Zoroastrians

From the very little I know about religion of any sort it appears there were a people in this area Iran, Turkey, that called themselves Zoroastrians. They may have been the original "greens" as they believed that the earth should not be contaminated ie by burying bodies in it.

They did not have a being that they worshipped apparently.

How they came to be "aware" of Jesus is interesting but the story has it that the three wise men were Zoroastrians.

Now what is the reason you may ask for all of this, well, on and in the Monastery were a number of pictures/depictions, and on an outer wall were Mary and Jesus (missing) Joseph, and the three wise men. So I took a picture.

nzl04

More 964 AD Monastery

Pictures

Images

I have some pictures of the Monastery and the ride there. Some good images that I wanted to share.
nzl04

On the road - briefly 27 November

After several days of sitting waiting Chris and Kadri on the DLR650 and I went for a ride. It took us a while to find fuel and the right road but the ride that followed was great. Over the snow capped range and up a long gorge with patches of four lane and patches of road works. The lanscape was dramatic and a little warmer as after the range we reduced altitude.
Old villages on hillside, hay bales stacked on roofs, sheep and cattle in small herds on the hillsides, it was a step back in time other than the roadworking machinery. Thats the same everywhere.
The colours in the hillsides were great. Not much grows here apart from poplars down the river beds.
We turned off eventually about 100km and would our way up the valley until the monastery appeared nestled in a small village.
The usual turnout ensued, where are you from but we were saved from prolonged inquirey by the call from the tower beside the monastery.
It is falling into dispair sadly but this country has so many monuments to the past whats another monastary built in 964 with some stone carving and paintings inside. For me it is a great feeling. 1000 years ago this was a community centre. It was built up a blind valley for protection no doubt ( no army is going over the tops) and apparently there was a large christian community here.
Unfortunately we only had the option of riding back the route we came in order to be back before dark.
So another night of soup and Kebab and early to bed to watch the drama in Mumbai unfold on the BBC. In a month I had planned to be there.
I fear the US created financial crisis will see more downturn and and harship and more of this madness and I am left with the thought that the same silly games of greed envy fear and distrust were present in 964 when the monastery was built.
We have not progressed very far have we !
nzl04

Holiday in Turkey courtesy Iranianvisa.com

The irony is that I now want a holiday in Iran, not Turkey !
There is a lot more to this story but perhaps it should be told at another time.
Pictures are not so easy. It is a cold grey city surrounded by snow.
I understand the earliest I can expect an answer to my latest application thanks to a very courteous and overworked Consul, is Monday 1st December so the Speights and those Bluff oysters are getting further and further away.
Tehran closes Thursday and Friday and Sunday is the local day off. So not much happens in a week.
Oh well there are lots of things that are worse and perhaps I can get a flight to Corsica or somewhere warm for 4 days.

nzl04

Ezrurum 25 November

When I left London I wrote in my book "last day to cross to Iran 25 November"

And here I am.

I applied thru iranianvisa.com

The partner of the owner is a relative of the Iran Ambassador in Istanbul. If you go to the Embassy you are given a slip of paper and told apply to this website, on-line. Of course no one tells you that iranianvisa let you fill in the form, advise you to pay the urgency fee if you are leaving Istanbul, and then DO NOTHING !

So inevitably we all pay the 55Euro and end up stuck in Erzurum. And for most of us the only time we hear from iranianvisa is when we are told "application declined". Then its a battle. Some return to Istanbul and ship, some reapply (after two weeks I am told), I am pleading with the Consul. He wants Hotel bookings which of course is a joke outside Iran. They don't answer phones emails, websites faxes.......nothing ! So its going to be tough.

Met some fellow travellers last night Chris and Kadri. He is a Scot and she an Estonian. What a neat couple. They are on a DL650 as I recall heading to Oz. It was good to spend some time with some real people. They are "waiting" on iranianvisa as well.

I hope my expedition does not stall here, that would be a disaster. If anyone knows someone in Iran that would invite me to visit that would be a great help.

What is totally confusing is that most do eventually get a visa, after spending $US2000 and two weeks longer in Turkey than wanted, time and money Iran should have had !

Turkey must love iranianvisa. They make more money for Turkey than they do for Iran and they live in Tehran.

Life is odd.

So its back to the Consul toady and hope !

I need a picture so will go dredging. The single spire is included for its tile work 700 years old. The city for its "town planning". So much of the housing expansion in Turkey is like this. They build towers in the sand around the cities. The colours are I guess a bit like painting the fronts of bee hives. How else do you find your way home ?

nzl04

Friday 21st Erzurum

I can not recall when I last spent 5 days in one place. How it came to be this place is bewildering. The city is grey and the hills are white. It snows and rains and is cold. Freezes at night and not much better in the day.

I have walked the town. There is little to see. There are two significant buildings from about 1300 as I probably mentioned. The curse of modern cities is here as well and I refer to kids. They pester they are rude and demand money and when refused become very agressive. They throw sticks and stones and really make cities unpleasant places. However its not all bad. There are many friendly and helpful people. The Policeman outside the Police station had a cheery word so I stopped and talked with him. I asked if he learnt English at University. Yes he said. So I responded, you need a degree to carry a machine gun in Turkey thats good ! He enjoyed the humour.

I am going to have difficulty finding a picture today. The building with the twin towers is an old one beautifully decorated and made before the days when they put the pointy tops on.

The fellow in the window is not me !

Its an old fashioned city. Men wear hats caps and skull caps, and many of the women fully cloaked, and the younger ones with long coats and scarves. Lots of beards. The city structure is like China. In this street copper pots, the next nuts and spices, then hardware, then elektroniks, and then tyres, and so on. The suprising thing is the markets, both in the street selling all sorts of items including fruit, lots af good fruit and vegetables and fish, and then behind inconspicuous doors several levels of shops.

Its a very male society. Groups of men sitting drinking tea, in tea (cay) shops playing cards or backgammon and smoking. I went into the dining room tonight. The air was blue with smoke. 30 men dining in groups and drinking Raki. Only one couple. They were drinking wine which is the first time I have seem that. I suspect romance was the cause.

The diet has sorted itself out. Hard boiled eggs bread olives and tomato for breakfast. Soup, eggplant and mince with rice for lunch: and soup, salad, and something like stuffed olive leaves, stuffed peppers, or spicy fried liver, and with all meals, bread and Cay ! But I do manage a Raki at night and its very pleasant.

So I hope I can soon report on the road again.

nzl04