Nushabad, Badab-e-Surt, Alamut Valley, Kandovan, Tabriz and AstaraLeaving Kashan via the Underground village of Nushabad to Bab-e-Surt The initial plan was to visit Tehran today, but due to the terrorist bombings two days ago on the shrine of Khomeini and the House of Parliament; we decided to drive past Tehran to see how the news would develop. Contact with our foreign affairs office learned that there was not too much news other than that the Iranian government would be at an even higher alert than they normally already are. It would be a long drive to the spring of Badab-e-Surt, but since it is straight through the dessert we expected it to be an easy drive. Nushabad Before entering the highway, we visit the village of Nushabad with its underground city. The underground city used to exist of seven kilometres of ‘streets’ on three levels; 6 metres, 12 metres and 18 metres deep that were connected. Today, the underground city has only two entrances. Entrance one with a underground passage of 100 metres and entrance two with a lengths of 300 metres. On Fridays, one can unfortunately only visit the underground city using entrance two. It was an interesting experience. Before entering the tunnel with the living quarters, we descended into the dried up water storage that concealed the entrance of the underground city. This underground city was ‘lost’ for many years until someone drilled a well in his garden and ‘found’ this city. Badab-e-surt spring After the underground city we started the long drive a scenic route through the desert and some mountains to Badab-e-Surt spring, terraced hot springs. It unique in the world due to its distinctive orange hue, resulting from a concentration of iron oxide in the water. The road towards the springs is in terrible condition only 4WD’s can reach the parking of the spring. From the small village below many local tourist were brought there in the back of a pick up. When we arrived at the site also twenty other people arrived and even though the place is large enough to find your own way…they followed the same path as us…making it impossible to make nice pictures as everyone is posing for a picture. As the colouring is nicest at sunrise we left the spring to find a nice bus camp higher on the mountain. The next morning we woke up at 05.15 and we were back at the spring 10 minutes before sunrise. The color of the terraced hot springs were beautiful in the early morning light and best of all we had the place all to ourselves. Chalus road After we left the springs we headed towards the Caspian Sea and the starting point of a scenic drive from Chalus towards Tehran. Many people from Tehran use this road to visit the mountains and the Caspian Sea to escape the summer heat in Tehran. Halfway we turned around as we had driven much nicer routes in Iran already; on every bend is a teahouse or picnic place, lots of garbage in the ditch. Not really scenic if you ask us… Trying to find a nice bush camp in the mountains turned out to be somewhat of a challenge in this area as well. Small villages everywhere, not hidden from the road, etc. It wasn’t until it was almost dark that we found this nice place in the Alamut Valley at a height of 2800m overlooking the valley and the snow capped mountains. We set up camp for the night and Wilfred got the fire going to prepare dinner and a bit of extra warmth on a cold evening. Alamut Valley After a slow breakfast enjoying the views, we completed the last 100m to the top and succeedingly descended towards the castles of Alamut and Lamiasar. When we arrive at Alamut castle around noon, we notice that the castle is more a ruin and requires a steep climb. We decided against the climb by foot and instead moved higher on the neighbouring mountain by car to get a nicer view over the ruins from above. Afterwards, we drove to the Lamisar castle further down the valley. When we arrived at the coordinates where the castle would be, it took a while before we actually found the castles ruins themselves. Again they were -not surprisingly- high up a mountain. These ruins looked even more deteriorated than Almut castle. Instead of climbing to the castle in the full sun, we chose to move ahead in the direction of Evan lake for a relaxed lunch in the shades. After lunch, we left the Alamut valley and drove towards Masuleh and Rukhan castle, which we would visit the next morning. We had decided to set up camp near the castle in order to climb the thousand steps in the coolness of the morning. The valley leading towards the castle turned out to be one of the most utilized areas that we had come across in Iran. If there wasn’t a tea plantation or rice field, it was lived on by the local community or turned into a tacky, dirty picnic area with blinking lights… No wander there was no campsite mentioned in iOverlander. Although close to dark and almost nine a clock, we were determined to find a nicer spot and headed towards Masuleh in the next valley. Unfortunately, this valley had undergone the same make over and we ended up at a picnic ground none the less. Although much nicer than the once we had seen, it was not what we hoped for… Rukhan castle and Masuleh Although the campground was supposed to be free of charge (according to iOverlander), we found the gate locked in the morning. Since there were (clean) toilets, we had not truly expected a free of charge stay, but were unpleasantly surprised by the amount to be paid to get the gate opened. We made it very clear that we were not going to pay more than the amount