I stayed with Hossein’s family in Shiraz, thanks to my friend @liflorence. Li met Hossein and made friends with him and the whole family. The family is so friendly and welcoming. Hossein and friends told me a lot about Iranian culture, we had the amazing Iranian dish dizi. I was so fascinated to see how well his sister could dance Zumba and how his friends are atheists and anarchists in a country where “most of the fun things that younger generation like to do (such as dancing, party, etc) are illegal”.
Iran
*Bling bling* overload – mirror mosaics in Ali Ibn Hamzeh shrine
In Iran you find mosaics basically everywhere. The ones that fascinate me the most were those glittering mirrored mosaics. When I visited Shah-e-Cheragh Shrine, they told me that I couldn’t enter the mirror pray room. Then they recommended me to the oldest shrine (for the relative of 8th Imam) in Shiraz.
Sculpture Talks – Meet Tony Cragg @ Tehran
On my last day in Tehran, I spent half of my afternoon in the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. Not until I went there, did I realize there was a temporary Tony Cragg exhibition going on. Just in case you haven’t heard about him, Tony Cragg is born in Liverpool, one of the most important contemporary sculptors. You may find his works in many German cities (He’s not living in Wuppertal). Cragg doesn’t limit his sculpture works to any materials. You find all extensive materials out of his works: wood, glass, steel, bronze, plastic and ceramics. Cragg has always been searching for the ideal combination of material and form. For him, sculpture is a study of how material can affect and form human emotions and ideas.
Persepolis, Ceremonial Capital of the Persian Empire
Those who have been following my Iran trip vlogs must know that I went to Persepolis twice. The first time I went all the way there only to find out it was closed because of a religious holiday. It was rather disappointing at the time but also lead me to read a bit more about Persepolis before the second try. When I finally got to see its magnificence, I felt all the effort was worth.