My sheer curiosity and passion for ruins of the ancient world has given me enough courage to travel to Iran. Most of my friends were too worried for me since I knew no one. I was aware of the "head scarf", so I chucked one into my checked baggage. While disembarking the plane I was asked if I got a head scarf since I was not wearing one.

 After everyone had disembarked, a grinning steward handed me a blanket to be worn as a scarf. I had no choice so I joined the queue with that blanket over my head. Some people thought I looked stupid but some didn't care even though I felt silly. It was a good thing that my bags came promptly and so with my own scarf I got into a cab.

Most people spoke Arabic but the cab driver spoke very good English. We drove around this polluted city for a while until found a hotel that was suitable for me and was within my means. Hotels in Iran retain your passports until you checked out, so I reluctantly surrendered mine.

In the lobby I asked for a cork screw but it didn't exist since alcohol was forbidden and a taboo within society. With a little bit of luck on my side, a waiter knocked on my door and he discreetly pull out an ice pick. With that he chipped out every bit of the cork from the bottle.

I walked around an antique square in the city the next day hunting for artifacts.There were several ancient beads dealer who have international pricing but I was very pleased with my purchases.

The stone beads of fish motif necklace with Iranian agate beads in the picture above were bought from the antique square.