we had paid in the city centre of Isfahan and interestingly, the guy accepted our counter offer immediately. Our conclusion… It was a shakedown; we were just unfortunate that we were the only once there. We quickly forgot the guy and headed back to Rukhan castle to start our climb and a climb it was! The first couple of kilometres were depressing. Instead of enjoying the old forest and steam next to the path, we only saw little shops (selling all the things you never wanted to have, sweet stands and ‘teahouses’. A sure nightmare for all the parents that surely had to promise their kids that they could pick something on the return… After a while it got better and we started to enjoy the tough climb. About three quarters up, Judith decided it was not smart to climb further as her knee started to act up again and the way down usually made it worse. It turned out a very smart decision, as the last part was even steeper. It took Wilfred a full hour to climb up, visit the castle and join up again. The castle had a remarkable resemblance with the Moorish castle we had visited in Portugal. It covered three hilltops and even within the walls of the castle, one had to climb and descend to get from one part to the next. Back at the car, we drove onward to the mountain village of Masuleh. A village that is build against a very steep hillside. In certain parts of the village, the footpaths run over the roofs of the houses below. Being a Unesco heritage and a main tourist destination in Iran, also this little village is overcrowded with restaurants, teahouses and tourist shops. Luckily for us, most were closed… After a small walk, we continued our drive up the mountain and literally into the clouds. The further we climbed, the less we could see. Close to the top, our sight was less than 10 metres. Shortly after we passed the top, it suddenly cleared up. The other side of the mountain as well as the valley beyond was completely clear and the temperature rose quickly from 15 degrees to over 30. Another overlander had written that the views along this road from Masuleh were spectacular and we finally had an idea on what he had meant. Towards sunset, we started to look for a place to camp and drove up the mountain range again to find a cooler place for the night. We found a nice spot next to the road on top of a mountain. Although we were in full sight of two small villages, we saw or heard no one the entire evening and enjoyed the views and quietness. Takht-e-Soleyman The long drive brought us via a beautiful mountain pass and Zanjan to the Takht-e-Soleyman Fortress. When we arrived at the site, we were the only ones visiting and we had to ask them to open the museum. Next to the logical buildings like mosques and hammans, the fortress also houses a rather large crater lake in the centre of it. Unfortunately for the inhabitants, the lake did not provide drinking water. The fortress is surrounded with several large hills. One of them, a crater, served as a prison at the time. In the museum, we had seen a nice picture of the whole site that was taken from one of the hilltops. We had seen a road going uphill at the parking and decided to see if it would lead us to the (same) top. Although it did go up, it unfortunately ended in a just ploughed field and Wilfred still ended up climbing the last 100 meters to the top. Shortly after we left the site, we started looking for a place to stay the night. This was easier said than done as we drove through many small villages and small valleys with no possibilities to get off the main road. Around seven, we saw a road running up the hill that we could reach after a doable river crossing. When we followed the road, it unfortunately ended up (again) in a just ploughed field. Close to Kashavar and almost nine o’clock, we finally found a dirt road going higher up hill and we followed it to the top (and back). As there were no secluded spots along the track, we decided to drive down again and follow the unfinished new road. After some kilometres, we finally found a dry riverbed which we followed upstream to a flat area. Kandovan Before arriving in Tabriz, we decided to visit rock hewn city of Kandovan. Allegedly a small version of Cappadocia. As we had not been to Cappadocia yet, it made a good impression on us. Yes, of course it was touristy and many of the rock hewn houses had been turned into shops selling the same crap as usual. It was a really nice experience. As it was still low season, we decided to check the prices at the best hotel in town that had converted several of the rock houses into comfortable rooms. This time we were less lucky and the prices remained far above the price we thought this experience should cost. We did enjoy a rather good lunch at the hotel before we continued our drive to Tabriz. Tabriz In Tabriz we immediately drove to the camping close to the centre of town. We had expected a city camping, but were pleasantly surprised to find is rather green and filled with fruit trees. The ablutions were not bad at all (for a free of charge camping) and Wilfred even had a hot shower the first morning (he was however the only one…). At the campsite, we met with Berndt and Claudia, who had ‘just started’ their three year trip to India, China and the America’s three months ago. We had a nice evening together and exchanged many stories and tips over dinner (which was actually being prepared by an Iranian guy they had met the day before). The next day we took it slow and after saying goodbye to Berndt and Claudia around lunch