Tales from the Dark Side: Day 3 (2 of 2)

Continued from the first post. Back in Shiraz, we went to the Tomb of Hafez, the mystic poet.

I bought some souvenirs, including the small owl earrings.

More interesting street art as we went back to the bus.

Our guides got us some fresh almonds as a snack.

Then we went to the Arg of Karim Khan castle in downtown Shiraz. The castle has been used as a home for Karim Kahn during the Zand Dynasty, and a prison during the Qajar Dynasty. The use of the bathhouse in one corner has caused one of the towers to lean outward.

This is the tower that has been affected by the use of the bathhouse.

Click the image on the right to see the view from this point.

Another bird's nest.

Kitties!

	This represents my attempt to photograph the entire inside of this part of the castle.

Much of the interior is not yet restored.

At the castle, there was a workshop headed by a master of inlay art, with a PhD, he said).

I bought one of the serving trays. Initially, I was going to pass on it because the cheapest was [a bit expensive], but then I considered that I was buying from a master (and if he had a workshop in this famous castle, it would be an excessively elaborate scheme if it wasn't legit) and that the trays were beautiful, so this was the opportunity of a lifetime.

After this, we toured the bathhouse that caused the damage to the tower.

Click the image in the middle to see what's inside.

We then walked from the castle to and through the Bazaar.

Allegedly, a lot of Iranians like Hitler, for some reason. The photographed swastika on the right was the only one seen on the trip.

Entrance to the bazaar.

At first, I wanted to shop, but since I had no more currency with me to speak of and I was carrying a big bag, I opted to go to the tea shop instead. There, I got some mint tea and we talked about court cases and other things before it was time for dinner.

We walked back through the Bazaar, and a guy holding a toddler asked us where we were from. One other other members of the group said "United States", and this guy was floored. He kept walking with us, and eventually, I was able to pull out my Texas license to give him further proof. He was just ecstatic. Later, while walking outside, another guy asked me where we were from. And I got to say "United States", to this guy's amazement.

We passed by the castle another time and there were some boys kicking a soccer ball around.

We then drove to a different part of the city and walked to where we would have dinner. At one point, we had to move for a car that was driving on the sidewalk! Apparently, this was tame compared to the driving in Tehran.

On my trip to the WC, I saw these bird cages.

The rice came out, but we were waiting for the stew or whatever that would go with it. Then we were served these crispy rice things, and learned that this was it - rice with rice.

Dessert came out and it was a walnut paste stuffed date, I believe, and jello.

I got some video and photos of the mural just outside where we were eating.

Then we went down the street to the bus.

Then we drove back to the hotel and got ready for bed.