Daily Archives: September 8, 2011

Oh so many kilometers have been driven since my last dispatch from Mashhad. I’m in Samarkand, Uzbekistan now, having left Iran, entered Turkmenistan, crossed Turkmenistan, left Turkmenistan, entered Uzbekistan and crossed most of Uzbekistan, too.

Following: a scene from Mashhad, Iran, in which we visit the Imam Reza shrine, mausoleum to the 8th Shiite Imam, who died a martyr 1300 years ago. To get into the inner sanctum of this immense marble and mosaic mausoleum, we had to wear chadors. No worries. They are available for loan at the security checkpoint before entering the shrine. Mine is a simple white and blue print piece of cloth., which is neither long enough nor wide enough to full envelope me. I don’t feel it does justice to the need to cover my entire body and head. On the other hand, since it’s been officially issued by a Muslim, who am I to say?
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