At the end of this post, I shall explain the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims since the latter is predominant in Iran but not the world by a long shot.
Running Kashan was easy. Waking up was hard. Roads straight. No cars. Mesmerising desert scenery on both sides. The 119km drive to the traditional mountain village of Abyaneh was also the same. Flat arid landscape on all sides. It was starting to cool down given our steady rise. We took a turn about 30km from Abyaneh and entered a new world of one giant ascending canyon with jagged bare mountains on both sides. The canyon base obviously had a substantial running river since a belt of green with plentiful tall slender trees sat at the bottom of the canyon. (Pop 133, Elev 2244m) is very touristy. You pay a “toll” to get in and the public car park was full at only 1045am on a Friday – weekends must be crazy here. Our visit began with tea and cake at the fanciest hotel in town. This hotel has been family run for 5 generations and the memorabilia inside attests to this. Most are antiques. Old appliances, family photos, gramophone, chandeliers, dolls, toys and the list is endless (see photo). We then started a long walk into the cliffside village of Abyaneh itself. Narrow cobblestone streets with hand-built homes rendered in a pink-red (dusty peach) coloured mud and straw. Ornate wooden entry door with lots of wooded balconies. I lagged behind to take photos of the homes but especially the local older people sitting quietly by their doorways. Abyaneh is important because the architecture and way of life goes back to the Achaemenid era. I am sure you will like it.
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At 1:30pm we were off again to complete the 168km to Isfahan. Most of the journey was in wide open arid desert stretching as far as the eye could see which was not that far – a heat haze kept visibility down but the occasional jagged ridges were very visible. All of this between 1700 to 2000m. Like a Persian version of the Andes Altiplano only much much lower and far less clarity and colour. We arrived at our centrally located hotel at around 530pm so time enough to bad a nice hot local restaurant meal and some supplies.
Isfahan (Pop 2.22 million, Elev 1,574m) is located 440 kilometres (270 miles) south of Tehran. Isfahan was founded in the 11-12th Century by the Seljuk Turks. Under the Safavid Empire, Isfahan became the capital of Iran, for the second time in its history, under Abbas the Great. The city is famous for its Persian–Muslim architecture, grand boulevards, covered bridges, palaces, tiled mosques, and minarets. Isfahan also has many historical buildings, monuments, paintings, and artifacts. Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan is one of the largest city squares in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Isfahan was also home to many Armenians. Estimates of their number in Iran range from 70,000 to 500,000. Areas with a high concentration of them include Tabriz, Tehran, Salmas and New Julfa in Isfahan. Many of the oldest Armenian churches, monasteries, and chapels are in Iran. Iranian Armenia (1502–1828), which includes what is now the Armenian Republic, was part of Qajar Iran up to 1828. Iran had one of the largest populations of Armenians in the world, alongside the neighbouring Ottoman Empire until the beginning of the 20th century. Armenians were influential and active in modernizing Iran during the 19th and 20th centuries. After the Iranian Revolution, many Armenians emigrated to Armenian diasporic communities in North America and Western Europe. Today, the Armenians are Iran's largest Christian religious minority.