time we took a taxi towards the huge Bazaar. Maybe we did not find the nice parts of this hugh market or we had become spoiled after a month in Iran, but we did not like it at all. We did recognise several of the caravanserais, but none we saw were in a really nice state… After doing the groceries, we went back to the camping. While we were updating the blog and reading a bit, a girl came to us and gave us some of the white berries (looking like large raspberries) from the trees in the park. When Judith brought back the plate, she was immediately asked to stay for some tea and about an hour later, we started dinner in their picnic area. It was a nice typical Iranian dish of course with dough (a sour tasting milk drink) on the site like the night before. The next morning before we left Tabriz, we stayed in our car and finally were able to finish updating the blog. After saying goodbye to the family, we drove towards Babak Castle where we would also spend the night. Just outside of Tabriz on the highway, we recognize a familiar car dooming up in front of us. In stead of going south as we expected, Berndt and Claudia had decided to move into the mountain north of Tabriz. After a quick chat, we continued our drive. Babak castle Babak castle it located very high up in the mountains. With a 4x4, one can get rather close, but the final 3-4 kilometres will remain a serious up and downhill hike. Even though it was already to late to get to the castle, Wilfred decided to give it a shot to at least get it in sight. The castle looked very impressive even from a large distance and was certainly not easily conquered (or reached for that matter). We spent the night rather close to the castle, high up in the mountains on top of one of the nearby hills with an amazing view. We woke up in the mist or rather in the clouds. Only after descending about a kilometre in height, we were able to see further ahead. The day turned out to be a rather dull one. We did not see the sun at all and when we arrived at Ardabil (our planned stop for the night), it even started raining. Hoping that the weather would be better at the coast, we continued towards the border town of Astara. Astara Unfortunately weather wise it made little difference. We did find a nice camping spot on a hill overlooking a lake and the sea, but for the first time on our trip, we had to cook inside the car. The next morning, we filled up our tanks with the cheap Iranian diesel and bought a (rather expensive) chocolate cake for Judith her birthday from our last cash. The day before we had already noticed where the customs and border offices were approximately, but still had a hard time to find the right entrance. When we did find it, the first check went rather smoothly; we easily received our entry ticket for the area and the second stop was right across the road. Wilfred went into the office, expecting to clear the car. To his surprise, the officer asked him for the size of his diesel tank… Not really understanding the reason behind the question, Wilfred luckily said 70 litres (and not 200). It turned out that when exiting Iran, everyone is charged the difference between Iranian and Azeri fuel for his entire fuel capacity(!). He charged us $9, which we did not have anymore… as we had just spent all our Iranian cash on Judith her birthday cake. As we were not always able to spent all our cash, Wilfred went back to the car and picked up an Omani 5 Rial note worth $13... It did confuse them a little, but they did not take it (even the money exchange guy that had been called in, did not want it). Wilfred kept telling them that this was all we had and eventually they told him they would make a call to the gate that is was ok…So we left the office without paying the fuel price difference. Glad to have complete step 2 in the process, we searched for the office of step 3… after four persons had given directions and having crossed the border area three times, we finally arrived and got the car clear for exit. Step 4, clearing ourselves was luckily much more easy and was completed after handing them a copy of our passport (?!).
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Nasq-e-Rustam, Pasargadae, Abarkuh, Yazd and MeybodNasq-e-Rustam On our way to Yazd we visited two more historical sites near Persepolis; Naqsh-e Rustam and Pasargadae. First we drove to Naqsh-e Rustam, an ancient necropolis located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis. Four tombs belonging to Achaemenid kings are carved out of the rock face at a considerable height above the ground. The tombs are known locally as the "Persian crosses", because of the shape of the facades of the tombs. The entrance to each tomb is at the centre of each cross, which opens onto a small chamber, where the king lay in a sarcophagus. The horizontal beam of each of the tomb's facades is believed to be a replica of the entrance of the palace at Persepolis. One of the tombs is explicitly identified by an accompanying inscription as the tomb of Darius I the Great (c. 522-486 BC). The other three tombs are believed to be those of Xerxes I (c. 486-465 BC), Artaxerxes I (c. 465-424 BC), and Darius II (c. 423-404 BC) respectively. These tombs were also looted following the conquest of the Achaemenid Empire by Alexander the Great. Pasargadae Pasargardae, the first capital of the Achaemenid Empire, lies in ruins and was the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great who had issued its construction in the 6th century BC. Cyrus the Great began building