Before coming to Armenia the most I knew about the place was something about churches and that the Armenian- run bakery down the street from my parents' house in Worcester, MA has really amazing bagels. You can imagine my disappointment when I couldn't find any bagels in Yerevan. ...
Goodbye Iran, Hello Armenia!
The contrast between Iran and Armenia is huge, which made crossing the border between the two countries a pretty bizarre experience. One is an Islamic country that bans alcohol, and the other proudly boasts being the world's first Christian nation and making, according to locals, ...
A Road Trip Through Iranian Kurdistan
After seriously exhausting my eating and dancing abilities during Nowruz celebrations with Mina and her family in Tehran, I was excited to get back on the road and explore more of Iran. Luckily for me, our trip to Isfahan seemed to have given Mina a bit of the travel bug as well, ...
Isfahan, Iran: Visiting Half of the World
When Mina and I met for lunch in Tehran, I told her about my plans to visit Isfahan (or Esfahan) for a few days, and she confessed that she had never visited Persia's former capital city. "Persians call Isfahan Nesfe Jahan, which means 'Half of the World,' " Mina told ...
Kafka and Cigarettes in Tehran
I've heard so many words used to describe Tehran - bustling, cosmopolitan, smoggy, traffic-clogged, dangerous - but after spending about a week in the city one word sums it up best for me: cool. I'm not even sure what it was about Tehran, but looking around at the people, the ...