Nima's mom's arrival to Tehran heralded the beginning of a whirlwind trip through central Iran (a la our North India trip). Mom, Khaleh Nahid, Nima and I squeezed into our car and started on a journey that would last about a week. Our first stop was the fabled city of Esfahan, called "half the world" by a traveler more than a century ago. It is famous for its lush green landscaping and beautifully tiled mosques. We barely brushed its surface, but actually that was by choice since we had a plan to return with Nima's dad and Kia a couple of weeks later. Instead we spent our time touring the markets with occasional stops to drink tea and smoke Galyoon (a water pipe). We were on a bit of a mission to find a Persian carpet and to find tiles for our nonexistent home. We found the tiles after hours of sifting through beautiful pieces squatting on the floor in a warehouse. We stayed with another of Nima's grandmother's sisters, Khaleh Zohreh, who may seem frail on the outside but is incredibly strong of character.From Esfahan we headed towards Yazd, a town in the desert. But along the way we made a couple of stops, one in Naein and one in Meybod.
The central maidan in Naein and the two block main street are nothing to write home about but the 1000 year old mosque with mud brick walls and ingenious alabaster tiles to let the light through is beautifully simple in contrast to the other ornate mosques. Our main reason for stopping in Naein was to see the famous style of carpets that we had started to fall for in the markets of Tehran and Esfahan. We didn't see much we liked in the shops but then we met a gentleman who invited us to his home. There his wife, a carpet-maker, weaves amazing carpets while taking care of her home, baking cookies, and raising seven successful children. She demonstrated her work and showed us why a 1.5 x 2.5 meter carpet can take two years to make. We fell in love with one of brilliant blue but unfortunately it was sold before it was finished to a German woman who had lived in Iran.Meybod was different from Naein in many ways. It was stunning for its vistas with deep green trees rising up between mud brick homes with domed roofs stretching between the desert mountains.
The maidans were lovely with spring blossoms, fountains, and fig trees. A castle in the middle of town provided the best views. There we met an old bricklayer who for more that five decades has been in the same two block area living with his wife and working in the hot sun in the courtyard of the castle mixing mud and shaping flat wide bricks. 
We visited an old renovated caravanserai- a place where men, camels, and goods would park for the night on the famous silk road caravan routes. We ate luscious dates, sipped tea, and imagined the sounds and smells the place would have had a century or two ago. After sunset we headed to our next destination- Yazd.
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