Iran's "holy city" spends no more than 500 yuan per day and has three major mausoleum attractions
As a "holy city", Iran has a high level of control over all aspects of the Mashhad region, but in the face of growing tourist benefits, Mashhad has developed a radically different approach than other faith cities in the Middle East: allowing tourists to learn more about Islamic culture while minimizing tourism expenses or even making it free.
On the way to Mashhad, he told Dottville about a recent training he received as a guide last month: Iran does not want Mashhad to become the "holy city" of Iran, nor does it want it to become a religion and civilization around the world, let alone use it to attract tourists, such as charging fees, such as raising ** points, such as setting thresholds, and so on.
Because my Chinese passport is visa-free, I didn't go with foreigners from other countries, but went through the domestic security check with Tver, but I didn't expect them to look at my passport and say, "Welcome to" Iran Light". ”
Mashhad is known as the "spiritual capital" of Iran, but this is unlikely, the "light of Iran" comes from Imam Ali, the Mahdi concept of the five major religions, which means that "Mashhad will always hide the light, and one day it will reappear in the world and shine again". Tver gave me a serious look and said, "So we blessed our guests with the words 'light of Iran' so that they too could bask in the light."
In the evening, when the sun had set, but there was still a hint of warmth, he suddenly became interested in Ali as he took his hungry guide to the "holy place" - the Riza Tomb, where the bones of the eighth leader of Islam were buried.
The "Holy Land" is actually a reconstruction of the tomb of Ali Riza, and is now the largest in the world, although for various reasons, the capacity can only be relegated to the second place, but this does not affect the importance of this "holy place" in Iranians, and even Mashhad built a flight center equipped with Mirage fighters for it to ensure the safety of the "Holy Land".
Rizaling is the cornerstone of the city of Mashhad, although it is free for all, but for non-Muslims, this does not mean that they can enter and exit freely, for example, the hall of the church, except for Muslims, the general public is not allowed to participate, but Tver still recommended me to visit, after all, the Chinese are well-dressed and are likely to be allowed to enter.
Since Ali Riza's coffin was inside, none of the non-Muslims were photographed or photographed, so I followed the volunteers for more than 10 minutes and then followed the volunteers to the library in the side hall.
This library is a solid area with the Rizaling, which was once his place of practice, and contains a large number of precious texts and Islamic texts. In 1977, Iran ordered the collection of records of the Riza people from all over the country, copied them, and set up its own study in the corner of the "Riza House". In contrast, the old man's dwelling, although brightly lit, was very simple in furnishings and furnishings, which is why he was called a "saint": slim, slim, secluded, secluded.
When I got back, I suggested that Tver treat me to a taste of Mashhad's specialties, as if she had not eaten dinner yet, so that she could walk around with me before dinner. Along the way, Tver introduced him to some of Iran's unique dishes, such as the Horecht (similar to donburi), imported from the Mughal dynasty, the Fixinjiang (stewed meat and nuts), and the "Festival of Unleavened Bread" (where some Iranians refuse to eat fermented foods).
Tver didn't order anything particularly expensive, she ordered a bowl of mutton soup and a bowl of lamb, and although I repeatedly stressed that she didn't need to be so economical, she was still very frugal.
In fact, Jews and Muslims share similar beliefs, for example, pork is unclean, alcohol makes people feel guilty, and animal blood and organs are "forbidden". Surprisingly, due to the restrictions imposed on American companies by Iran**, companies such as Coca-Cola have withdrawn, but there are still a large number of colas on the market, but they are only labeled with Iranian "halal formula".
As for when I agreed to come with her, Tver was very grateful to me, but he still tried to save all his pocket money, even in a small restaurant on the side of the road, he would "bargain" with the owner, if it was not suitable, he would "beg" for some fruit, this is the Iranian hospitality, try not to hurt my friends, so I never spent more than 500 yuan a day on my trip to Iran.
The next day, Tver said he was going to take me to a garden, and it turned out that it was a cemetery where a famous Persian poet, Ferdowsi, whose masterpiece "The Book of Kings" took more than 40 years to write, but due to the change of dynasty and the conflict between Shiites and Sunnis, Ferdowsi not only did not get the place he deserved, but was exiled for many years, not even in the cemetery where he was buried at home.
