Poetry Poems Poems - Poems For Poetry Poems - Poem Hunter

• There will be five unique graphics sets for clothes at launch: Western (European), Middle Eastern, Sub-Saharan, Indian, and Steppe. Everyone else uses whatever is the closest match. In terms of physical appearance, the new DNA system can represent all ethnicities, so we probably won't see face packs again. No era-specific clothing at launch.
• Clothing is partly based on rank. A Western Count and a Western Duke might wear a similar style clothing, but one wears linen and one wears silk and you will be able to see that difference.
• No more static event pictures. Events will feature the actual character models posed against some kind of background, and they can have props like knives, crucifixes, etc. Currently they don't animate to actually interact like getting into a fight.
• Tutorial is described as "Stellaris-like", and they've improved the ways the game can give you suggestions on what you want to be doing. More approachable, but not dumbed down.
• Custom religions you found can have Holy Orders. Not ready to talk much about that.
• The tech system is more tied to characters than it was in CK2, but not ready to talk about it yet.
• Councilor jobs like Steward are now an "office" that is placed on the map instead of a person, so you don't have to re-assign it when the councilor dies. The office itself can even still keep working without a holder, just at a very reduced effectiveness.
• The new Doctrines and Tenets are being used to represent more historically accurate versions of real heresies like Catharism. The AI will found these, and they are weighted to appear at the place and time they did historically. The AI will stick to founding historical heresies and won't abuse the system to create random weird ones. That's the player's job.
• Zoroastrians can still have incest, naturally, and you can reform any religion to allow it now.
• Historical events like the Mongol Invasion are in. Dynamic epidemics from Reaper's Due are not in, as they didn't feel that feature worked very well. No word on how the plague will be handled.
• Characters still get sick and are treated by Court Physicians.
• Provinces now have Development, which is like civilization value in Imperator. Tribes don't care about it but feudals get more taxes from it.
• Revolt Risk has been replaced by Control, which is going to work a bit differently.
• If your heir when you die is an old guy who has already invested all of his perks, you can respec his lifestyle tree once if it sucks.
• Splendour is like your Dynasty XP. It's used to buy Legacies, which are kind of like national ideas in EU4 and stay with your dynasty forever. One of these lets you increase the chances of inheriting congenital traits, if you want to create a dynasty of stong genius ubermensch. It's not realistic but it is a playstyle they want to support.
• Foreigners don't care about Dread, only your own vassals.
• Fleets are now handled like CK1. You just pay money to turn into boats. Naval combat is a possibility in the future. Henrik thinks it would be cool, especially for the Mediterranean.
• Vikings can still sail up rivers.
• There is a big dragon hanging out in the Terra Incognita on the Eastern edge of the map and it looks like they've left plenty of room to add China in the future. They wouldn't say anything about it. No Chinese Emperor interactions at launch.
• No plans for a CK3 to EU4 converter.
• You only need to siege the fortified holdings to occupy an entire county. Castles are automatically fortified, but cities and churches are not unless you have built walls in them.
• Factions are back. Peasants can now found factions. One example given was that Norwegian peasants living under a Danish king can found a self-rule faction, and Norwegian culture nobles will join them. Like a combination of a CK2 faction and a peasant revolt, very powerful.
• Henrik is not interested in non-dynastic play (Holy Orders, etc). Playable mercenaries are a possibility, being landless and using your armies to make money. Adoption is also a potential mechanic. Neither one will be in at launch.
• Much more events that deal with interpersonal drama and people important to the player, like family/friends/rivals.
• Events can look back at how the relationship between two characters has developed over many years and generate content for them dynamically.
• Poetry generator that will actually make your poetry better or worse based on character skill.
• Double the number of content designers working on CK3 as CK2 had at its height.
• Direct vassals will always matter. So the previous comment about Barons not being important doesn't necessarily apply if you're a Count.
• No crazy fantasy events (immortality, Satanism, child of destiny) at launch. Undecided if they will be added later, but if they will, there will definitely be game rules to turn them off. CK3 should feel more historical compared to CK2. This was a goal.
• There will be special mechanics for Crusades but they're not talking about that yet.
• Playing pagans feels "significantly different" from CK2.
• You can reform from tribal to feudal.
• Control is more of a short-term thing and Development is more long-term. For example, Control in a province is reduced when it changes owners but recovers quickly.
• Religions have degrees of relation. Abrahamic > Christian > Catholic.
• Eastern Religions are still more tolerant of heresies.
• Ecumenism: Catholics/Orthodox/Coptic don't treat each other as heresies for purposes of CBs and stuff. There are steps of tolerance. It's not just "True Faith, Heretic, or Heathen".
• Converting foreign rulers with your chaplain will not be in at launch.
• Investiture system and antipopes will not be in at launch.
• When you found a new religion, some vassals and some provinces will convert. Based on things like opinion modifier and traits (Zealous/Cynical)
• Terrain type has an effect on Development in provinces, but climate currently does not.