his capital in 546 BC or later; it was unfinished when he died in battle. Pasargadae remained the capital of the Achaemenid Empire until Cambyses II moved it to Susa; later, Darius I founded another in Persepolis. The archaeological site of Pasargadae covers 1.6 square kilometres and it’s most important monument is Cyrus the Great’s tomb and it is said to be the oldest base-isolated structure in the world. Despite having ruled over much of the ancient world, Cyrus the Great tomb had an extreme simplicity and modest design when compared to those of other ancient kings and rulers. Next to that there are many other monuments such as the Royal garden of Pasargadae, Gate palace, bridge, Bar-e-Aam palace (Audience palace), Mozaffari caravansary. Luckily we do not need to walk everything as they have electro cars to drive you between the to places where most of the ruins can be visited. And with the summer heat of more than 50 degrees in the sun it is a no brainer…we took an electro car. When Wilfed bought the tickets, but when he wanted to pay…it was already paid for by an Iranian man who stood in line before us. Abarkuh On our long drive from Persepolis to Yazd we passed a small town, renowned for one of the oldest cypress trees in the world. When we tried to visit they wanted to charge us a lot of money to see a tree…say what?! Yes, just to see a tree! Luckily the town has a historical centre and we passed some really nice buildings, such as the ice storage house, the citadel and the caravanserai. Yazd We arrived late afternoon in Yazd and parked our truck on the public parking before the Silk Road guesthouse. We were allowed to use the bathrooms free of charge. The next day we walked around in Yazd and visited the Dolat Abad garden where we saw the highest bagdir (‘windcatcher’) of Iran, standing over 33 meters; though this one was rebuilt after it collapsed in the 1960s. A bagdir a traditional Persian architectural element that creates a natural ventilation in buildings, hence the ancient version of air-conditioning. Judith stood below the ventilation opening in the room and the wind would blow her head scarf up in the air. After that we walked through the old city, also passing Alexander’s prison. There are two stories of how the name of the building came about: its is a mosque and some believe that this is known as Alexander’s Prison because of a reference in a Hafez poem. Or its name comes from the claim that it was built by Alexander the Great as a prison for some Persian protesters. Our money is on the last one! When we walked back to our guesthouse back through the bazaar many stores were closed. We wondered if that was because it is Ramadan or were many shops empty? After some small talk with our waiter later that evening it turned out to be the latter…parts of the bazaar have been restored but there are no new tenants. Hopefully over time this will be a lively bazaar again, like the one in Shiraz. Our second day in Yazd we went to the water museum that gave us a good insight in the qanat’s work but also how these were build and maintained by workers. Very deep and small passages…we could not image going into such a small space. Afterwards we bought some sweets at the famous store ‘Haj Khalifeh Ali Rahbar’ on the corner of Amir Chakhmagh square. Here we bought some sweets, such as pistachio nuts covered in powder sugar mixed with rose water and coconut mixed with rosewater. We watched the sunset there as well and walked past the Amir Chakhmagh complex (as you are not allowed to visit the inside). The complex includes the three-storey tekye which used to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein. In the corner of the tekye, there is a Nakhl (Palm), best described as a "strong, wooden object with very large metal fixtures and studs". This palm is a big one named Nakhl-e-Heidari (Palm of Heidari). The history of this palm dates back to 450 years ago in Safavid dynasty. It is said to be the oldest palm of Iran. It was venerated during the Shia commemoration festival of Ashura. In the evening we ate dinner at one of the many roof top restaurants in town with a nice view towards the floodlit mosque and its minarets. The next morning we left Yazd, after a short visit of the Fire Temple and the Towers of Silence, for two day stay in the dessert. Meybod and route through the dessert. Meybod is a large town an hour or so from Yazd and has a compact historical centre. Here we visited Narin Castle, an ice storage, the restored caravanserai and the post museum. Narin Castle is a mud-brick fort or castle in the town of Meybod. This monument like many other mud-brick stronghold dates back to Medes period and Achaemenid and Sassanid dynasties. Although there are some bricks from Medes period, there are rumors that this castle was built around 7000 years ago. This castle is actually a sort of city in 3 different floors. At ground level you will see common people life form, then commercial and business part and then royal part (except the military part on the roof for patrolling and watching far distances in case of military invasion). In the nicely restored caravanserai were many arts and craft shops and some restaurants. The post museum is 300-year-old restored building served as a way station on postal routes. Fibreglass horses and mannequins illustrated the various functions of this letter exchange, and there's a museum of stamps and old weigh stations, telephones and typewriters. The ice storage was a disappointment to visit. The concept of an ice