My first impressions of Isfahan were good ones. Lots of tree-lined boulevards designed that way to give locals plenty of shade in what is otherwise a desert climate with 25-45C all year round. We set off on a group walk at 9am and visited the following attractions: Jameh Mosque (in Jewish Quarter), Armenian Quarter Jolfa (Vank Cathedral, Square, Mary Church, Bethlehem Church, Carpet House). At the Jameh Mosque I was surrounded by a multitude of Year 8 students just wanting to practice their English and find out about the outside world. One boy even offered me money as a souvenir – something that really impressed me. At the carpet house I surprised myself by buying two hand-made Persian carpet rugs. One for my living room made of 75% silk and 25% baby lamb neck wool and the other for my beachside unit at Ettalong made of 100% camel wool. After the group walk I embarked on my own solo walk to see the 33 Bridges and the Naghshe Jahan Square (Grand Bazaar). The latter is amazing, the showcase and the centre of Isfahan. The square is 560m long by 160m wide and constructed between 1598 and 1629. It is surrounded by small shops which make up the bazaar. It also contains two Mosques and a Palace which I will solo-walk tomorrow since it was now 330pm and 34C and I was completely melted and had to get back to the hotel to attend a visit to a genuine Persian Bath House or Hammam. I finished the walk with an absolutely delicious Safron soft-serve ice-cream !!! Iran is a huge producer of Safron and claim it is the best quality globally. A short walk back to the hotel gave way to ice-cold water thanks to our in-room fridge. At 430pm, 4 guys and 3 gals headed off to the Qazi Persian Bath House of Hammam only 2km taxi ride away. What an experience. Starts with a shower, warm pool, hot jet spa pool and then the showpiece – a full scrub-down and soapy clean by the hands of a rather large Persian bloke !!! I participated in my world-map budgie smugglers and the whole thing took 90min. The scrub down revealed layers of dry skin that I did not even realise existed and once the soapy clean was over I felt like a new-born baby – super clean, super-light and completely renewed from walking 20km today !!! Well worth the $30USD we paid. The day ended with another great hot dinner and movie and the Hammam made sure I slept instantly.
My run in Isfahan was great because I was able to sleep in and start at 9am and run almost 80% under the cover of trees to escape the fast-heating sun. Ran along the riverside with no water but plenty of trees. I set out on my solo-walk at around 11am and it was terrific. I quickly realised just how many ancient relics are in this city focused on Mosques and summer Palaces for the many Shahs and Sultans (leaders) of the many dynasties in Iran. I visited the following attractions: Chehelsotoun Palace, Shah Mosque (Abassi Grand or Royal Mosque), Ali Quapu Palace. The UNESCO Shah Mosque was easily the highlight. It was built in 1629 by Abbas The Great and covers 19,000 square metres. It is huge. Its tiled patterned green dome is so decorative it looks like a giant Russian Faberge Egg !!! Photographing such huge structures is a real challenge and I spent the better part of an hour trying to fit it all in and replay the splendour of seeing it with my own eyes. I hope I have done it justice with the photos below. The Chehelsotoun Palace is made of stone and wood but the wall paintings inside are to die for (as you will see). They depict battle scenes between the Persians and Ottomans as well as life at the palace which was used as giant reception and banquet facility for visiting dignitaries. I was glad to see the hotel at 3pm not just for a cold shower and drink but to catch up on emails and squeeze in another interview – I focused on hotel staff since their English was good. Only bazaar vendors speak English on the streets and they tend to be older guys who only want to talk about what they can sell you. This is the other good thing about Iran. You do not get hassled by vendors to buy stuff like Turkey or Egypt. There are exceptions in the larger attractions but most people that approach you are usually younger and just want to welcome you and practice their English and ask about the outside world. Younger people crave tourists for this reason. People are very generous. I received an invitation to dinner from the father of one of the hotel employees and recall the money I was offered by a Year 8 student. There is an appetite for tourists here. Isfahan turned out to be a gracious city with much to see and easy to walk (and run). My favourite in Iran to date. Enjoy the reason why…
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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHIA AND SUNNI
The difference between “Sunni” and “Shia” Muslims is NOT theological but political.
In a nutshell, at the time of the Prophet Muhammad’s death in 632AD two factions arose to debate who should succeed the Prophet as Leader of The Faith. The Sunni’s argued it should be “the best man for the job”, ie, the person most qualified in Faith whereas the Shia argued it should be “like Royalty”, ie, the natural bloodline of The Prophet. Opposition was so bitter that it became violent and the two factions separated.
What is ironic in all of this is that both Sunni and Shia both believe in the same thing: the one Quran and the “Five Pillars of the Muslim Faith”. They also practice the same feasts and practices such as Ramadan. For this reason, most civilian Muslims do not differentiate or call themselves one or the other – only the extremists do.
Sunni and Shia are not allowed to intermarry – not because of secular law but Muslim law.
Iranian Muslims consider themselves to be different from Arab Muslims and South-East Asian Muslims due to their rich cultural heritage and higher levels of education.
Here is a simple table that summarises the two sects.
