New Iranian friends en route to Isfahan

We left Kashan today to travel further south towards Isfahan - probably Iran’s number 1 tourist destination.

En route to Isfahan we decided to stop at Natanz. The guidebook mentioned it and we thought it’d be fun to stop in a little village (12k inhabitants) that probably not too many tourists visit.

Getting there was already a bit exciting: the big bus we were on simply dropped us on the side of the motorway. Luckily, there was a private driver who would take us into town for little money.

We then went to the main square in Natanz and immediately became the main village attraction for all the locals. Many people approached us and wanted to talk to us. We feel humbled that the Iranians take such interest in us! 🙏 We then went to have tea in the local tea house (we were invited by the waiter despite offering to pay 5 times). At the teahouse we met Ali and his family (Mohaddeseh, Lena and Leila). After chatting a bit, they invited us to their house. We spent the afternoon sipping tea, enjoying sweets and chatting about life in Iran and our experiences as visitors. Ali’s family actually lives in Tehran so we agreed to meet up again towards the end of our visit. After a heartfelt goodbye we continued our journey south towards Isfahan. (Ali negotiated the price for us - we ended up paying 1/3 of what the guidebook estimated :-)).

We were quite exhausted when we finally arrived in Isfahan. We still ventured out to see the main square and mosques and - wow! What a sight! It’s truly amazing!Read more