I am sitting in a really small hotel room in a really small town between Esfahan and Tehran. We left Esfahan this morning and headed out on the road again. We stopped in a town called Natanz that has a gushing spring running through it. Cody wanted to know where all the water comes from so we headed up a little mountain and saw a beautiful park area with a tea house that is 300 years old. There is a fountain and lots of flowers all around. We walked around the mountain following the spring and didn't make it to the source because it was still about a mile away as the crow flies. You could see the green trail snaking off in the distance. Everywhere else you looked was a barren desert, so it was easy to follow with your eyes. It ended in a stand of trees off in the distance.
After that little jaunt we headed to Abiyaneh, an ancient city in a valley with an oasis. There were lots of Beech and Poplar trees all around, as well as apple, persimmon, plum and peach trees. There was, covering an arbor, a grape vine that must have been a hundred years old because it was about 1 foot in diameter at the base! They said the grapes are now for the birds, and it was in the courtyard of a shrine for one of the brothers of Imam Reza. (So far we have seen shrines for 3 of the brothers) The village is made up of about 600 people and they make their money from tourists. I can't imagine that many going through there because it is so in the middle of absolutely nowhere! I bought two matching little cloths (table cloths someday?) because I wanted to help out and they were only $4 each. The old man that sold them to me was at least 70 and stooped over, had some teeth left, and very, very nice. We walked up the 'main street' which was probably about 8 feet wide with a little trough in the middle. Not sure what that trough was for, but we saw donkeys saddled with heavy loads walking in it. I think it must be for water runoff or something. There must also be an underground spring near here too because it was so green in the valley and there were gushing canals along parts of the street. We ate in the only hotel there and it was nice because the windows were open and the cool breezes were blowing in and you could hear the song birds they had caged outside.
Then we were off to Kashan, where we are now. In 45 minutes we are going to go see some gardens and then have dinner somewhere. It really feels like we are in the middle of nowhere, and the hotel room is something out of a B-rate movie - which gives us good laughs- but we are safe and sound and enjoying this part of historical Iran.

Today we returned to Imam Khomeni square and went back to the carpet dealers. We bought a carpet from Bam that is 65 years old for some friends, but if they decide it was too much then we will keep it. Bam is the city that was destroyed in the earthquake a few years ago so there won't be any more carpets from there in the future. It is a Baluchi carpet. The Baluch are a nomadic people group that live primarily in Iran. We learned a lot about what the designs mean and that it was the young girls that were making them when they were old enough to be considered a woman. There is a design called "hands on hips" which is their way of saying "look, I am not a child any more and am ready to get married". When the carpet was finished, it contained symbols that showed what she expected in a husband and where he would be from, whether she wanted girls or boys, and sometimes what she wanted her husband's trade to be. Very interesting stuff. I just always thought they looked rugged and tribal...shows my ignorance. They are all made with natural dyed wool like with henna, saffron, etc. Overall, a very good experience!