storage is quite nice; above ground, the structure had a domed shape, but had a subterranean storage space; it was often used to store ice, but sometimes was used to store food as well. The subterranean space coupled with the thick heat-resistant construction material insulated the storage space year round. But the one in Meybod is one big open space with lots of explanation in Farsi but none in English. You can only visit the main room, and that is just one big hole, not even cool inside. After our visit to Meybod we drove to the dessert to visit different villages on the way. Our first stop was the Fire Temple of Chak Chak. Chak Chak is a weird place. from the foot of the mountain, it looks like an (very ugly) unfinished village. It is however a place where thousands of pilgrims get together mid June and the unfinished houses are platforms that provide shade during the day and shelter for the night. The fire temple itself was a huge disappointment for us. We expected something with ‘fire’, not just a flame the size of a small candle. If only we had visited the fire temple of Yazd in the morning…we would likely have skipped to this one. From Chak Chak we took a small detour over a dirt road that would bring us back to the desert highway that would bring us to Garmeh and its natural spring. We found a nice place to camp next to the spring with views over the date plantation of the village. Naein, the last part of the desert and EsfahanNaein and desert The next morning we continued our desert trip in the direction of Naein and visited the village of Mesr with its agriculture right next to the sand dunes (!?). Intrigued by the statement of the Loney Planet that the best provincial boutique hotel was in Naein, we decided to check it out and relax the rest of the afternoon. We agree with the LP that it is a nice hotel for an agreeable price, but anno 2017, there are (much) nicer boutique hotels in Iran. In the morning we visited the old city and its old mosque. Whether it was due to the restoration of the mosque or the fact that it was Friday we are still uncertain, but we were not allowed to visit the mosque and left Naien after a short stroll through the old (mainly ruined) centre. From Naein, we did not go directly to Esfahan. We noticed that other overlanders had stayed close to the salt lake in the desert and decided to go there for lunch. After Judith had her close encounter with a salt stream next to the road, we continued our journey over the small roads towards Esfahan. All of a sudden (and in our opinion) still in the desert, we came across a rather large river and the city of Varzaneh. A quick check in the LP taught us that they would have a nicely restored pigeon tower (we had read about them, but had not come across them yet). These towers would house thousands of pigeon, two in each hole in the wall. Many farmers relied on pigeons to supply guano as a fertiliser, especially for the watermelon production around Esfahan. At the pigeon tower, which in itself was half museum, half shop, we also found a complete set of old ‘male-female’ doorknockers for a price that apparently made us both happy, as the tower was closed as soon as we had left the building... Esfahan After our visit to the desert we continued our drive to Esfahan where we arrived late afternoon. It is the number one tourist attraction of Iran with many historical buildings, bridges, parks and gardens. The down side of this is unfortunately overpriced restaurants and bars with mediocre food and ‘harassment’ by shop owners, taxi drivers and pseudo tour guides that like to show you their city. We felt completely out of place, but of course still visited most the tourist attractions in town. We spent the afternoon strolling along the Zayandah river, the Pol-e-Chubi and Pol-e-Si-o-Seh historical bridges. During our walk we saw that many Iranians were also visiting Esfahan as tourists, as result from the long weekend around the national holidays of June 4th and 5th. There were so many people on and around the water and bridges that it was hard to make nice overview pictures. The Si-o-She bridge (built in 1599) is the nicer of the two with its 33 arches. The bridge was especially nice during the evening when it was floodlit. The second, Pol-e-Chubi built in 1665, was mainly build to irrigate the royal gardens and has two inner parlours for the exclusive use of Shah Abbas II for entertainment. As our campsite for the night was a very ‘picturesque’ city parking lot surrounded by office building that kept the city noise away, we went to the Armenian quarters across the river for dinner. The Armenian quarter is the area with the better shops and restaurants. The restaurant we had chosen had a beautiful courtyard and looked promising. