The Luxurious Eurasia on the Silk Road

The luxurious train of Eurasia started its journey in our neighbor country, Turkey, and entered Iran from the Razi boarders on North-West part of the country. It entered Tabriz and after that it went to Yazd, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran. Eurasia private deluxe train carried 44 travelers form countries of Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and Brazil to Iran. Iran Doostan Tours Co. was thrilled to be the guide of the Eurasia train on the Silk Road, this ancient road rich in culture and history.

Tabriz, the royal guardian of Iranian boarders throughout the history, welcomed our dear guest visitors. Eurasia entered Tabriz on May 16^th of 2015 and Tabrizians greeted the guests with flowers to show the genuine hospitality of Iranian people at the first moment. Then the guests were taken to the Azerbaijan Museum and Dr. Haghparast the Head of Iran Cultural Heritage Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of East Azerbaijan gifted each one of them with an autographed book. On the second day of stay in beautiful Tabriz they visited the Blue Mosque, a unique structure that has survived many earthquakes throughout the years and still is one of the must-see places in the city of Tabriz. You cannot claim that you have seen the capital of East Azerbaijan if you don’t go to its grand bazaar. This historical market is the world’s largest covered bazaar and is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

In almost 1100 km to the South-East of Tabriz there is a city that is known as the city of windward.

In the heart of Iranian desert there is the city of Yazd that makes you wonder how humans made the dry hot desert proper for living. Walking in the old neighborhoods of Yazd with its covered narrow spiral alleys with their roof openings to the blue sky is a time machine that takes you thousands of years back in history. Our travelers got to Yazd at noon and after lunch and visiting a museum they visited one of the landmarks of the city, the Amir Chaqmaq complex. This beautiful monument stands in the center of the historic part of the city and has a mosque, a school, a carvansarai, a water well, a Tekyeh, and a Nakhl (a large wooden component that is used in religious ceremonies). Then Zoorkhaneh, an old-fashioned sport club, was the next stop. In this Iranian sport club our visitors watched the men doing the traditional work out that is lead by a musician who sings sacred poetry while keeping time on a drum and ringing bells to mark the beginning of different sections. After visiting some more attractions of Yazd on the second day, visitors were transferred to train station to go to the city of poetry and wine, Shiraz.

Shiraz, the capital of Fras province, a city with thousand years of history, the birthplace of such poets as Hafez and Saadi on the southern part of Iran was the next destination of the luxurious Eurasia train. Even if you are not like Marcello, one of our guests who knew a great deal about Iran’s history, and don’t know about Shiraz’s past, you still feel the love in the air in this city. Before arriving to Shiraz, Persepolis and Pasargad the majestic, impressive, glorious, and beautiful remaining of the epic masterpieces created by the greatest kingdom of Persia, the Achaemenid Dynasty, were visited.

On early morning if you walk in the main prayer hall of Nasir al-Mulk mosque in Shiraz you will see a mesmerizing festival of lights through the stained glass windows. This mosque is known as the Pink Mosque because of the pink colored tiles in the interior hall of the structure. To properly save the breathtaking experience of Pink Mosque as vividly as possible one of our lady guests laid down on the carpet to take a picture.

Historic lush gardens, old mosques and bazaars, and the tombs of Hafez and Saadi were the other sights that amazed the Eurasian visitors.

And Isfahan at last. In Isfahan when you feel tired after visiting the stunning Nqghshe Jahan Square with hundreds of handicraft stores and the palaces that once belonged to the greatest kings, you can go to the calmness of a Masjed and lay your back to the patterned walls. The artistic hands of skillful architects have injected life to the insensible soil and have made a masterpiece by using the most lively colors and patterns. The silence in the Masjed will host you and refreshes you by its cool blue colors on the walls and ceilings. You get lost in the miniature decorative patterns in the mosques and they will take you deep into your imaginations. Our visitors enjoyed the hospitable and cool indoors of the Masjed after their tour in the Naghshe Jahan. On the first day in Isfahan the Eurasian passengers visited most of the city attractions including Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Ali Qapo Palace, and the spectacular Vank Cathedral.

It occurred to us again how this saying in Farsi is true that “Isfahan is half of the world” since our guests’ interest who had such divers ethnicities and backgrounds, were all satisfied in this lovely city.

The capital was the last station for the Eurasia. In Tehran the travelers visited Sa’dabad Palace and the modern landmark of this city, the Azadi Tower. In the evening some of our guests departed the capital to their home towns. The rest of the travelers spent a couple of days in Tehran and took flight back home in the next two to three days.

And it was the end of Eurasia’s journey.

A train journey full of joy so similar to the journey of life but different in this way that it did not have sorrows. It had hellos but not goodbyes. The passengers knew where and when the voyage will end and they knew the stops and stations before they started the journey.