Ever wondered why Esfahan is called "half of the world"? Firstly, I strongly agree with this Persian phrase and I hope I can justify it here in my post. My visit here is still fresh in my memory like it was yesterday, how the moon shone so bright by our window from Abbasi Hotel, the oldest hotel in the world.



I can still remember the pretty gardens as our bus passed by the roads, and how the people would wave at us, all wanting to have a photo of us Asians. Such friendly people, I would say. It has one of the largest squares in the world filled with exotic bazaars and mosque with unique architecture and designs. To the east, you'll find the Sheikh Lotfallah Mosque; then you look at the west to find the pavilion of Ali Qapu. In the north, you'll locate the portico of Qeyssariyeh and then the Royal Mosque to the south.







Esfahan is also the home of several bridges from the Sassanid period. They ruled from 226 - 652 CE (that's a very long time ago).



Those photos were from our first day only in Esfahan. With so much to do, you need at least three nights to explore everything.

The next day, we saw the Shaking Minarets where we met an enthusiastic kid who played with us for a while, while we were waiting for the scheduled shaking of minarets. A man will climb one minaret, and then he'll move ferociously, making the other minaret move as well. It was rather funny.



Afterward, we went to the Vank Cathedral in the Armenian Quarters. Beside the church is a museum with numerous important artifacts.










I was quite glad that the rest of the day were spent exploring the bazaar. You need half a day for that. Esfahan is also the place to buy fine carpets, and because of its authenticity, they don't come cheap.







I still believe that it's safe to travel to Iran. A lot of people are missing that because of their perception in a country. And that is very sad because they are missing half the world.