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed by the quality of food… overcooked prawns (even after sending the first dish back to the kitchen), starters and mains served at the same time (even though we had explicitly asked for 15 minutes between the two courses!?). When our bill was brought to us by our waiter he explicitly said; ’service is not included’. We just looked at each other thinking the exact same... ’what service’? On our way back to the parking we walked through the park next to the river and heard very loud music… a free concert to commemorate the death of Khomeini (the reason for the national holiday…). We popped in for a short time, but the music was not exactly to our taste. The Iranians however loved it…clapping and dancing the whole time. After a surprisingly good nights sleep in our romantic parking lot, we visited the Kakh-e-Chenel Sotun palace. This palace, located beautifully inside a Persian garden, is the only surviving building of the royal precinct. The great hall still has many nice frescoes and from almost every room in the palace, there is a view into the gardens. After the palace, we walked to the old city of Esfahan and its famous Nasq-e-Jahan square. Most of the interesting historical sites are located around this square. We visited the Masjed-e-Shah mosque, Masjed-e-Sheik Lotfollah mosque and the Khah-e-Ali Qapu palace and walked through the bazaar that is built around the square. Our aim at the bazar was to find Esfahan’s famous sweets, named ‘gaz’ (nougat with rosewater and pistachio nuts). Unfortunately, we only found small shops selling pre-packed sweets and were searching for the ‘real deal’, a shop that makes it own Gaz. With the help of some locals we finally ended up at a store that produced and sold its own gaz about three kilometres from the main square. We also wanted to visit some musea as well, but found out that they would be closed for the coming two days (due to the national holidays). As a result, we left the city and headed towards the city of Fasan; the starting point of a very scenic drive through the Zargos Mountains. Fasan, Zargos Mountains, Shushtar, Choqa Zanbill, Sush and Ali Sadir caveFasan and the Zargos Mountain range Although pleased to leave the busy city, our timing to leave Esfahan was a bit off. The traffic was bad and it took us a while to get out of the city. Just a couple of kilometres before Fasan we started looking for a good place to set up our bush camp for the night. We followed a small gravel road from the main highway towards some trees. At an altitude of 2300 metres it became chilly as soon as the sun had set. So chilly that we had our dinner inside the truck for the first time since the start of our trip almost one year ago (with the exception of couple of rainy days). We also used all of our blankets during the night as the temperature dropped till 5 degrees during the night. In the early morning we woke up by the sound of bells…yes, bells! Many sheep surrounded our truck at seven in the morning. When we were having breakfast the sheepherder came to our truck and gave us some fresh thyme he picked on the mountain. When Wilfred brought him some ‘kolo’ (a Ethiopian barley snack) in return he was invited for tea. Travelling through Iran during Ramadan is very different from what we expected…everywhere people still drink tea, have lunch in restaurant behind closed doors or picnic in the park (as this is not seen as a public place). We hardly saw anyone fast so far… Driving from Fasan towards Shushtar This is one of the most scenic drives in Iran and we passed small mountain villages, a beautiful waterfall, saw snow capped mountains and some glaciers. We filled our water tank with fresh water from a stream high in the mountains. It is a very nice area and if it were not for the many, many Iranian families camping here. This also meant that there were many cars on the dirt road. Iranians are by far the worst drivers we came across on our trip…not surprising since you get your driving license here within 15 minutes or so. But on dirt roads they drove 10 kph and they became very annoyed with Wilfred who passed them with 45kph, leaving them in our dust. We probably would of found a nice bush camp to spend the night if not so crowded with locals, so we continued the mountain road towards Shushtar. When passed a meadow Judith noticed a Peugeot 206 attempting to get out of a ‘very muddy’ situation. And she asked Wilfred if we should help him get out. Reluctantly he agreed as he did not want to use our own recovery material (Iranian are always unprepared when it comes to things like these…). So after 45 minutes of so the Peugeot was on the main road again. After many thanks we continued our drive. Seventy kilometres before Shushtar we found a nice bush camp with a view over a small valley where we spent the night. Shushtar, Choqa Zanbill and Sush The next day our first stop was the ancient watermills in Shushtar, a system controlling the irrigation of the surrounding plains for many years. After that we drove to Choqa Zanbill, a unesco world heritage site. It is a huge brick ziggurat (a pyramid-like temple) in the middle of a semi-desert, but he ruins itself are not so impressive. This temple complex was build around 13th century BC and ‘lost’ for more than 2500 years. It was accidently discovered when BP did an aerial survey of the area in 1935. On our way to Bisotun we visited the archeological site in Sush. When we arrived mid afternoon the temperature has risen to forty plus degrees. Not exactly a nice cool temperature for sight seeing. This is also a day where Judith really disliked her headscarf…it is just too hot. Wilfred had a good suggestion to wet the headscarf to provide a little bit of cool during our walk on the site. In one hour she has to wet it at least three times as it dried within minutes, but it helped a little. Somehow this whole headscarf thing became a mutual project whilst travelling through Iran…Wilfred helping to put the scarf in place when it (again) slides down Judith’s head. Reminding her to put the headscarf on when she accidently forget when driving into a town. Back to the archeological site of Susa; it once was one of the greatest cities in Persia. Excavations have uncovered evidence of continual habitation dating