The valley of Tabriz

Once again, hello dear followers!

We already have arrived at our last stop in Iran, Tabriz. This trip really goes way too fast. We didn’t even have the time to recover in Tehran. We needed to catch the train to Tabriz, located in the West of Iran. Tabriz is situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri river and Aji river. Tabriz is located in a valley of the long ridge of the volcanic cone of Sahand. With cold winters and temperate summers the city is considered a summer resort.

What immediately drew my attention is the architecture in the city. There are a lot of ancient and modern buildings. Most of the buildings are very beautiful. I didn’t expect that kind of architecture over there. I was surprised the most by the modern buildings like the one on the picture. You also find beautiful ancient buildings like mosques for example.

Because we wanted to find out something more about religion and Islam in general, we decided to visit one of the biggest mosques in the city: the Saheb Ol Amr mosque. None of us really knew a lot about their religion and that’s why this location was interesting for us. We all could learn something about their beliefs and traditions and so we did. We visited the mosque like we’re supposed. So we visited the mosque as if we were Muslims. We did exactly what the imam told us to do and we followed their rituals. So before we could enter the mosque, we needed to cleanse ourselves. This may seem ridiculous to some of us, but in fact when you follow all those people it is quite normal. I think we gained some respect towards that religion by doing all this. It was interesting to learn something about religion as well on our trip.

Another thing that stands out in this city: the parks. There are a lot of parks in Tabriz. Tabriz counts 132 parks. The oldest park in Tabriz, called Golestan Park, was established at first Pahlavi's era in city center. This park is part of the UNESCO world heritage. When you’re lucky, you can find a type of tigers here: the Caspian tiger. We had the luck to see one when we visited the park. What an amazing animal that is! I’m glad we visited one of the many parks in Tabriz. And I think we made a good decision by visiting the Golestan park. It was incredible.

When you take a walk in the city, you cannot deny it: the rugs. Tabriz is the center for Iranian quality rugs. Tabrizi rugs and carpets usually have ivory backgrounds with blue, rose, and indigo motifs. One of the main quality characteristics of Tabriz rugs is the weaving style. Too bad I can’t take one with me to give to my mother. They are to heavy but o so beautiful.

That’s it for Iran my beloved followers. You won’t hear from me anymore until the end of our journey. But my friend will keep you up to date for the last stops. Bye!