Welcome to a land of desert and djinns! This will follow a similar format to Chaos Dwarfs, Ogre Kingdoms, Daemons of Chaos and Kislev Speculations and Rosters (here is a more minor Dogs of WaSouthern Realms and Nippon roster as well). The sources for this are multiple but they’re all from the lore so are fine being mentioned here (ask if you want to know).
Lore and Background Araby's early years are not well recorded by Old World scholars but it is known that Araby suffered invasions from the Tomb Kings from the Land of the Dead after the Nehekhara civilisation collapsed at the hands of the First Necromancer Nagash (-1163 IC to -1151 IC). Later, Arkhan the Black invaded Araby with his Undead army and sacked the city of Bel-Aliad (once an ancient city of Nehekhara where it was called the City of Spices, at the time it was sacked, it was the capital of a proud Arabyan civilization; now it is in ruins where priceless treasures are hidden) in the year -1149 IC which later became known as the 'War of Death'. This 1000 year-long war had Arkhan reduce a mighty and wealthy Arabyan civilisation to a few weak city-states and a handful of fiercely independent desert tribes. It was only when Nagash called Arkhan back to the Land of the Dead that the wars ended.
A visionary called Abdul ben Raschid, ben Moussad, ben Osman: the Great Sheikh of Lost Bel Aliad, Son of the Shifting Sands, and Lord of the Malaluk Desert, wandered the lands of Nehekhara for eight long years, recording all he saw within the masterpiece that he could not bring himself to name, but which history has named the 'Book of the Dead'. Few copies survive today as the prince died under mysterious circumstances, strangled while locked within a shuttered room with his purple-faced corpse burning the hands of those that tried to lift his chilled corpse. The Caliph of Ka-Sabar also ordered all books of his to be burned but not all of them were burned and they travelled far and wide. The knowledge in these books is the reason why the Old World even know of the history of ancient Nehekhara.
In 1150 IC, a famous explorer of Araby called Ibn Jellaba discovered the lost Lizardmen city of Zlatlan. There he was welcomed (since the Slann predicted his arrival) and was able to barter with the peaceful Lizardmen and exchange the pearls and spices of Araby for gold, which the Lizardmen had in abundance and were quite willing to part with, since it was considered worthless. Jellaba returned to Araby a very rich man after establishing the first trade agreement between Lizardmen and humans.
In 1240 IC, Norsemen who had previously taken Sartosa and were hired as mercenaries by the Tileans to guard it, were overwhelmed by an invasion fleet of Corsairs of Araby led by Nafal Muq. They held it for roughly two hundred years until the Emir Abd al Wazaq and his Corsairs were driven back by Luciano Catena. They had to surrender their wealth that they taken plus the harem he had with personal bodyguard. He agreed and went back to Araby while other Corsairs were hired (alongside the harem bodyguards who became a mercenary regiment). This was one of the earliest occasions on which mercenaries from Araby were hired by a Tilean general.
In 1430 IC, a powerful Arabyan sorcerer called Jaffar welded a coalition of several desert tribes and expanded his city state to a small empire with the capture of Al-Haikk, Copher, Martek, and Lashiek. Legends speak of him summoning Daemons and conversing with spirits. The Skaven in Araby secretly ally with Sultan Jaffar, spying for him and murdering his rivals in exchange for warpstone. In 1448 IC. Jaffar, convinced by the nefarious Skaven that the Estalian Kingdoms were planning an invasion against his rule, gathered a vast army and prepared his fleet for war (Magritta was conquered followed by a siege to the Tilean city of Tobaro). In response, large contingents of knights from Bretonnia and the Empire drove the Arabyan forces back to their homeland. The war was eventually brought by the knights of the Old World to Araby itself, precipitating the conflicts known as the Crusades, which created many orders of Imperial and Bretonnian chivalry, including the Empire's Knights of the Blazing Sun or the Knights of Magritta. In a year, Jaffar's army had been driven from Estalia and the Sultan fought a slow battle against the pursuing crusaders as tribe after tribe grew tired of his tyranny and retreated into the desert. In 1451, Jaffar's forces were defeated by the armies of King Louis the Righteous in the Battle of Al-Haikk and the Sultanate fell apart.
Around the year 1500 IC, Sultan Daryus-e Qabir launched a series of religious wars against the Old World, without any lasting successes. Legends dating from this time have coloured Old World attitudes to inhabitants of Araby, although there is a fair amount of trade between the two areas. Later, it is known that there was a trade rivalry between Araby and Cathay over the spice trade. By 1690 IC, several Cathayan traders, such as the Tei-Pings, plied the maritime route between Cathay and Araby.
What is modern Araby though? Araby remains not united but is still powerful in trade, as sailors (Arabyans are great sailors and have for many centuries fished the adjoining seas and traded south along the coast, northwards to the Old World, and westwards as far as Ulthuan. The High Elves do not permit Arabyan vessels to travel further west than Ulthuan itself, their high-prowed dhows are a common sight in the outer harbours of Lothern) and in riches. Instead of a single government, Sultans, Sheikhs and Emirs rule the land and constantly war with each other. It is not uncommon for an entire desert tribe to offer their swords to the highest bidder and become mercenaries. Not surprisingly, the Sheikhs, Sultans and Emirs or Araby also live in unimaginable luxury, served by hundreds of slaves who will fulfil their every whim (slavery is sadly still present in Araby with most nations of men banning the practice), their harems are filled with voluptuous beauties from across the world and their treasure chambers with all the splendour and wealth of that distant land. Some of these despots are cruel by their nature, ordering beheadings and mutilation of even the pettiest criminals, while others are great rulers and patrons of art and science.
Arabyans have some knowledge of gunpowder weapons but their religious dogmas prevent them from developing socially and technologically. Arabyans worship a single god, who is manifested on the world by his chosen prophets. Commerce and trade are large parts of Arabyan society and they have established and monopolised the trade routes into the lucrative jade and spice lands of the Far East such as Cathay and Ind, as well as trading with Norse tribes regarding slaves due to the Arabyan's mastery in the navigation of the seas. The economic growth of Araby has led their peoples to the pursue of the fine arts in poetry, alchemy, medicine and architecture thus producing some of the world's most notable poets, doctors, sorcerers and architects. At the moment, The Sultan of All Araby claims to rule the whole peninsula, but has little real power over the independent coastal city-states or over the fierce nomad tribes who wander the Great Desert of Araby.
Climate, Terrain and Building aesthetics-Here is a map of Araby.
Climate-The climate of Araby is usually dry and hot with Desert being the most common climate. Mountains also exist with Eunuch Mountain and the area of Cobra Pass; both of which have fierce nomad warriors that roam them. Western winds do carry moisture laden clouds that give up their water as they are suddenly forced upwards by tall Atalan peaks. The resultant rain falls upon the mountains and gives rise to numerous seasonal streams that, in winter at least, form substantial westward flowing rivers. Although much of the land is dry the rivers bring the water needed by cities, towns and villages, there are also numerous oasis even in the arid regions to the south.
Terrain and Building aesthetics-Araby’s terrain is mostly vast desert (hundreds of miles) with some mountains alongside some oasis and other stand out parts. South of the River of Serpents the land is not so fertile, and the terrain is much dryer. This arid and impoverished region contains no large cities and is mostly home to wandering nomads and reclusive mystical communities. Buildings in Araby are made of white stone and is what creates most of the vast and rich cities that the Arabyans have. The cities would have mostly Islamic architecture that would be Ottoman inspired (onion shaped domes, minarets, Mosques, etc) with many forms of Middle-Eastern structures combined across different cultures. The towns and villages would be similar but obviously less impressive with the nomadic tribes having little other tents and other quick to set up structures.
I will now discuss important areas of Araby.

