know that my email is working as I get lots of emails from Telus, The Bay. Hotel.com, homehardware. And so on...
Just heard fromJacquie  from some where in the wilds of India???
I have not read the other books, intend to do that with the time I’m have before my,return. PIers Island Reads...should be a good one,

Amman

We are we are in a comfortable hotel called AlQasr, too bad Arabic words cannot be used in scrabble. That pesky Q. Does not require U here.
We went searching for an ATM machine...we needed one with a particular icon, finally at a hospital we found one..R used her cardSUCCESS. Then not for mine, we crossed over to a partner ATM which proceeded to keep my card!,!,,after after frantically pushing buttons written in Arabic and a few anxious minutes it spit out my card.  I finally got 100:dinars. Referred to a JDs (Jordanian dinars)
Unfortunately our C$is so weak it costs us close to 2$ for one dinar.  I.e. we pay 1.80 for 1 JD. Where as the US$ .88 So a dollar less that us...I checked with my Canadian bank and my 100 JDs cost me 205.
As we left hospital it poured. Bucketing down..we hailed what we thought a taxi. Turned out to,be a private person , a nurse returning homing home, he wanted to do a good deed so drove us home not wanting recompense, this in contrast to a taxi ordered by the restaurant who demanded ten whereas going had cost 2...we told out hotel person who gave us 5 saying that was outrageous...and so it goes,.
We meet our Jordan guide tomorrow,

Our last day in Iran inflammatory poster the first seen

Istanbul

We are in the Atatürk Airport waiting to go to Amma

Turkish Airlines has a poor website but they are very nice to fly with

At Tehran airport we got very poor advice found ourselves in /transit area with lots of Iranian money and no where to exchange it. Were not allowed to leave area. No exchange out of Iran so we searched ways to spend it. Very confused sales girls. As we bought many scarves    And IRosemary bought my favourite face cream. Etc then they just could not do the math. was glad that they struggled with all the zeros 

Finally a more senior person came but R who had less than me got more ad she did not deal with the supervisor Rosemary is drinking beer but I am having Perrier.  No sparkling water in Iran

Bought a micki of scotch. To restore our selves when we finally get to Amman which will be on the

Middle of the night.  We have flown west so lost two

Hours 

We are now in .Amman Jordan a modern western looking city.  With the time change we have gained two,hours. So although it is 0215 Saturday March 30 it is 0415 Iran time.
I was thinking of how clean Iran is, they have. Neat system for delivering soap in the public bathrooms   There is a large cistern which they dump buckets of hand soap which through gravity feed suppllies soap to all the soap dispensers even in the most simple public bathroom
You rarely see garbage lying around, no plastic bottles floating i the water ways.  Street cleaners every where.

Good bye to marvellous IrN

We are back I Tehran.  We slept well on hard beds and bitter but clear mountain air in our little village.  We stopped enroute in another beautiful elegant city to visit a magnificent house which was built  by a very successful rug dealer in the 19c.  Magnificent courtyards with natural water features, marvellous relief work on the walls summer rooms shady to fight the summer heat. Clever wind towers Nd just charming.  Thinking  of some the monster houses ugly to a fault I just spwished some of them could see this house.  TABATABAEE HOUXSE IN Karshan.  There also was a 

Marvellous old caravanserais hotel,,w e want to come back and stay there. SARAYE AMERIHA  

BOUTIQUE HOTEL.  

We leave tomorrow..Friday for Amman Jordan. Arriving just aft

We are told we will miss Irans. Leanloness..never worried about eating. Bathrooms public ones plentiful and easy to use..often a.  squat...footie...type or a seat.   Learned a every important word today. Kaput , a Persian word for condom!,,

Mountain village. Abyaneh

We are in this rather remote. 

Mountain village several hundred feet above sea level.  It is so isolated that they did not convert fron  Zoastrianism to Islam until about 700 years ago,  theywear traditional, dress and their houses are made of various coloured  clay brick giving it lovely colourful look.

