The beautifully bright jewel colours worn by the people of Jaisalmer, India, brighten up any day, through any amount of desert dust. Photos of the faces of people I come across in my travels take me right back to that time and place.
Falling for the most beautiful blue city of all
When I google “beautiful blue tile city” two names come up every time – The city of Esfahan in Iran, and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Sorry Google, you are wrong – the Blue Mosque is gorgeous but it’s no city! My feelings for Esfahan were short and sweet. The city did no wrong, I would [...]
Persepolis – the most amazing ruins most people will never see
The unique 2500 year old ruin of the capital of the Achaemenid Empire? The site of the 1971 extravagant celebrations of 2500 years of monarchy which provoked a backlash that grew into the 1979 Islamic revolution? Are you with me yet? Possibly not, as the spectacular old Iranian city of Persepolis is not a site [...]
How we found a desert oasis in Pakistan
With just minutes to spare before the border closed for the day, we drove out of Iran, through the barbed wire fence, into Pakistan. Before we reached the Pakistan border, in no-man’s-land, a Pakistani official waved us down and jumped on board. With a huge smile, he said “don’t worry, be happy, you are now [...]
#fridayfaces – how to spot the Kiwi’s in Iran 1990
How to spot Kiwi girls going through Iran on an overland truck (or sitting in the back seat of a taxi) in 1990? – “Raybans and Reeboks” gave us away every time, even though we were covered in the full black chador and headscarf. Photos of the faces of people I come across in my [...]
Bam, Iran, the world’s oldest mud fortress
Twenty years ago, while racing across country to get out of Iran before our visas expired (now there’s a story for another day), we came across the world’s oldest mud fortress, the Citadel of Bam, just as the last of the afternoon sun was hanging over the horizon. Glowing red in the sunset light as [...]