• Al Haikk-Also known as Alhaka, Al-haikk and El-Haikk, this means City of Thieves in the Arabyan tongue and is the largest trading port of Araby. The Sultan of All Araby is also situated here and therefore, this city has great importance and influence in the Arabyan society. It’s effectively the Arabyan capital.
  
• Copher-The most independent Arabyan city, famed for its spice trade (known as the Spice Port) and home to scholars and wizards as well as the feared pirates of Copher. The Arabyans were able to establish and monopolise the trade routes into the lucrative jade and spice lands of the Far East such as Cathay and Ind and with such economic growth, the Arabyan people have pursued the fine arts in poetry, alchemy, medicine and architecture thus producing some of the world's most notable poets, doctors, sorcerers and architects. The High Elves also maintain a mercantile presence in Copher as well as a Tilean quarter and Dwarf quarter (‘The Street of a Hundred Dwarfs’).
  
• Martek-A city rich from mining the Atalan Mountains and surrounding the bottomless lake of Fazoth-Ar, in which are said to dwell sinister forces.
  
• Lashiek-Arabyans will eagerly exchange fishing and trading for piracy, and nowhere is this more the case than in Lashiek which is consequently known as the City of Corsairs. The Arabyans are great sailors and have for many centuries fished the adjoining seas and traded south along the coast, northwards to the Old World, and westwards as far as Ulthuan. The High Elves do not permit Arabyan vessels to travel further west than Ulthuan itself, their high-prowed dhows are a common sight in the outer harbours of Lothern. The High Elves maintain a mercantile presence in Lashiek as well. The Sultan's mighty fleet is also situated here but it is also feared as the centre of slave-trade through most of the known world.
  
• Bel-Aliad - In its prime, Bel-Aliad was one of the ancient cities of Nehekhara, where it was famed as the City of Spices. During the wars against Nagash, it was left in ruins and eventually resettled. It is currently in ruins and devoured by the desert sand. It was once the capital of a proud Arabyan civilization, until it was destroyed by the Undead forces of Arkhan the Black -1149 IC. It is said that within these ruins priceless treasures are hidden (and likely horrors as well), although few adventurers return to verify the story.
  

Playstyle-Araby has some similar elements of Empire and High Elves regarding infantry (well-disciplined rank and file with spears, bows and the such) and their infantry is mostly devoid of armour due to desert conditions. Without armour though, Araby units are faster than other armies and better at hit and run tactics. Araby does not have any form of artillery or war machines but has an excellent selection of infantry, cavalry and monsters. Araby magic is also brilliant with many different types to use. Infantry and monsters should provide attack and support with cavalry mostly providing harassment to annoy enemy units or destroy vulnerable units. Some very powerful and specialised units will add the cherry on top. Their battle mechanic could be the ‘Magic of Araby’. When Araby fights in a battlefield, I can see them bringing ways to store any form of magical or spiritual energy (check Magic Lore below to understand why) that occurs (even the base emotions from plain killing and standard warfare). Deaths on the battlefield will boost this but spells unleashed by friendly and enemy magic users will push it further. Once it reaches full, Araby will gain 30 Winds of Magic (could be less for balance) to use on Lore of Sand spells (even if you have no casting units on the field as Araby Lords or Heroes let loose the magic from magic lamps and other forms of magical containment) as well as a summonable Djinn unit.
Campaign-wise, I can see Araby being friends with most factions in the game (except Sultan Jaffar) except for the obvious evil races and the Tomb Kings. Bretonnia, Tilea and Estalia relations might be somewhat sour due to a bad past but you could work on these (helping or worsening them-maybe Araby could end the slave trade?). Araby should be excellent at trade and naval exploration and I would expect battles over trade routes to occur with certain factions. They should also have a lot of money at the start and have ways to boost it further. Story-wise, as Araby is quite decent at magical containment, maybe they are working with Djinn to make their own vortex or gain crucial information from captured Daemons of Chaos they manage to find and enslave to achieve greater power like a greater Arabyan civilisation or something more nefarious as some LLs might do. Of course, I can’t see other races liking this, especially the Chaos Gods themselves…
Special Rules-I could find no special rules for Araby (even in Warmaster) so the ‘Magic of Araby’ battle mechanic is the only one I can give.
Magic Lore-Araby lies far from the world's poles and therefore from the ultimate source of the magical winds that blow from the north (and south). As a result magic that is common in the Old World is far more diffuse in Araby so it is much more difficult for sorcerers to work their spellcraft. Arabyan magic has therefore developed quite differently than that of other men. Arabyan sorcerers use their powers to control elemental spirits of the desert, djinn, efreets, genies and such-like spirits. These spirits are worshipped by the superstitious people of Araby. It is commonly believed that the spirits must be appeased with prayers and small tokens of respect such as gifts of food and drink. These so-called elemental creatures are all daemons of a kind, but so far removed and isolated from the source of magical power in the north that they rely upon the close presence of powerful magical artefacts to maintain their existence. They also sometimes cling to local areas where a vestige source of magical energy may be found, but in such cases their power is not usually great. Much Arabyan magic is based upon creating and using forms of magical containment such as cages, boxes, or crystals, which are used to capture and enslave these Daemons.
Araby only has four known spells from Warmaster which people usually call the Lore of Sand/the Desert but I can definitely see many more being created like Summon Djinn or a Burning Scimitar vortex spell. There are other spells from Mordheim called Arabyan Elemental Magic which I’ll mention after the first four from Warmaster.

