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August 02, 2005
Shomal
In Persian, the word for the "north" is shomal. It can naturally refer to the general direction of geographical north, and it indeed does. However, in colloquial Persian, particularly Tehrani Persian, the word also commonly refers to the two provinces that are located by the Caspian Sea (them being to the north of almost all of Iran, especially Tehran).
These two provinces are squeezed between the huge Alborz mountain-range and the Caspian Sea. They have a temperate climate which is usually ca. 5-10 degrees celssius cooler than Tehran and considerably more humid than it as well. It has for long been the most popular stretch of holiday land for the Tehranis and other Iranians. The people are easy-going, the scenery is beyond beautiful (I will pust some pictures up later) and there are many opportunities to relax, and to top it all off, the food (particularly sea-food and local specialities) are magnificent.
So, with all these said, I mean to imply that I am writing these things from Shomal, from the province of Gilan to be exact. The weather is cool and sticky (!) and we (me and a Dutch friend of mine) have spent the night in a little hotel in the Village of Masuleh, and generally, life is good. Masuleh was beautiful and dreamy, with haunting, fog covered, green mountains and houses that are built one above another, making each house's roof the front yard of the one above!
We will be off to Tabriz, the centre of the province of Eastern Azerbaijan, tomorrow. I have never been there and I am very excited about seeing this very famous and apparently interesting city. I will update from there as well.
Posted by Khodadad at August 2, 2005 04:03 AM
Comments
Khodadad, I am enjoying your travel log. :) Please continue and give lots of detail. I think that I may have seen a picture of Masuleh. About a year ago, my friend Koozeh posted a picture that was very similar to your description. I hope that you enjoy your visit to Tabriz! The name is somehow familar, do they make carpets there? Btw, I now have two new posts. :)
Posted by: David at August 3, 2005 12:27 AM