back to 4200 BCE. Susa was a principality of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires (capital of the Elamites) and was originally known to the Elamites as 'Susan’ or 'Susun’. There are many ruins of temples, etc. and the Chateau of Morgan, built and used by the French during excavation work of this site. Bisotun and Takt-e-Bustan Via Khorramabad we drove to the small village of Bisotun. We set up bush camp in a pine forest close to the Unesco heritage site of bas-reliefs. In the morning we visited this archaeological site located along a historical trade route in the Kermanshah Province of Iran, containing remains dating from pre-historic times through the history of ancient Persia. We saw a number of bas-reliefs, but the nicest one is being restored and we cannot get close to it. Somewhat disappointed we left the site as the other reliefs are not nearly as nice. Close by are other bas-reliefs in Kermanshah, called Takt-e-Bustan. These reliefs reminded us more of Christianity than the Sassanian reliefs that it actually is. Two alcoves depict various reliefs, some even with some color in it. We liked these bas-reliefs better than in Bisotun. Ali Sadir cave From there we drove into a small mountain range where the Ali Sadir cave is, the world’s largest water cave. We are impressed by the size of the cave and the water being at 15-20 meters deep at some points. But from a rock formation perspective we are (off course) spoiled by the ‘Caves of Han-Sur-Lesse’ KashanAfter a long drive from Kermanshah with an overnight stop near Hamadan we arrived in Kashan, a town renowned for its extravagant traditional houses. As the temperatures were the worst of Iran so far…we searched for a nice place to stay. After some negotiations we ended up staying at the nicest hotel of town. A restored traditional house that once belonged to Ebrahim Khalil Ameri, the governor of Kashan. He was also responsible for collecting the taxes on the trade route from Tehran to Kerman. Our room was located in the ‘family wing’ of the house with a more modest courtyard than the main one. The house is the largest one in Kashan, more than 9000 square metres and eight courtyards. We visited two more traditional houses and the public hammam. Although al restored to a certain extent, it was pale in comparison to the hotel we stayed in. We also visited Fin garden, a large garden with a summer palace, a hammam, etc. designed for Shah Abbas I. But the two reasons that Fin garden is famous for are the natural spring in a area where water is scarce and that Amir Kabir, a modernist wanted to bring change to Iran was killed, by order of a nineteen year old drunken shah, in the public hammam, though some believe he slashed his own wrists. Border crossing, Bandar Abbas and EvazBorder crossing into Iran Shortly after breakfast, we arrived in Bandar Abbas and another interesting immigration process began. More precise… their import process for the car was far from straight forward. The security guy that had ‘held us safe and happy’ during the process of immigration, had fixed us up with a fixer for the car. However, we had also received the name of a fixer from the shipping company. We had decided to go with him and our new Indian friend had negotiated a very fair price for both of our cars… About four hours later, when we had all papers, copies and stamps, it turned out the guy had ‘misunderstood’ the Roman 2 for an Arabic 9. In other words, a $70 difference in the agreed fee…he accepted his mistake (as he wrote $50 in Roman to start with...) and we left the port area. Bandar Abbas By the time we arrived in the city centre, all shops and banks had closed for the midday break (from 13.00 to 17.00). We parted from our Indian friends (who wanted to get out of Iran as fast as possible to escape Ramadan and the hot weather. They would return for an extensive visit after their tour through Europe). We however decided to have a late lunch and waited for the shops to open again to get cash, sim-card and car insurance. Getting the cash and sim card went easy, finding the company that had sold other overlanders their car insurance was a different story… During our search we arrived at a mall, where we walked over to the coffee shop, as most times some speaks English there. We were directed to Ahmed, the owner and manager of the brand new local cinema. As he had lived his youth in U.A.E. and had studied in Hungry, he was about the only person in the mall that spoke fluent English. He brought us to the insurance shop and offered his help to get the insurance sorted out and we gladly accepted as Farsi is not a language we speak fluently… After about 45 minutes it turned out that we would not be able to leave with an insurance that early evening as all main offices had closed for the day. When we explained Ahmed that we intended to stay at the beach just out side of Bandar, he offered us to stay with him… how could we not accept that! We had really nice evening with him and we learnt a lot about the Iranian customs and history and also took his advice to alter our route through Iran…as the weather (heat) in Bam and Kerman is unbearable at the moment. Evaz After picking up our car insurance in the morning, we said goodbye to Ahmed and headed in the direction of Shiraz (in stead of Bam). He had offered that if we were to get to Evaz, his home town, to give him a call and he would arrange a stay with his parents in law. And so it happened…we were welcomed as close friends into their home, were shown the local