We have just had lunch and I had something called Dici. A lamb tomato broth comes in a larg3mtin container. You get a set of tongs to grip the tinwyou take a spoon and hold back then,eat and veg whilst pouring I. The broth.  You first of all put lots of bread inthenbottomof the bowl. Bread si# thin flat bread. Pour ove the broth...eat...you Re also given pestle. Which you then smash like a mortar and pestle the remaining mash  into the left over broth.

Isfahan

We have been in Isfahan for three nights.  It is an elegant European style city.  The river is flooding of coRse so is not beautiful at the ,o,ent but all along the river banKs are wonderful walks shady paths nicely paved often with colourful tiles,  Iranians love to picnic so you find family groups sitting on blankets with babies and toddlers running around,  etc.  weather wise they have harder rain than in the living memory of our guide who was  born in1960...

You may have seen the flooding in,Shir

Small things Isfahan

I booked coming to Iran deliberately to coincide with their two week celebrations for,their new year. Which in-their lunar calendar  is the year 1398. We are now in Isfahan. And as there are lots of palaces and mosques and shrines to visit the town is full of  Iranian visitors.  I knew it would be busy and thought maybe it would not be a good idea as there will be crowds and there are... BUT my Iranian dentist on the Pat 

Bay highway said to me .. go. The atmosphere is worth experiencing and he was so right.  I do not think I ever stop smiling.  Our hotel is on a pedestrian way.. a about a kilometer long of trees and cafes and golf carts///yes. The ones that seat 12.. we got on one outside out hotel  and drove, more or less for fun to the end. Of the pedestrian way. 

A young teen ager came up to me almost immediately and I have learned to say.. hello you want t practice English?  ‘This little girl wants to study biology at 

Toronto.. she asked if I knew 

Toronto.  Her Mother and Father stood by while she introduced me to them , we talked for quite a while, lots of picture taking.  renaldo the Brazilian came up to stand  beside me, I explained he was from Brazil that seems to most people to be an impossibly long way away.  The morning continued like that.  We walked and walked into the third latest square in the world... after Tianmin and Red squares  they said,  it really was magnificent ,a lovely long water pool the sides were lined with either shops mosques or palaces. Running off from the sides are long covered bazaars, one two kilometres long.  A famous architect from India designed the Women’s mosque.  There was an underground tunnel through which the women would pass into the mosque which was very beautiful.  Mosques are not just places of worship. Much goes on in them, you can eat have picnics, bring coffee meet with your friends conduct business etc.  Now a days very few people actually go to a mosque to pray.  And altho you hear the call to prayer you do not see anyone rushing to put down a prayer mat.  In our hotel rooms there is always a prayer rug.

You learn about tile and mosaic.  The cheaper tile is just that.. coloured design fired actual squares mortered  onto the wall that is the quickest and cheapest way to decorate, but mosaic which is individual tiny pieces stays b right and shiny despite wind and sunshine and the centuries.  The second mosque we entered had a echo due to the double ceiling, standing in a particular place when you speak it echos.  Our wonderful guide was persuaded to say some Hafiz poetry which again attracted a crowd. He said that last time there was a young guard who stopped him and said he could only quote the Koran, but this time no one. 

This was a big mosque with lovely gardens but in search for a bathroom we met a bow legged man who said he would guide us we said we also wanted real coffee (Nescafé) is on offer at breakfast.  He waited and took us into the bazaar and through a carpet shop ut the back way to a great funny small Italian coffee shopwhere we met two  young people from Netherlands studying international affairs but now on the New Years break.  We had delicious coffee and sat and talked Meanwhile other Iranians came and talked to us ;; the WC guide owned the carpet shop but just gave us his card urging us to return.  

We left with our own guide and the rest. Then walked to the Palace of the 40 columns.  We entered to musical chaos and men circle dancing.  This was another fascinating palace.  40 column because altho there were 20 in reality 40 because the columns reflected in the pool in front.  

The palace had been looted by the various invading  armies but in the interior were beautiful paintings done in the European style. Here we could not move without having to answer the question.. where are you from?  Then Welcome to Iran... do you need any help?  Elderly women hug us and families  push their young children towards us and say can I  have a photo with you and my children.  Welcome to IRAN. ETC  teen age boy came and asked what did we think of Iran.  One woman asked Rosemary if Canadians liked Trump/.  