• Sand Storm-The sorcerer commands the desert spirits to engulf his foes in a swirling cloud of choking sand and dust. This ability was actually cast upon the Sorcerer himself and affected enemy units around him. It affected an enemy's command ability but there is better ways to use it here. It should disrupt enemy formations by throwing them around and damaging them slightly in the process. Should also lower morale and ranged sight of any ranged units.
  
• Mirage-The sorcerer creates the illusion of a huge host of fearsome warriors, bearing down inexorably upon his startled foes. This spell summons a unit from the Araby army list (can be anything) and this illusion cannot move or fight (should change the move part). However, it is treated as real by the enemy and must be charged or targeted by units that have (frenzy, rampage, etc). If attacked or moved through by Araby units, the illusion will break. The Arabyan Sorcerer cannot cast any other spells if this spell is being used so must dispel it to cast another.
  
• Sunstrike-Bright beams of burning energy leap from the sorcerer's eyes and scythe through all before him. Sounds similar to Burning Gaze or the attack the Hierotitan has. A long line is cast from where the sorcerer is standing and any foe (or friend) in the line immediately takes damage from the spell. Could be useful when lines clash and you want to scythe down an entire row of enemies.
  
• Curse of the Djinn-The sorcerer channels the immense power of the Djinn through his own body and lays a terrible curse upon his foes. The sorcerer may cast this spell on an enemy unit within range and the targeted unit had to re-roll all successful armour saves in close combat. Sounds like it would reduce armour of an enemy unit or cause armour sundering. A Sorcerer with a Djinn could cast this spell with a lower roll.
  

Arabyan Elemental Magic-The magic of the Djinn is a rare, almost lost, art among men. It is the preserve of the Djinn of the deep desert and of those Djinn unfortunate enough to be captured. There are six spells involved in this and they can only be used by the Mystic (a nomadic wizard but these spells could be combined with the Warmaster list and used by all).

• Riding the Wind-Invoking the Element of the Air, the caster rises up on a warm breeze, only to set down again on another part of the battlefield. This allowed the Mystic to move across and over terrain with no terrain affecting movement. I was thinking it could have a duel role and be cast on an enemy unit to blow them away (little damage but good disruption of enemy regiment).
  
• Skin of Stone-Calling upon the Element of the Earth, the caster is able to make a warrior's skin become as hard as stone. This could be cast on a friendly warrior (or unit in this case) and would add +2 to armour but reduce initiative (or unit speed here). Cast on a unit that needs to hold the line.
  
• Burning Hand-By invoking the Element of Fire, one of the caster's hands becomes burning hot which he can use to smite his enemies. This spell allow the caster to do a flaming attack that set a enemy on fire. I would allow this to be cast on the caster or a friendly unit and give the unit flaming attacks.
  
• Quicksand-By invoking the Element of Water, water rises from the very rocks and sand and turns the ground to quicksand. This was cast at a warrior and cause the unit to be unable to move (no damage though-what?). I would change this to causing direct damage in an affected area and slowing enemy units in the radius.
  
• Storm of Magic-By breaching the very fabric of reality, the caster is able to summon a bolt of pure magical energy. A Direct Damage spell. This allowed the caster to cast a powerful bolt of energy. Useful against Lords, Heroes or any single model unit.
  
• Blessing of the Elements-The caster calls on the elements of the desert and draws upon the fortune they can bestow. This spell's effects would make no sense for Total War and so I would change this to a healing spell that can heal a friendly unit (including the caster).
  

Rites-I focused these Rites on Arabyan society.

• Rite to the Arabyan God-The Arabyan God is never mentioned but they’re definitely religious as a civilisation so this would work as a callback to the Medieval 2 Jihad. It increases production in both the economy and in producing units. It also spawns an ‘Arabyan Crusade’ (like the religious wars Sultan Daryus-e Qabir led) that works similar to the Blood Voyage and is made up of Arabyan cheap units (Spearmen, Bowmen, etc), Dervishers and led by a Sultan/Caliph/Grand Vizier. They will attack the nearest enemy of your faction and cannot replace losses.
  
