We have just returned to the hotel in Tehran after visiting the National Museum of Iran and having lunch. My tour guide is a delightful woman named Tiam. She has been a guide for 9 years and has a Master’s degree in Archaeology. I could tell within moments of meeting her that we were going to get along just great. It will just be the 2 of us for the trip, apparently an Australian couple were also scheduled to join but cancelled. 

Originally, the plan today was to meet at noon and then go to the National Musum and then the Jewel Museum, but that turned out to be closed today. I don’t really mind, I would rather rest and regain my stamina for our trip to Shiraz tomorrow.

Tehran is a dirty city, but it is not without its charms. The air pollution here is quite bad, for that alone I am glad we are not staying long. There are some interesting buildings that help distract from the grayness of the place. 

So far, I have learned how to cross an Iranian street without dying (seriously, they are crazy drivers here) and I learned that when you sneeze, you should pause for 3 seconds before continuing in motion. Why? I have no idea. 

The highlight was definitely the National Museum. I think it would be better to call it an archaeological museum. It does an excellent job of informing about the history of the people from the Neolithic time and onward. Tiam has done some digs in Iran, and was a wealth of information about the different time periods and some of the pieces. I am still having problems uploading photos. When I can, I will show you one of the first ever animations drawn into a chalice. You spin the chalice and the deer jumps!

This afternoon I will rest and then we will leave early in the morning to fly to Shiraz!