Finally we went to a basement restaurant for lunch, it was empty at first. But by the time we ordered it filled up.  There were two musicians  who played the entire time during lunch.. a violin and a variety of percussion .  The one man sang and told stories and then dancing around he kissed Rosemary on the head on her head scarf.  ... her fatal attraction. 

When we came out after lunch it was raining.. but we walked out to another  grand palace where the queen would have resided.  We climbed up 7 flights of irregular stairs to a view.  Again.. crowds with  of families, lot of questions.  We walked home past a very Andy hotel which used to be a caravanserais but had been converted into a 5 start hotel in 1957. It was rather fun to walk through all the luxury.  Our guide said they were a bit snooty ... 

now back to our hotel. Cell phone needs charging and we need a break plus tea.  We will start again in a cou0e of hours.  Hard work being a tourist.   

Sabbath

Sabbath starts at morning prayers and today is the real beginning of the new year it also is the first day of  DLS and our cell phones automatically adjusted,we set the time for the old time so w e were woke an hour earlier than needed. We will have spent most of this day on a bus travelling 500kilometers to Shiraz.  We stopped for a break at a Park where people were picnicking.tents were evident even though the weather is chilly.

This is a favourite past time of Iranians especially at the beginning of the new year 

This landscape is bleak matching the weather, which up to now has been sunny.

Mahon

That is where we are now..we went to a marvellous old fort ..citadel and the onto this place where we ate lunch...interesting local stew which was delicious. The on to a shrine where a Shaw who was a mystic and a poet (means King)was buried in great huge room the most important-part being the carpets on the floor and our guide  attracted an huge crowd because he spoke out loud a famous poem by a Iranian poet named  Suni

 Large crowd gather around us while he was  speaking this beautiful poem later translating Into. English when other people came and  made a video of him he has a carrying voice deep and strong and he obviously loves literatur. The courtyard was filled with huge cypress trees.  and I thought of the cedars of Lebanon which are famous.

We finished the day within a magnificent tour of a water garden..there were the crowds with babies and finally being New Years. Everyone was cheerful.  

I should say something about these rugs...two enormous ones were hand made...you count the fineness of rugs by their knots per centimetres these rugs also had suni poetry and quotes from the Koran woven into the sides.  There were others rugs also but loomed on a machine

The shrine has seven archways. (7) being one of those biblical numbers and is of course very beautiful, unlike cathedrals they are rarely dark and somber.  There were some chairs which were interesting.  A bit like the old fashioned school desk with a swing up table, well this swing up table is used by women who can no longer get down on their knees. So they put their head down on the desk to pray.

The water garden is a miracle inthis desert.  There is a central stream about ten feet wide which cascades down from about 100 feet about eight to ten feet at a time.  Along each side of the stream are wide walk ways flanked by trees and flowers and as the water falls from each ledge there is a fountain.  It is lovely and cool and has been there for eons.

Tomorrow day light savings starts and we leave here 0700 for Shiraz which is 500 kilometers away.  It will really be 0800 in DLS.  Friday  is the sabbath which starts with the morning prayers.  We understand that the mosques are empty. A bit like many of our churches.

Caravanserais

  This sand stone round stand alone building is in the middle of the desert.  They were part of the route for travellers for the past 2000 years.. this one has been improved but not changed in format.each caravanserais was about twenty miles apart and dotted the country from south to north and probably east into Pakistan and Iraq  We have a sleeping platform with two  mattresses and a carpet floor. Reminds me of Egypt.  We  spent most of this day. Tuesday March 19 in Yadz, we went to a garden which has been aRound again for over a thousand years... it has slowly grown but is mainly trees cleverly watered.  This country is desperately short of water and over the centuries have developed very clever ways of finding it and keeping accessible. The adobe yellow sand houses often round shapes with very high towers with slats which are really cooling towers. Hot air rises away from the ground and the cool air descends. Ir 

T is a system againdevloped over the many years.  In this desert place there is minimal electricity and no wifi. So you may not get this for a couple of days.  Meals are included in this place whereas we usually buy our own altho we eat together. This noon Rosemary and I actually found a REAL coffee shop we both like tea which is what most Iranians drink, otherwise it is Nescafé and hot water.