• Rite to the Djinn-This rite is committed to the Djinn and magical elements that inhabited Araby. Increased Winds of Magic, reduced recruitment of Djinn units and a summon of a Royal Djinn that lasts 5 or 10 turns. Sorcerers/Magicians and Mystics also gain increased experience in battle.
  
• Rite to the Nomadic Tribes-Araby society has many nomadic tribes that roam its great deserts (maybe further afield) and this rite calls to them. Nomadic units become less costly to recruit, confederation is easier with nomadic tribe factions (any faction that is not an Arabyan city) and a legendary Skeikh is spawned that gives the army ‘Hatred of Undead’ that he is attached to (army loses his effect if he leaves but he can be transferred to another).
  
• Ride to Trade-This rite is quite simple and just increases economic output and input and allows higher chances of diplomacy with other races and factions. Faster movement in the sea for Arayban armies and higher chances of confederation with Arabyan cities (does not work with nomadic tribes).
  

CONTINUED BELOW

Edit: Sorry, it's a long one!
Edit 2: Pictures!
Edit 3: Some notes on budget. I had booked a multi-stop ticket with Copenhagen to Esfahan through Istanbul outgoing and Erbil to Copenhagen through Istanbul homewards for 500 euros, all flights operated by Turkish Airlines. Since you can't in any way obtain money while in Iran, you need to bring as much cash as you need. Just to be entirely sure, and also not knowing entirely about the ATM situation in Iraqi Kurdistan, I withdrew enough for the whole trip. I brought 1200 euros, but ended up spending just 630 of them - and I splurged quite a bit, including buying a bunch of souvenirs, sending myself a big parcel of stuff, paying the whole side-trip to Shiraz for my friend and me, paying the various people I stayed with in Esfahan and Tehran a healthy compensation, and hiring a private driver for a full day in Erbil for 110 euros. It can definitely be done a lot cheaper than what I did. Iran is a cheap country, especially right now with the rial plummeting in value. Iraqi Kurdistan is slightly more expensive, especially accomodation can be a bit spicy.
Actual day-to-day report:
I'm currently sitting in Erbil airport, waiting for my flight home in a bunch of hours so I thought I'd write down a trip report! (Spoiler, a big chunk of this was actually written in the airport, but i finished it off at home, I was just too tired at the end!)
My trip consisted of 10 days in Iran and 3 days in Iraqi Kurdistan, with the remaining day spent transporting myself back and forth.
Ive visited Iran twice before, and thus this trip was more of a see-my-friends-again trip than an actual tourist roundtrip. There were still time to visit some major sites though! It was however my first time in both Iranian and Iraqi Kurdistans. I am almost exclusively doing solo travels, so this is nothing new for me, but it’s always exciting to tackle new destinations, and re-visit beloved locations.
My trip started off with a flight from Copenhagen to Esfahan through Istanbul. I started in Esfahan as it's where the majority of my friends live, and hands down also my favorite city. I had arranged to stay with a friend of mine and her family, so no need for a hotel. The first thing I noticed upon arrival was the great amount of new construction that had sprung up since my last visit a year ago. It's great to see Iran blossoming up. Entire new city quarters are quickly rising from the sand.
On the first day, my friend and I revisited my favorite place in Esfahan, the Naqsh-e Jahan square, the second largest open square in the world. It is surrounded by the grand bazaar on all sides as well as two majestic mosques and the grand Ali Qapu palace from the abassid empire. It is always great to return here and marvel at the splendour of the square, meet the friendly locals and embrace the silk road atmosphere.
We then visited the 2 most famous bridges, the si-o-seh pol and Khaju pol. Both bridges are always well visited because of the iconic architecture. Granted for the past many years the river they cross has been completely dried up as the water has been redirected further upstream. It's a shame.
The following days were just spent catching up and hanging out.
Then my friend and I took a mini vacation to the city of Shiraz, a city she hasn't visited since she was 4 years old, despite living a mere 6 hours away by bus. The bus tickets costs about 5 euros for a comfortable seat in a so-called VIP bus. Getting around in Iran is really cheap and the bus network is extremely developed and encompassing. In Shiraz we faced issues right away as we weren't allowed to stay in the hotel room we had booked. In Iran unrelated males and females can't share rooms together, which is even strictlier enforced if one part if Iranian. I thought we had gotten a special room that would bypass this rule by putting us in separate rooms within a larger room, but no. So we had to find another room for my friend. Not easy in high season Shiraz. We managed but it really put a damper on the trip right from the get go. And so I was left with a giant 4 bed room all to myself (the “twin room”-room was actually just one big room with 4 single beds in it, and not what I had thought at all).
That wasn't the end to our curses. We had planned to take a full-day trip to Persepolis the following day, but upon arrival we were told that everywhere would be closed the following day, as it was the mourning day for prophet Muhammad's death-day. So we improvised and quickly jumped into a taxi to Persepolis, knowing we would only manage about an hour at the massive site before closing time. We got the most out of it. It was the second time I visited Persepolis, and I saw it all in a calm pace last year, but it was my friends first time so she was significantly more upset. But it was this or nothing at all as we would be returning to Esfahan the day after the big mourning day, and so wouldn’t have time to make the trip later.
Persepolis still gives me goosebumps. The site is so overwhelmingly grand and epic, and you constantly ask yourself how people could've possible build and created something like it over 2000 years ago without machines. It's always an experience!
Returning in the evening we continued on to cover more sights in Shiraz city itself so as to not miss them the following day. We saw the tombs of poets Sa'adi and Hafez. Both very solemn but beautiful, and full of people reciting poetry. Sitting around, drinking tea and observing, even while not understanding Farsi, is a great way to pass time. Persians are the people of poetry.
