Dai's Journal

[DrDebby]

Nice flower. Very inspiring, the amount of research you are putting into this.

[bookscorpion]

I took a break from the journal over the summer, but now me and Dai are back in the saddle.



a striped hyena, ref photo from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidbygott/4046054029/




Khaju Bridge in Isfahan, ref photo from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaju_Bridge
Take a look at the article to see the whole bridge, it's absolutely gorgeous.

30 pages left in the journal and about 3000 kilometres until Dai reaches Istanbul.

[DrDebby]

Glad to see you continuing this journal. Great sketches.

[bookscorpion]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_temple
I don't know if I got all the fact right about Zoroastrianism, it's quite complex.
Ref photo from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mehrab1131/4575458387/

[DrDebby]

Doesn't matter if you have everything about Zoroastiranism correct. It's the understanding of Dai through the journal. It's a marvelous journal page(s).

[Joan T]

Glad to see you continuing your journal! Nice!!

[bookscorpion]

I bet you thought I forgot about this I just haven't been posting, but I've been sketching quite a lot. I'm still not done, but on the last ten pages...I cannot believe it.



a Tower of Silence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_silence
reference from Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25061723@N00/2094523414/

and a pomegranate


reference from Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15139540@N07/1805929554/
Slavery was still going strong at around 1890 in the area, although it had just been outlawed in the Ottoman Empire (I don't know about Iran) and there had definitely been cases of Europeans finding themselves sold as slaves.

[DrDebby]

Jennifer, so cool that you are continuing this journal. The bits of information and history along with the illustrations is inspiring.

[bookscorpion]

a Dalmatian Pelican
ref image on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vorderstrasse/7330839946/

Dai's not kidding about the size of these birds. They can reach a length of up to six feet! That makes them the largest pelicans and one of the largest birds overall. They are also the largest species of bird still capable of flight.



Badab-e Surt, a place similar to Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone.
reference on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninara/4598288079/
I failed miserably at capturing just how spectacular that place really is. Take a look


Mount Damavand
ref on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamed/164348283/

[DrDebby]

More great information and illustrations. This is a fascinating travel log.

[Scattykat]

just found this journal, brimming with information and super pics. All are great, especially like the story about the elephant and the mahout. look forward to reading/seeing more...

[bookscorpion]

Thank you, Debby and Scattykat




Caspian Terns http://www.arkive.org/caspian-tern/sterna-caspia/
ref from Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/caspian_tern/2525383027/
They are quite large birds, around 50cm long, and I don't think being divebombed by them is a very enjoyable experience. Dai seems to agree.


Any bird colony is a noisy place and Caspian Terns have a particularly loud croak, almost like a heron. So sleeping in was no option - not that Dai sleeps very late in any case.
ref from Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/from-me/207455439/

[Scattykat]

enjoyed catching up with your pics and interesting writings, unique peep into your busy interesting day today life, thanks...

[Joan T]

Love the writing as well as the sketches!!!

[JTMB]

Somehow I had missed seeing your postings in November, so caught up now. Great job on the Caspian Terns - they are a very interesting species.