You should all come to visit here, the people are so glad to welcome visitors we are stopped on the street by women, who greet us, shake our hand they smile and pat our backs and say welcome welcome.  It is good time to be here as it is New Year. A big family holiday.  We have learned to say Happy New year in Farsi.  They seem to be a family oriented. People.. Trying to survive. On rampant inflation and a corrupt government with a punitive bent.   As Rosemary and I were walking down Crowded avenues  full of children  and women shopping. Grand parents etc she looked at me and said.  Why would anyone bomb these people?..

The sanctions make life very difficult,food is scarce or T least a large variety is not available.  

They apparently shut down their nuclear programs People do not want war of any kind they have seen enough of it..the war with Iraq was costly in many ways including nearly 500000 soldiers and civilians who are still dying from the chemical war fare which results in a long insidious death.

On a brighter note they have some of the best plastic surgeons in the world and masses of people especially women have their nose altered!!!

I am sitting on the roof of this caravanserais with a wonderful vista of mountains but in typical desert weather as the sun goes down it becomes colder so am going down

An interesting day

I’m afraid that I’ve been having a problem  copying and pasting the photos from Jackie’s emails. When I’ve figured it out I’ll update the blog. In the meantime:

We are in YAZD an adobe built desert city.  Has been here for over 2000 years and before thenArabs invasion they were a strong hold of Zoroaster (.  Trains)

They had some odd customs. They do not wish to. Pollute the earth, they were and still are a very green religion.  They do not bury their dead but rather they take them to the tower of silence where you die and also where you are born.  Your dead body is placed up the mountains left to rot and be scavenged.  The man who takes care of this cannot come into the community, even to this day this custom is followed but as others who are not members found finding dead bodies in the mountains troubling they now bury the body in lead lined coffins so they will not pollute the earth. There still community’s of these people living in Yazd and other part of the world You cannot convert to Zoarastrianism.. so slowly their numbers have dwindled .  

We went to some of their old sites, climbed up and down over yellow rock.  They pray five times a day but do not face Mecca but rather face a source of light and the find light within.  So where ever the sun is, or the moon or the stars etc.They keep a fire going 24/7 365/6 days in the 

Temple of 

Fire.  

They stres that you live on only two big principles.. with thought fill your life with good deeds or the opposite.  BAd deeds mean not going to paradise.  

WE WOKE AT 7 or so and had breakfast and then up to pack and have our bags down by 0830. We climbed into our bus and drove north which took nearly two hours due to the traffic, but finally we arrived at the various palaces of the

Shaw.  Our guide spoke kindly of the Shaw and was admiring of his wife who did many things of cultural interest of preserve them. Also of the many good things that the Shaw did.  Our guide speaks about the present government and the corruption and their absolute miss use of power with total contempt and how many young people are now calling for the Shaw to return.  He was known as a benevolent dictator.  

We visited the Shaw s palaces and were allowed in to the green palace where the glitterati was almost over whelming.  We were not allowed to take photos which was a shame as the place would have been amazing to photograph.  The return bus took ages also but we stopped at the archeology museum which had some interesting treasures.  Lunch followed.. we have four vegetarians with us and they are gong to get tired of eating eggs and scooped augergine.. we watched a man make huge fresh flat bread.. rolling it out on the flat surface and then putting the final touches to the product by putting in on a curve cushions over which he stretched the dough.  It went into a wood stove oven, a small hole in the wall , and the result was wonderful 18 inches across delightful flat bread served straight out of the oven. 

We then got on the bus again and drove to the Jewel Museum.  Where the Thenlargest Diamond in the world resides.  We were the first allowed in at 1400.. we lined up against a wall and then with a fat moving fast speaking guide we saw what must be billions of dollars worth of jewelry dating from early days.  The Shaw and his family did not take any of it with them in fact the jewels were on loans and they only borrowed them.  I it was an amazing site.  And the security was intense.   There must have been billions of dollars in that room.  

