TEHRAN TO SHIRAZ

On Saturday we tried to see if Tehran had re-opened, but Ramazaan continued. We managed to find a money changer, however, and took the opportunity to change a few dollars. To our horror, the money changer rejected $300 in hundred-dollar bills as fake. I had visions of the inside of an Iranian jail, and the rubber truncheons of the religious police, but the money-changer seemed to think we were not the types who would consciously try to cheat him, and agreed to examine all our notes and point out which were forgeries. Virtually all mine were fake, but fortunately the Traveller had some which were genuine. They were very good forgeries - the money-changer could tell them because the colour change on a polychromic ink happened at the wrong angle, and even I could see that the colour of the Presidential face was a bit too black-and-white - when I had a genuine note alongside.

It was one hell of a way to spend a morning, but finally we could head for the airport. We found ourselves in a large hangar-like space, with doors leading to buses, and not a single indication of which door our flight was due to leave from. Instead a notice went up saying that THAT door was for the flight to XYZ, and everyone rushed to that exit to catch the bus. So you had to go round and round checking every door to see if it was your flight. The Traveller was in a panic, certain we would miss our plane. Ten minutes before the due time, a sign saying "Shiraz" finally appeared, and we joined the crush.

Of course, it took off on time, and we flew for about 2 hours down the length of Iran, with great mountains rearing out of the plains below us. As we came in to land, we swung down a long valley, rich with fields.

The ride into town was through avenues of trees, with irrigated lands on either side. Slowly it became more urban, and suddenly we were in the town proper. A busy street, a glimpse of a glazed dome, a desert castle, and we were at our hotel.

A quick freshening up, a delicious supper, and a stroll through the still-hot evening air along the Zand, with what seemed like half the citizens of Shiraz taking the air with us. We looked forward to a proper explore the next day.