Visiting Isfahan From Bandung

I just came back from a trip to Naqsh-e Jahan in Isfahan, Iran. Last night. I visited this magnificent building constructed in the sixteenth century, with a friendly local tour guide. Yes, during this lockdown period, when traveling outside the country is almost impossible due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many travels must be canceled and lots of travel companies have gone out of business. 

These trips are made without leaving home--and can be joined at no cost. But anyone can contribute to giving tips to appreciate the efforts and kindness of the guide. 

This is a virtual walking tour hosted by a new UK start-up Virtualtrips.io. With no passport, no plane ticket, and no luggage, we will experience all the sights, sounds, and stories. Not a slideshows or pre-recorded videos, but a live broadcast through the beautiful Naqsh-e Jahan with the guide, Arian.

Arian, graduated in chemical engineering in 1992 and has been working in the field for many years. But then decided that she could do better for her country by being a tour guide rather than by being an engineer. Since 2014, she started a new career, until now she has experience guiding European tourists in Iran and vice versa.

This tour group consists of approximately two hundred people who can chat with other participants and ask the guides throughout the trip which lasts approximately one hour. Participants can also take pictures and ask the guides to point the camera at certain objects they want to shoot or see better.

Our journey started from the square in the south of Naqsh-e Jahan. Yesterday was Friday, a holiday in Iran. The square is full of families who come to picnic and rejoice. They ride bicycles, rollerblades, take walks, or just sit and chat in small groups.

Seeing the hectic atmosphere, one participant asked whether there are no distance restrictions on health protocols in Iran.

"Yes, we have," answered Arian, "And I was also surprised to see so many people here today. But it was sunny and people were tired of keeping themselves indoors for months."

Joy spreads cannot be hidden, seeing children playing freely, running, and hearing their screams enjoying being together in the field located in front of the Safavid era heritage mosque.

From the busy square, we were brought into the Sheikh Lotfollah mosque which is located on the east side. The guards said we were only allowed to enter for five minutes, the number of visitors allowed into the closed room was limited and rotated for a shorter duration. This mosque is a private mosque, it does not have a minaret. The appearance of the front gate is very famous. I often see it on postcards and posters from Iran.

Entering, a dim hallway with marble walls patterned with vines of plants, flowers and calligraphy. The hallway leads to the spacious main room where you can pray with the mihrab towards the Qibla. A very stately space with marble walls and a beautifully decorated dome.

After visiting the interior of the mosque, Arian took us to the bazaar which is located right next to the mosque. The alleys are full of shops on either side of it, selling typical Isfahan souvenirs such as chess boards of various styles, backgammon boards, torquise ceramics, and of course Persian carpets.

The tour with Arian is only one of many tours organized by Virtualtrips, founded by two friends John Tertan and Liam Garrison in 2020. The development is very rapid with audiences from all over the world.

This live-streaming travel-only platform allows local tour guides to show you places they are familiar with in the hope of making people around the world feel like they can come together more intimately.

As quoted from Paul Cole travel blog, Liam Garrison said, "It's great to see people from places like Wisconsin, Delhi or New Zealand come together to enjoy a shared experience, where they can connect with family, friends, and even completely new people from different time zones, transcending social backgrounds and boundaries. We are very excited to see the energy and enthusiasm of each guide who works with us, their commitment and unique perspectives, and their fun personalities have made this experience special. "

On each trip, there is a map showing the exact location of the place being visited. At first, Vitualtrip only covered cities in Europe and America, but now there are more and more places from other parts of the world in Asia and Africa. Virtualtips has taken me to Budapest, Lviv, Ljubljana, Perugia, Oxford, Paris, Rome, Venice, Galicia, Prague, Assisi, Accra, Dubrovnik, Tunis, Tokyo, Kyoto, and many other cities. And, there are also cooking classes for a culinary trip!

These professional guides have lost their jobs since the pandemic restrictions. Many of them claim to feel really excited and come back to life thanks to this platform. They were so excited, even in the midst of bad weather and cold, for example, the guides from the European region were there when it was snowing heavily or slippery roads covered with ice. They kept running their routes. Or, climb to the highest peak of an amphitheater to show us the view from above, even we can hear his breath was short.

For me, virtualtrips is really a blessing that provides the experience of traveling around the world under the current limited situation. Unfortunately, due to time zone limitations, I still haven't had time to take a tour to the Americas. There are trips to Santiago, Buenos Aires, Lima, La Paz, and cities in the US, that always take place after twelve in the evening. Even though I really wanted to, I still would rather get a good night's sleep than stay up late for whatever reason.

Virtual travel certainly cannot replace real travel. But there are still other pleasures that it can bring. At least as a teaser and getting to know places that we might someday visit for real when travel is possible again. To conclude here's video footage from a virtual trip to the El Jem Amphitheater in Tunisia:

Indonesian version