The Ferdowsi Museum provides an exhaustive record of the entire Book of Kings: spanning more than 4,000 years, from history to the fall of Persia, it chronicles the life experiences of more than 50 Persian emperors, as well as folklore and historical stories, especially the Arab invasion of the Shasanids, providing a key basis for the distinction between contemporary Iranian studies and Arab civilization.
The third point of observation is the tomb of Nad Shah, known as the best king of Persia.
Born in a river valley in northern Iran, he and his mother were in Uzbek hands in 1704, and four years later, after his mother's death, Nader secretly returned to Mashhad, where he was favored by the governor to become a captain of the guard, who helped him form a force and march his way up. However, the assassination of the Governor forced Mr. Nader to fight back, and over the next decade or so, he not only defeated the nomads lurking in Uzbekistan, but also became the greatest enemy of the new Afghan king, Ashraf, and in 1729 led the "stragglers" to defeat the country.
After that battle, Nader led his troops to war with the Mughal Empire, won a great victory, and regained all the lost lands, so strong that Armenia and Georgia had to submit, and even the Russian Empire had to sign a withdrawal agreement with the Ottoman Empire. Nader returned triumphantly, the triumphant return was the king of the Mughal Empire, his victory was seven hundred elephants, four thousand camels, twelve thousand war horses, and countless ** and gems buried in the ground of the town of Kalat, which was originally called the "Sun Palace", but now it is called Nader Park.
At that time, Iran had become the hegemon of the Caucasus, which is why they were proud. But now, not many people know about it, so not many people come here to visit.
The three major tourist attractions in Mashhad are all burial mounds, and they are also an important gateway to understanding Iran and Mashhad Islamic civilization, in addition to the Huz Valley, Wakirabad Park, Botanical Gardens, Anthropological Museum, etc., but I personally think that the best place in Mashhad is the best bazaar.
Iran is a major node on the Silk Road, with a history of more than 2,000 years of cross-border trade, in which people love to talk about Persian turquoise, carpets and saffron. The Mashhad market is home to a large number of goods, with every product from Persia to Iran at a clear glance.
The Mashhad Bazaar is similar to the Bazaar in Tehran, but it is much more neat than the Bazaar, the carpet area occupies most of the area, divided into the textile area, the handicraft area, the export area and the retail area. Tver poured cold water on me, as I expected: "It's a cheap handmade rug that won't be thrown away in a long time."
In order to experience the process of making Persian carpets, Roland followed Tver all the way through the streets and alleys, and finally came to a weaving and dyeing factory, according to the craftsmen, the silk fabrics used to make this carpet are colored seven times after high temperatures, and the pigments used are natural plant and mineral pigments, the most precious of which is saffron, which can be preserved for more than a hundred years, and will become new after a little cleaning.
After the dye is completely finalized, it will be sold in several grades, the best quality spindle can be sold for 3,000 US dollars a kilogram, and the general yarn spindle will also cost more than 100 US dollars. And those cheap carpets are made of artificial paints, which are cheap but harmful to the body.
In the warehouse, the clerk took out two of the most expensive yarns sold today, which is a compound dye made of saffron, eleven plant pigments, and six minerals, which can prevent mildew and bacteria, so it is very popular.
The weavers of the Mashhad carpet market and the ones he had seen in the countryside of Tehran were all men, and they were all well-known artisans, and he had heard that they would only be hired if they had worked in the Mashhad carpet market for more than thirty years.
But the cycle of hand-weaving is unpredictable, and even the best craftsmen in the world cannot give an accurate answer, because every process from dyeing to spinning, to pressing, to composition, to weaving, is essential, from as little as ten days to as many as eight years.
For the next five days, I walked around Tver, ate a lot of Iranian snacks, went to the bazaar in Mashhad, and went to the saffron workshop myself. If you want to say the biggest feeling, it is probably that the local consumption is too cheap, which makes people feel a little silly at first glance, 10 yuan for a meal, 2-3 pieces for a pound of apples, sometimes only 5 pieces for a little higher, a larger piece of anguin, a bottle of pure juice for eight pieces, a box of preserved fruit for four pieces, ......