The day I planned to travel from Isfahan to Shiraz turned out to be a religious public holiday (Muharram) and everything was shut for a couple of days, no bus services either. After investigating various possibilities including flying I decided to take a taxi for the 500km journey, cost 5 million rial  (USD$140) and visit Persepolis and some other sites along the way. This did not work out because all the tourist sites were closed as well, you were given the day off to stay at home and pray dummy hahaha. Though I did manage to visit one site where the sole guardian let us in after he received a donation. I picked up a bug (flu) and lived on a diet of tablets for the next few days.

The taxi driver turned out to be a woman (Mariam) and she brought her 3 children along Sargala 16, Milad 15 and Ali 10. We communicated using Google translate on my phone and it turned out to be an entertaining journey which included a picnic at lunchtime.

First stop Pasargadae which was closed, next Nagshe Rostam also closed, next Persepolis closed but we did manage to sneak in through a back gate and get a bit closer, we weren’t the only ones getting turned away, lots of locals were disappointed as well, next Nagshe Rajab where we were allowed in unofficially….

Shiraz – population 1.7 million, most people stop here to visit Persepolis and the surrounding ancient sites. I spent one day in bed listening to hammer drills in the building next door and the next two wandering around the city not feeling the best.

Iranian Music

.