The next day we tried our luck, checking out a few places that we were told might still be open. Turned out basically everywhere was still open.. The highlight of the day was our morning visit to the Nasir Ol-Molk mosque, also known as the pink mosque due to the large amount of pink colours in the tilework, which is unusual as the dominant colour. It also has a prayer hall with a big stained-glass facade in different colours that faces the early morning sun, creating a magnificent display of light and colours on the floor, attracting many a local and tourist chasing the perfect photo.
Other places we visited included the Shah Cheragh mausoleum, the Vakil bazar and Mosque.
The following day, our last, we went around visiting the gardens of the city. There are a handful to pick from, as the city is not just famous for its poets but also it's gardens. We saw the Naranjestan garden and palace, the Jahanam garden and the Delgosha garden. We tried to visit the grandest garden of them all, the Eram garden, but the line to buy a ticket was ridiculous. All the gardens were of course mostly dead at this time of year, but they still offered a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Finally we took a bus back to Esfahan in the afternoon arriving in the late evening. Since some family of my friend had arrived during our trip, there wasn't room at their place for me anymore. Instead I checked into the Julfa Hotel in the Julfa Armenian Christian district of town, scoring a great room with a direct view of the armenian Vank Cathedral. The following morning I explored Julfa for a bit, seeing the cathedral and 2 other Armenian churches. I then had brunch with another friend, before taking a bus to Tehran in the afternoon.
It was actually my first time in Tehran! It's such a massive city with so much traffic and so different and modern compared to any other city in Iran I've visited. In Tehran I stayed with the parents of my Farsi teacher from back in Denmark. It was a great way to get a local touch on Tehran.
My first day went by just exploring the downtown area, including the grand bazar, and spending 1,5 hours in the post office to ship myself various goods. The same evening friends of my Farsi teacher invited me to join them at a concert, and so I got to experience the underground scene in Iran with the liberal youths. It was a great experience, seeing the modern experimentalist Makan Ashgvari perform, despite not understanding much. The atmosphere and groove made it all worth it.
The following day i was taken around to a few of the main sights of the city by my teachers sister. We started by exploring the late Shah Reza Pahlavis summer residence, the Niavaran Palace. A grand and extremely posh palace. Using fractured mirrors as wall-paper, something that seems to be very popular among the shahs, despite not being very pretty. Guess reputation is more important than actual beauty.
After battling traffic for a while we made it to the Milad Tower, a 420 meter high space needle, opened in 2009. It provides splendid 360 degree views of Tehran and the surrounding Alborz mountains. The city scape of Tehran just stretches out as far as the eye can see, and it is massively impressive to get just a sense of the sheer scale of this metropolis. Beyond the viewing platform, the tower also hosts a small wax museum showcasing famous Iranians, and a Tehran municipality museum. Neither are really interesting however, the view is by far the best part. A ticket for all 3 places costs less than 10 euros.
After Milad Tower we went to the Tehran Book Complex. A giant bookshop selling everything. I got myself a grand version of the Persian epic, Shahnameh.
The final stop, after battling traffic for over an hour again, was the Tabiat bridge. A modern bridge offering great views of the city lights after darkness falls. Here we had dinner at the Burger Project place at the nearby food court. Can’t recommend.
The next day was to be my final day in Tehran and it was even more affected by traffic. The day started out very rainy, and actually stayed rainy the whole day. I went with my teachers dad on a small “america" tour, seeing the infamous giant American flag mural with falling bombs for stripes with “Down with the usa" printed across it, snapped pictures of it in secrecy as apparently the building it’s printed on is a military base.
Then we went and saw the former American embassy, now labelled “spy den" on the sign out front, and with a bunch of anti-American art on the walls around the complex.
Next up we visited every part of Golestan palace, a grandiose museum of multiple wings and buildings showcasing multiple shahs additions to the palace. It was ok but it’s not really worth going through every part of the place, many of them are similar or frankly not very interesting.
After Golestan we were tired and wet from the rain and so went home to rest and get some lunch. We decided we would venture to the Azadi bus terminal in the evening to ask for tickets to Suleymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan as we couldn’t find them online, otherwise I would just get a ticket to Sanandaj, the capital of Iranian Kurdistan, and go from there somehow. At the same time we would knock the iconic Azadi tower off the list as it’s right next to the terminal.
At 5pm we set out, it’s a drive of about 15 kms across the city, but because we were so foolish to go during rush-hour it took us an incredibly tedious full 4 hours to arrive. And it was still pouring down. Then at the terminal we were told there’s no direct link between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan anymore (due to difference in gas prices they said?) so the whole trip there had been unnecessary. Fuming with annoyance I got a ticket to Sanandaj for the next day instead. After checking out the Azadi tower, which is delightfully simple in design but very pretty, in still pouring rain, we went home, which only took 30 mins, and had some delicious homemade dinner.
Next morning we took the metro to be sure to make it in time to the station. We made it perfectly in time, we had our goodbyes and soon I was on my way. A 7 hour bus trip through the Markazi, Hamedan and Kurdistan regions, all of which are very rugged with mountains and beautiful. It was a joy sitting 7 hours looking out on the wild nature rolling past my eyes. Especially the last 20-30 kms before Sanandaj as you descend the mountains down into the valley is unbelievable.
Arriving in Sanandaj I went to a hotel I had found the night before, Hotel Shadi, which is a 4 star hotel located a bit out of the city centre. It’s really nice, and only 20 euros per night for a single room. Only one problem.. The Wi-Fi is pretty much useless. It’s there and you can connect, but the connection is almost non existent. If you crave Wi-Fi over luxury accomodation, avoid this place. But there aren’t a lot of options in Sanandaj.
