Saturday, June 28, 2008

Visit to Tehran


On our 3rd day here, the Husband and I went to Tehran. Husband primarily had to get his phone unlocked.

We traveled like regular Iranians, using the public bus. The journey to Tehran cost us about 50p, which include in-house entertainment (an Iranian film). After the compulsory falafel sandwich stop, we continued the journey on the Tehrani subway system. Those of you who use the London Underground will sympathise - the train was just as crowded as London. But the journey cost us 5p! That's right, for 5p you can travel the whole stretch of the underground! The subway is clean, easy to use and they even have Oyster cards!

For dinner, we stoped at Super Star Burger for real American style burgers and fries, followed by Baskin Robins (the real deal!). BR in Tehran has a wider choice than BR in the UK, with exotic flavours like Watermelon and Ferrero Rocher!

Qum Sweet Home

After an amazing fortnight spent relaxing in the Maldives, the Husband and I arrived at our new home - the Holy City of Qum, Iran.

Qum lies 156km Southwest of the capital Tehran and has a population of just over 1 million. It's the largest centre for Shi'a scholarship in the world, with an estimated 50,000 students in the city, coming from 70 countries. Most of the seminaries teach their students modern social sciences and Western thought as well as traditional religious studies.

We're staying at our friend's house while the tenants occupying our flat pack their stuff up. Slightly annoying, as it means we're still living out of suitcases, but there's not much we can do, apart from wait.