Half of the world is Isfahan

One day after our visit to Persepolis, we left for Yazd. Unfortunately all hotels seemed fully booked and we managed to get one night only to visit the city. As soon as we arrived (late at night), we managed to visit the main sights with wonderful views of the Mosque and the Water Museum. We got into the bazar and strolled down the tiny streets of Yazd the next day.
Isfahan was our next stop and it obviously deserved to stay longer to get the best of the city and its surroundings. We stayed more than 4 days and still we couldn’t see all of it.

The beauty of Iran is that it always leads you where you don’t expect to go, we met a cardiologist surgeon in the Maydan-e Imam square. After a quick chat he invited us to have tea at his uncle’s carpet shop (probably hoping to sell a carpet…). We spent quite some time in the shop and learned a lot about carpets. Fellow travellers were there too and we talked about our countries and how our Iranian trips were going so far. Magali was tempted to buy but she finally didn’t. We then went back to our plan to visit other mosques, bridges and the rest of the Isfahan bazar.

We did specially enjoy:

• The fresh bread of Yazd, a nice baker of the bazar offered us a big one that just got out of the oven
• The beautiful Yazd Masjed-e Jame mosque at night
• The receptionist at Isfahan’s Iran Hotel, a 5 star concierge in a 2 star hotel, he gave us so many tips and insights of the city, he helped us so many times
• The high school students who stopped by in Maydan-e Imam square to practive their english with us

Accommodation

• Yazd: Ali Baba Hotel (best breakfast in Iran, their home made lentil soup was very lovely!). Booked via orientstay.com
• Esfahan: Iran Hotel (best reception staff of the year)

Restaurant

Kebab, Sandwiches, Kebab, Sandwiches, Kebab nothing to be thrilled about except the small take away a few steps from the Iran Hotel where we usually grabbed our falafel sandwich for less than 1 USD each.

Our best kept secret tip

Have a drink in the very tiny square located behind the Cheikh Lotfallah mosque. Enter the alley and then immediately on your left there is the Roozegar café. Best espresso and excellent teas along a chocolate cake (to share!). Sipping your coffee staring at the sun…what an experience!

Roozegar cafe in Isfahan