After checking in, I inquired about going on a tour to a small Kurdish village called Palangan, which is famous for being extraordinarily picturesque, stretching up the mountain sides of a canyon. With a tour settled for the next morning, I headed out for Sanandaj city centre to have a look around and get some dinner.
Sanandaj mainly has some old houses of note, and they were closed at that time, so I just went around checking out the main square and shopping streets. It’s an idyllic little city with mountain villages lighting up in the horizons. For dinner I had some kebabs. Surprise!
Then I went back to the hotel to catch some rest before the big next day, where I would go early to Palangan just to return and then head straight for the border with Iraqi Kurdistan.
One of the hotel staff drove me to Palangan himself, and stopped for pictures whenever I asked. Which was often. Kurdistan is amazing in fall, all the colours are exploding in nuances of red, orange and yellow. Combined with the mountains and mountain villages, it’s some staggeringly beautiful sceneries you drive through.
After 2,5 hours driving we arrived in Palangan. Here I explored on my own for a bit before my driver joined me and showed me a “hidden" waterfall. The Kurdish children were very curious, and so cutely dressed in traditional garments. After about an hour and a half we headed back, and covered the trip in about 2 hours this time due to lack of stops for photographing. This whole tour of about 6 hours with personal driver cost me 2 million rial (13 euros-ish).
After arriving at the hotel around 2pm, I immediately packed up and checked out and took a taxi to the bus station. From there I hopped into a minibus going to the border city of Marivan. It’s a 2,5 hour trip costing a few euros. From Marivan i jumped into a taxi to get me down to the border. Arriving at the border around 5pm, I was lucky enough that only 2 other people made me company to cross the border on foot, so the crossing was very fast. It took 20 minutes tops to go through both sides, including the Iraqi side spending a few minutes deriding me for having been to Iran. In the end they gave me the stamp, and alas I was in the mysterious land of Iraq!
Two nice Kurdish gentlemen who were able to speak English were headed to the same city as me, Sulaymaniyah, so we shared a taxi. There’s nothing like driving on the completely dark and deserted roads of Iraq at night.. After no less than 2 check points in 10 kms from the border, we made it to the highway, where our driver was all too happy to let the machine free and drive us with 170 km/h across northern Iraq.
Arriving in Sulaymaniyah I was a little scared and unsure what to expect. Obviously the media has also affected my perception of reality. But just like with Iran, Iraq is probably exaggerated in the media, especially the Kurdistan region, which for all intents and purposes is a very stable and secure oasis.
The entrance to my hotel was side by side with the entrance to another hotel, I didn’t know this, and since my hotel had by far the biggest sign outside, I just waltzed in through the first door. Which was the wrong one. The receptionist didn’t understand English and just gave me a room. Only after 10 minutes did someone come to tell me that I was at the wrong place (I had left my booking.com reservation paper at the reception).
The manager at the other hotel looked very concerned about this, saying that he has to think about the safety of his other guests, and somehow me having left my booking confirmation paper with the wrong hotel for 10 minutes was a security threat. In the end I still got my room. Welcome to Iraq.
That night I took a quick stroll outside just to sniff around and see what Iraq was all about. Right across from my hotel ran a large street that day and night is a market, but at night more focused on food than items. So that was a pleasant surprise. I walked around, got a shawarma and some sweets and then headed back to the hotel to retire for the night after a way too long day sitting in cars too much.
My first impression was that the Kurds are a lot less friendly and hospitable than the Iranians, granted it is hard to compare to the Iranians on those points. But nobody would greet me in the streets or even give me any attention merely for being a foreigner, and pretty much the only foreigner at that. Meanwhile in Iran you get swamped with people showing interest, asking how you’re doing or what you think about their country etc.
Unfortunately this first impression didn’t change much throughout the trip. The Kurds seem very reserved and indifferent to visitors. It could just be that nobody speaks English, or perhaps the personality/cultural differences on the other side of the border are just that massive.
Other things I noticed on this first night is the insane amount of security forces in the streets and in front of every semi-important building. There’s also regular people walking around with ak47s and other weapons like it’s nothing, and nobody bats an eye. The Islamic law is a lot less restrictive, fx alcohol is legal and readily available, public display of affection is totally ok, no mandatory hijab etc. Despite this, on this first night I saw very few women in the streets. It’s still a man’s world.
The next day I wanted to take my first real rest-day, but it ended up not being much of a rest day since I was on such a tight schedule that that would be impossible. I left the hotel late in the morning and set out to the Sulaymaniyah museum, but upon reaching it found out it’s closed for renovation. On to the next sight and probably the most important place in Sulaymaniyah, the Amna Suraka, or “Red Intelligence” aka a former Baa'th party torture/investigation prison now turned into a museum. It showcases big exhibits on the Kurdish massacres, and posts the names of all the victims of them while also providing background information in a beautiful but respectful and solemn setup.
There is also a section about Kurdish culture, including traditional clothes and carpets. They have a line-up of various tanks and rocket launchers in the courtyard as well. All aiming at the gunshot ridden old headquarters building.
Last but not least they have a brand new exhibition about the fight against Daesh/ISIS. It has extremely graphic images of isis crimes, as well as showing names and pictures of all the peshmerga martyrs. They also have a particularly strong focus on the women-only branch of the forces. Extremely emotional. The actual prisons were closed for unspecified reasons that day.
The last place I went was the Azadi (freedom) park. It’s a huge park in the middle of the city, with 2 lakes, multiple cafes, a few monuments, a giant Kurdish flag and a splendid views of the surrounding mountains on which a big map of the Iraqi Kurdistan region is drawn and “Slemani" (direct transliteration of the kurdish word for Sulaymaniyah i believe) written next to it. Easily visible from the park.
