Choga Zanbil - ziggaurat in Iran

Chogha Zanbil (چُغازَنبیل) is an ancient Elamite ziggaurat complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. I stumbled across this great set of photographs of the fascinating site on Flickr.

Top Iran travel writing cliches

If you're thinking of writing about your journey across Iran, through "Persia" or into the mind of the self-flagellating Shia on the day of Ashura, here are some useful clichés you can use:

• it's not what you expect
• it's a land of contradictions
• taxi drivers rip you off
• the people are so hospitable
• the women are so beautiful
• people drive Paykans, based on the Hillman Hunter, such a quaint old car
• there are pictures of martyrs everywhere
• people live such contradictory lives with a public face and a private life

... in short? Avoid the clichés, just write about something with real meaning.

An American in Iran

One of my favourite Iranian blogs recently ran a short piece by an American in Iran. Despite the extra hoops Americans have to jump through to get into the country, it seems many find it a rewarding experience.