By: Fatima Hussain
NISHAPUR (NEISHABOUR)
We arrived in Nishapur in the morning and ate their special breakfast food ash-e-rishte. This can be translated as noodle soup, but it was very different than the soup we think of in America. The soup was thicker than we were used to and had lots of beans and special noodles. After breakfast, we went to Qadamghah—the site where the 8th Imam’s footprints are embedded in stone. There was also a spring of water (chesmeh) that has said to have been struck by Imam Reza (as) and has healing powers. We all enjoyed its water and saved some bottles for home. Then we went for the ziyarat of Imamzadeh Mahruq. The title Imamzadeh means an offspring of an Imam. Omar Khayyams mausoleum was also in the gardens of the tomb of Imamzadeh Mahruq. Omar Khayyam was a mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and poet, and he is widely considered to be one of the most influential scientists in history. Afterwards, we went to the train station and boarded the train that took us to Tehran.
TEHRAN
In Tehran, we did a lot of sightseeing. We visited two main museums; one of them was a former prison from the time of the Islam Revolution which was converted into the Ebrat Museum. The other was the Holy Defense Museum, which about the Iran-Iraq War. We also visited the Milad Tower, which is the sixth tallest tower in the world, and the nature bridge, a very well designed bridge with multiple levels, including one for restaraunts. From Tehran, we took a day trip to Qum.