And Now For Something Completely Different...IRAN!

We arrived in Isfahan at around 4 AM, which is pretty common for international arrivals.  Just before we disembarked the plane, all the women whipped on their hijabs (minus a couple who wore them the whole flight), as is required by the government of Iran. 

Customs was very smooth.  After that we picked up our bags and headed to the exit where our luggage was scanned to ensure we didn't have any alcohol or other contraband items inside.  (I was scared that they would deem my Entertainment Weekly magazines inappropriate, but they didn't physically search anything.)

Next we procured a private taxi to take us to Isfahan (about 4 hours away).  The taxi driver looked about 15 and sported a jacket with a large D & G (Dolce and Gabbana) on the back.  He was also glued to his cell phone a lot of the time!

Some scenes on the road from Tehran to Isfahan:

It looks just like New Mexico, but it reminded me more of the images I've seen of Afghanistan, which was a bit eery...

No billboards?  No worries...just write your ad on the mountain:

Ingenious marketing!