We then got on the bus in the rain and drove to the rail way station, were we again efficiently herded to our platform and on to our reserved seats on the train.  Very comfortable. 

We have had a succession of goodies. Water bottle.. then chocolate snack and of all things a juice carton size carton of milk.  

Then orders for supper which was going to be picked up at announced stops.  We ordered what seems ubiquitous chicken kebab.. which is cooked chicken .. usually fried or grilled, cut up into a strip and served under a Ute Lund of rice.  The Iranians eat more rice than the 

Chinese.  I had agreed to give my rice to one of the vegetarian travellers. A bottle of coke,  it came with a sachet of lime juice and another one of salt. 

I now usually order what ever we are going to have without rice please.  

We have a twenty minute stop and went out to rain and wind and dropped my typing board and lost a key.. cannot remember what it does.. but nothing else seems to have broken.  

We are now i our quiet garden hotel in the small desert city of Yazd.  Got the internet up and running it is nearly midnight...6 hours on the train which ran absolutely on schedule. Very comfortable.  At first when we could still see the desert and mountains reminded me of Mongolia.

I don’t have access to my blog in Iran so I’ve asked a friend to copy emails into it for me.

We have just finished a nice breakfast and are going to meet at 8:30 with the rest of the group who we had dinner with last night... a great group of mostly women and a nice leader ,,, a retired teacher.

Tehran so far has been beautiful , the people nice.. the food so so .. and getting used to being hot in our warm scarves... you see everything here.. from full body covering. .. to light scarves.. even saw one woman last night without  a scarf on at all...

But normally every woman is covered up but our guide says that the women began to revolt and the people who were hired to report women who were not dressed correctly have become tired of policing...

Iran is suffering, economically and from corrupt government... our guide says that the people are discouraged and sad... food is not as good as it was.. prices have climbed and climbed... govt has promised and promised stuff but never follows through.

Must shut down.
Love and kisses to all. ‘’Jackie

Practicing wearing hijab

There are very good videos on how to wear and wrap the head scarf into a fashionable hijab. Most of the demonstrations begin after the women have put onin an undergarment  i.e.  a close to the head head covering over which you wrap the colourful head scarfs
Here are three attempts

Tuesday

Getting better. Also weather cold but clear.  Lovely walk.  Got my car that I share with SEBASTIEN so could do some running around for C and myself. Music lessons. Wonderful Mississippi mud cake given to Naomi for being in the play.

Still jet lagged

Despite long walks and naps I find I am still jet lagged, this is the worst it has been for a long time and I guess it is due to being very tired before I left, that is the only explanation.  The walks have to be fitted in between heavy rain and snow showers and driving wind.

These tulips were a gift to Naomi 

Along the walks there are spring flowers

More madagascar

As we were leaving the theatre some of the cast were there to wave us good bye and were still wearing costumes.. I knew some of them.. and it was fun...

This is Saturday and almost three days on and it is the worst day for me for jet lag.
This late afternoon we went downtown Geneva to watch Naomi as one of ensemble cast in Madagascar.  Naomi was a joy to watch, she obviously had such a good time and was enjoying being there.
It was a great performance by all the leads and I was glad to be there.

Wine fair

Well it has been an interesting day ending up with James and C and me going to a wine fair, the same one as last year for my big birthday and Bob B tried to buy wine but his cc did not work. It is a ascinating place.. selling all sorts of wine.. chocolate  foie gras, fillets, smoked fish, breads, cookies , tapenade, olives etc etc... the family bought several cases of red and white but among their favorites is a wine grower from Italy near Turin. Naomi goes to Italian camp near there so this summer
C may stay at their gate. The wines name is BALDI.  If you come across it

We bought amazing ham and cheese from Spain.. had a wonderful time tasting it.. have laid out some of our spoils .. we are going to have it for dinner.. a bit Ike tapas