I was lucky enough to travel to Iran recently and it was a wonderful trip. The people there were the most friendly I have met from anywhere. They all were happy to see me in their country and were all concerned that I was enjoying my time there.

I flew in to Tehran and was there for a little bit.
I had a chance to eat in the restaurant at the top of Milad Tower. The food there was great, and like everywhere else I went, the staff made me feel more then welcome to be there.
I went up to Bame Tehran ( Tehran Roof), which is a popular spot on top of a mountain in Tehran. It has a fantastic view of the city. The air up there is quite a bit cooler, and it was a nice break from the constant heat down in the city. I was there in the middle of summer and it was hot.
I went to the Tehran Grand Bazaar in the Shoosh area, one of my favourite things to see there.
I visited the Sa' dabad Palace where the old king of Iran used to live.

We drove south through Qom and I was able to visit the Fatima shrine.

We went through Kashan and drove out into the desert, where I spent a night underneath the stars.

We went to Esfahan, and went to a few different places there including some old old buildings from the time of the Zoroastrians. I spent sometime exploring Naqsh-e Jahan Square.

We drove back north and I got to see the cave system in Hamedan.

We spent sometime in Tabriz, where I explored the city. I was able to go see the Blue Mosque, the Iron Age museum, the Arg of Tabriz, as well as the Bazaar there.

I had a chance to go to Sarin and experience the hot spring pools there.

We had lunch in Bandar Anzali next to the Caspian Sea.

I got to see the homes carved out of the volcanic rock in the village of Kandovan. Many are still lived in today.

My absolute favourite part was hiking up the mountain to get to Babak Castle in the Arasbaran forest of Iran.

I genuinely had a great time over there. It was hard for me to adjust a little bit. Often I was treated almost like a celebrity, and I am already generally awkward in social situations so it was tough. With the vast cultural differences, language barrier, hot weather, amount of driving, and higher than what I am accustomed to population density, I was exhausted by the end.

It was a really cool experience. I was very lucky to be able to see a lot of Iran, but there is also still a lot there left to see. It is a big country with a long and colourful history, I hope I get the chance to visit it again one day.

Sounds like a beautiful country, and obviously not overrun with tourists. Just got my Irish passport, so I can now travel there independantly (UK visitors have to go on guided tours). Definitely on my list of places to visit once the family's all grown up and Ive got some more time to myself.

Did you see much burning of esfand (syrian rue)? Apparently it's commonly used as incense there.

The same restrictions currently apply for those from Canada and the U.S. which is unfortunate, but luckily I was able to find a way around it . I don't think I would have went if it had to be a guided tour, it definitely wouldn't have been the same.

I did not notice, but at the time I was over there I did not know the history of Syrian Rue in that area. Funny that you mention it, there seems to be some interesting synchronicities revolving around Syrian Rue for me in the last little while.

Did you visit and see Nasir Al-Mulk Masjid in Shiraz?

There furthest south I made it was Esfahan. That was definitely one of the places on my list to see and in fact I had originally planned to visit Shiraz, but there just wasn't enough time.

I do plan to make it there again and that will be on the top of my list of places to see

http://imgur.com/a/KwUkf

make sure you visit the great green north too

OMG

That looks like one of my DMT realms, but in real life.

https://www.dmt-nexus.me...aspx?g=posts&t=41076 There's more where that came from

**Sorry not hijacking the thread