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Hey guys.I'm now in Shiraz.On the 3rd we had a full day in the ancient town of Yazd (they say it is the oldest inhabited town in the world and has been inhabited for 7,000 years). It was beautiful.We stayed in the old town, which was all mud brick buildings, adobes and winding lanes.The people were all really friendly and the place had a very lazy, relaxed atmosphere.For instance, most shops are shut from about 1-4 for 'lunch'. The night of the 2nd (when we arrived there) we had an amazing home-cooked dinner at the hotel restaurant.They had aubergines in a lovely sauce, peppers stuffed with lentils and sultanas, fragrant rice, spinach pies (I didnt enjoy them as much), lovely chicken curry and fresh bread.I loaded a liberal helping of yoghurt onto my rice and tucked in.It had similiar flavours toTurkish food.Our hotel was great, really taditional with a cool courtyrad and a roof top view of the mosque and surrounding city.Anyway on the 3rd a few of us joined our Iranian guide, Mehdi to go and see a 1, 700 year old Zorastrian cemetery and the Two Towers of Silence. Yazd still has a 60,000 strong community of Zorastrians (the biggest in Iran). It was great to see the runis of the cemetery. The two towers were basically two round buildings without a roof.They looked a little like watch towers or small fortresses.Each one sat on a mountain.The Zorastrians, who do not believe in polluting the earth with the bodies of the dead (they believe that Satan enters the dead body) would leave their dead up in these towers until they had rotted and the birds had eaten them and then the high priests would collect the bones and bury them. We went in to one of the towers(a bit of an effort climbing up slippery rocks but well worth it!) and saw the big circular pit in the middle where the bones were buried.The corpses were laid out along the perimeter of the pit.They no longer practice this method of burial but they do enclose their dead in concrete coffins to ensure they dont have contact with the earth.All around were ruins of buildings that were apparently accomodation for people attending the funeral, which would last about 2 weeks.Now there is a modern Zorastrian cemetery there and they are bulding up apartment blocks all around.However the site is still peaceful and deserted enough to get the full effect of it.After that we headed to an ice cream parlour and then onto a traditional Iranian teahouse and restaurant.There I tried out a traditional Iranian dish called Fesincen (I think thats right), which is a chicken stew made with egg,pomegranite and sugar.Our guide loves it ando so did some of our group but it was too sickly sweet for my tastes. Later we had a walk around the old town, which was a labrynth of dusty, winding lanes I would have got lost in if I'de attempted them by myself.There were children riding their bikes and playing football, old women gossipping and men zooming by on their motorcycles (yes we are back in motorbike country again!) We visited Alexander's Prison where Alexander is supposed to have imprisoned a number of Persian governors and officials.It was nothing special to look at and consisted mainly of souveneir shops. On the way back we passed a supermarket selling spices where a little old man was sat on the floor casually counting his money.We also heard music and singing in some kind of courtyard that was closed off with long green canvases.The music sounded religious but I caught a glimpse inside and saw men sprawled out on loungers smoking shisha and drinking tea so God knows what was going on there.I dont think our guide really had any idea either! When we got back to our hotel we visited the beautiful Cami Mosque next door.The original building is said to be 1,100 years old. and built by a local Mullah called Roknaldin. 600 years ago it was rebuilt and extended by a Turkish ruler and its just evolved over time.Its typically Iranian in style with lots of beautiful tilework.It was interesting to see a working Shi'ite mosque.I saw small round stones where they place their forehead when they're praying so that their head doesnt touch unclean ground. Lastly I went to a working Zorastrian temple, the Temple of Fire, which was very interesting.Its architecture was very modern and quite plain. Inside there was a painting of their prophet and his sayings were typed up and encased in glass frames all along the walls.They were miostly to do with living a pure truthful life, staying away from evil and lies and getting closer to God (Ahur Mazda). In the middle of the temple, behind a glass screen was a fire that has apparently been burning for over a thousand years and has just been moved around from site to site.There is a person whose job is to feed the fire and make sure it doesn't go out. On the left hand side is the dorr to a type of bookshop and the door on the right hand side leads to the priest's room where people pray. It's amazing that after all these years there are still people keeping this religion;the first ever monolithic religion, alive. That eveing my roomate Holly, Roland (a middle aged married man from Worcestershire I think!) and then bed.Because of our proximity to the mosque at 4 in the morning we can hear the call to prayer very clearly in our rooms. That night I awakened to it but was still half asleep so it came to me like as a dream.lol. Yesterday we arrived in the legendary Persepolis. We set up camp (they have a camping site) but because of so many vacancies the lovely little hotel there was giving rooms for 5 dollars! I was the only one to upgrade(it was 5 dollars!) I've been sharing with 3 girls recently and am just getting over a cold so I just wanted a night to myself.I got a wonderful room with a double bed and a great power shower.I washed my hair and my top and then I treated myself to a bar of milk chocolate from the minibar(which was cheaper than the shop outside!).I melted my bar on a lightbulb and then indulged in it as I read a Marie-Claire magazine someone was kind enough to bring over with them. It was bliss and I got a wonderful night's sleep. All the campers on the other hand were kept up by fighting dogs and cats and shady charcters in their cars who hung around the car park blasting music all night. Today we had breakfast (I had mine at the hotel : )) and then Mehdi gave us a tour around the ruins.I won't bore you with a history of it as there are plenty of books on it, but its basically complex with some palaces and living quarters where great Persian kings once dwelled (think the Dariuss' and the Artaxerxes).It was a political and religious centre, but when the political centre was moved it became just a religious centre and was only really used during celebrations and occasions. Despite Alexander the Great destroying a lot of it much of the ruins were very well preserved, especially the carvings depicting kings, symbols of Persia and Persian royalty, religious symbols and the people of the different kingdoms of the Persian empire. It was well worth the 5000 rial entry (about 50 US cents). We spent about four hours there and then left for Shiraz. On the way we stopped off at Naqsh-i Rustam, four big tombs carved into the rock face. In one of them Darius the 1st is buried, with his friend or cousin, his wife and parents.In another is Artaxerxes the first and his wife and I forget the others (look it up).There were a number of carvings as well, depicting victyory over Roman generals and warrior horseman as well as a very early one of a water Godess giving a gift to a an early Persian king. Now we are in Shiraz and on a Tuesday night the city is hectic, sprawling with people.Everyone is extremely friendly and we have been stopped so many times by people wanting to talk to us and welcome us to their country.Tomorrow I'll explore and then onto the great city of Esfahan.I will update you on Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan soon and I'll also add more pics.xxx
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