The Wandering Scot

An occasional travel journal.

Browsing Posts tagged Iran

The Tehran National Jewels Museum is truly over-the-top, with a staggering collection of gem encrusted artifacts. I had missed this when I was in Tehran in 2008, so I made sure to catch it this time. The collection is in 37 large display cases, full of many lavishly decorated items. There are bright crowns, covered […]

The Astara border crossing from Azerbaijan to Iran turned out to be a bit of a zoo. The border crossing is very slow, and to maintain order the Azeri authorities have created a special queuing area with four distinct queues separated by cage-like walls. Every 30-40 minutes the authorities would open the steel door for […]

Zoroastrian Yazd

The city of Yazd is the main remaining Zoroastrian center in Iran.  Zoroastrianism is (along with Christianity and Judaism) one of the three recognized and protected religious minorities under the Islamic Republic’s constitution.  So worship and pilgrimages are officially  tolerated, although probably not exactly encouraged. I hired a car and guide for the trip out […]