Any colour as long as it’s black

Today we went in the bus firstly to walk across Khaju Bridge, another fine bridge built by Shah Abbas II around 1650. It had 2 levels of terraced arcades with a pavilion in the middle. A man was singing under this and gaining much applause.

From there the bus took us to the Jameh or Friday mosque with its range of designs spanning many centuries staring from 11th. The ablutions fountain in the centre of the main courtyard is designed to imitate the Kaaba at Mecca so would-be hajji pilgrims could practice the appropriate rituals.

From there we had a stop to explore a pigeon tower, centuries old. The pigeon guano was needed to fertilise the city’s fields of watermelons. Only a few pigeons were in residence, having been made redundant by the use of chemical fertilisers.

Our last stop was Jolfa, the Armenian quarter, of particular interest to us since not long ago we visited Armenia. Shah Abbas I transported a colony of Christians from Jolfa now on Iran’s north border, en masse as he needed their skills as merchants and artisans. They were allowed freedom to worship so the Vsnk Church is there with its floor to ceiling frescoes of religious scenes along with Islamic tiles. There was a museum with manuscripts from 11th century and an area explaining the history of Armenians in Iran plus an area devoted to the 1915 genocide by the Turks.

By now it was raining so after returning to the hotel in the bus we got out raincoats and walked to ImamSquare which we’d visited yesterday. We hoped to visit the Bazaar-e Bororg but it was closed, being Friday. However all the shops by the square were open. We got stopped by a group of excitable schoolgirls trying out their English and wanting selfies. However I spotted that a surveillance chat was hovering so we said goodbye and moved swiftly on. I think these guys all have their own patch to patrol as we were not followed.

Now we have to pack as we leave at 3.45 am in an attempt to reach Persepolis before it closes for the 5 day religious holiday.