Just like the gardens in Shiraz, the garden is mostly dead at this time of year, but the other sights warrants a visit. After that I ventured back to the hotel to rest a bit, until I went out again in the evening to get some food. I got a pizza which weren’t particularly good. My punishment for not eating local food. I then strolled back to the Azadi park just to find that both it, and the big sign on the mountain side are not really lit up at night.
Next day I packed up early and took a minibus to the Kurdish capital, Erbil. It’s a 2-3 hour drive through some rugged terrain, But mostly excellent roads. At the end you arrive in Erbil, which is located on the mostly flat terrain at the edges of the Nineveh plateau, which is where the cradle of civilization is located. Very exciting indeed.
In Erbil I stayed at a hotel called Dlasa, which while having a great location almost in the heart of the old city, was also a huge let down. The room was not very well-kept and kinda dirty, the bathroom smelled incredibly like sewage, no towels provided etc etc. And all this with a pricetag of $40 /night. Not great. At Least the location was great.
I immediately set out to see the city and ventured the few 100 meters over to the Erbil Citadel, a great Citadel towering up 30 meters above the old city, right in the very heart of Erbil. The citadel is build on top of 7 former civilizations who ruled here, and the current version is very well preserved. There’s free entrance to the citadel grounds, providing awesome views of the city and particularly the main square of the city, with a bunch of fountains, cafes and benches that are always packed. Surrounding this is the local bazaar which also turns into a sprawling market every night.
After checking out the citadel, I made my way over to some of the parks of l the city. The first one, “The Minaret Park” is quite possibly the prettiest, as it contains a half destroyed, but beautiful minaret of a 900 year old mosque. The park also contains an open air amphitheatre and a great collections of statues of people. From the minaret park it’s easy to cross the street and go into the next parks. These are nice too but don’t have anything worth mentioning really.
At that point I got some street food and went back to the hotel a bit. In the evening I went out again to soak in the atmosphere some more.
Finally on the last day I went with a private driver to some of the holiest sites for Christians in Iraq, and the holiest site for yazidis. The first stop of the day was the Mar Mattai monastery. It is a syrian orthodox congregation located in the Alfaf mountains further into the Nineveh plateau. To reach this place, you first have to go along the Erbil-Mosul highway for a while, and in fact the monastery is located a mere 35 kms from Mosul. It is in fact so close to Mosul that on a clear day you can see Mosul from the monastery. On this day, the air was smoggy and so we could just see the beginnings of the flat plateau. Still a spectacular view. At the monastery we met some of the congregants, but none of them could speak english, so beyond a courteous nod and hand shake it didn’t bring more with it.
The next stop was further up north a bit further away from the flat plains of Nineveh. Up here in a canyon can be found the holy city of Lalish, which is the most holy site in all of yazidi faith. The yazidis are an enigmatic group of people who generally don’t have any written records of their holy stories, but carries them through the generations by word of mouth. They are accepting of other religions, and don’t mission for new members, as the only way you can become a yazidi is to be born as one - you can’t convert into the religion. They are fairly secretive about their rituals and ceremonies, so not much are known about their religion, not compared to other big religions at least. They garnered infamy when the islamic state attacked them and forced them up the Sinjar mountain, where a genocide was feared, until the international coalition interrupted. Still many yazidis (especially men) has been killed by islamic state, and many women has been kidnapped, married off, raped etc.
Despite their bad fortunes, they still allow visitors into their holy city, albeit the most holiest sites are off limits to any non-yazidi persons.
The yazidis has one cool little ritual inside their churches (or what you want to call their places of worship). There’s several big pieces of cloth. You can make a wish and tie a knot into the pieces of cloth, likewise you can choose to untie an existing knot. By doing so, you will fulfill that wish that was made with that knot.
Again we weren’t lucky enough to find anyone who could speak english, so my curiousity about talking to the yazidi people didn’t get satisfied.
The last stop on our trip - and thus the whole trip for me, was the purely christian city of Alqosh, and the mountain-side monastery located there. Just like the Mar Mattai monastery, this place also offers a great view of the flat Nineveh plateau. This monastery mostly seem to be abandoned, and not in use. But it is much more encompassing, featuring several large buildings, ruins, caves and even a massive crypt underneath the main church building.
The views not just OF the surrounding mountains but also FROM the surrounding mountains can hardly be described by words. I had no idea about what Alqosh was, and hadn’t been particularly looking forward to this stop on the tour, but it turned out to be my favorite place in the whole of Iraq. The atmosphere and scenery were beyond gorgeous, and trekking to nearby caves to have a full view of the monastery complex was entirely worth it.
After that we drove back to Erbil. I got some more kebab for dinner and headed to the airport. The security at the airport is extreme. Before even entering the airport perimeter you are patted down by armed guards, your luggage is checked by sniffer dogs, and your car (or taxi) is thoroughly searched. Then you are allowed to go to a small building, still far from the actual terminal, where a first bag scan is done through a regular bag-scanner machine and you show your passport for the first time (not actual passport control). You’re asked about your flight, etc. Then when you clear that, you have to take a airport bus up to the main terminal. Here upon arrival you go through yet another baggage scanner like at a regular airport, and from there the procedure is as normally in an airport. The only other place I’ve ever experienced anything like this was in Israels Tel Aviv airport. And then a 7 hour wait in the airport for my flight to Istanbul began..