museum of Anthropology, had a tour around the city and a nice outdoor dinner at the local boulevard surrounded with about fifty other families doing the same. During the museum visit, to our big surprise, Ahmed’s wife and son (whom we thought were in Dubai) walked in as well. The museum was located in the old centre, in a hundred years old (luxurious) house. The next morning Amin offered to show us the (ancient) water system Ab-Anbar, that can be found through out town and in the surrounding valleys and mountains. During our drive he also showed the school of his wife and kids (the 29th of Iran), the cemetery (including the victims of the flight 655, that was -accidentally- taken down by the Americans 3 July 1988), the three (!) universities and his pride; his current building project of a luxury apartment block. It was an incredible experience that ended with a traditional dish for lunch that would normally be served at weddings. If hospitality has not been invented in Iran, it has certainly been perfected here; what a great start of our tour through Iran. ShirazBack in tourist mode; Shiraz Although we had seen several ‘tourists’ in the malls of Dubai, it became more than clear that we had entered the more popular tourist destinations again… Shiraz is already a buzzing city from itself, but add the hundreds of tourists around the hotels and must sees (agreed, it was far from crowded, but still…), we could not ignore we had truly liked the quietness of the last couple of months. We arrived in Shiraz just after sunset and headed for the Hotel where we wanted to stay for the coming 2 nights. After a bit of manoeuvring, we were able to get the car onto their car park (on the edge of the old town) and ready to check in. In the morning we went to Vakil bazaar, Pars museum, Vakil Bath, Vakil Mosque and the citadel. Vakil Bazaar is Shiraz’s main market place and home to hundreds of shops and stalls. Satisfyingly labyrinthine, the bazaar is the place for buying rugs, spices, jewellery, and household goods. Where we came across various courtyards and caravanserais. The bazaar is made of bricks, limestone and chalk. The foundation of the bazaar is made up of huge stones and solid rock. Few traditional bazaars in Iran have been built with such beauty and precision, on such a solid foundation. The roof of the bazaar is very high, and it is covered with beautiful tiles, ceramics and brick. The different parts of the bazaar have got their own special names, depending on the type of trade and the type of goods sold in that portion of the bazaar. For us the nicest place of the bazaar was Seray-e-Moshir, a beautiful caravanserai. The citadel (or ‘Arg’ in Persian) was built in the 18th century by the founder of the Zand dynasty, Karim Khan. Having made Shiraz his capital, the citadel was one of Karim Khan’s many ambitious construction projects in the city. Lofty and rectangular, the fortress features four circular towers (which were historically used as prisons), and is more unusual on the inside than the outside. One of the towers has a noticeable lean, having subsided onto the bathhouse underneath. The bathhouse is the nicest part of the interior of the citadel. On our way back to the hotel we visited Vakil Bath and Vakil Mosque. Vakil means regent, which was the title used by Karim Khan, the founder of Zand Dynasty. Vakil Bath is an old public bath in Shiraz and was a part of the royal district constructed during Karim Khan’s reign, which also included Arg of Karim Khan, Vakil Bazaar, Vakil Mosque and many more administrative buildings. During the time of its construction, 18th century, private baths in homes were rare and going to this bath was considered a royal treatment. It is now a small museum, so that one can get a feel for the bathing process. Vakil Mosque was built between 1751 and 1773, during the Zand period and it was restored in the 19th century. The mosque covers an area of more than eight thousand square meters. It has only two iwans instead of the usual four, on the northern and southern sides of a large open court. The iwans and court are decorated with typical Shirazi haft rangi tiles, a characteristic feature of the art and industry of Shiraz during the latter half of the 18th century. The next morning we continued our tour of Shiraz with a visit to The Shah-e Cheragh (‘King of Light’) mausoleum is the picturesque resting place of two of the martyred brothers of Ali Reza, the 8th Shia Imam. Although killed in the 9th century, the present-day burial site has been considerably developed since the Qajar era. The central courtyard has a fountain at its centre, and the shrine features characteristically Iranian, intricate blue tile work and a dazzling mirrored interior, making it one of the prettiest mosques in Shiraz. Non-Moslims were not allowed to visit the inside of the mausoleum, so after a walk around the main square we left and headed to Eram garden. Shiraz is famed for its cultivation of fine gardens, and Eram is arguably the model par excellence. Eram falls within Shiraz University’s botanical gardens, and is replete with cypress trees, trimmed hedges, and rosebushes. At its centre is a small pool and a splendid Qajar-era palace, but unfortunately it is closed to the public. After a nice cool walk in the shades of the large cypress trees we drove to Quran gate. The Gate was first built during the reign of Adud al-Dawla (936-983 AD). By the time of the Zand dynasty, it had sustained a lot of damage, so it was restored and a small room on top was added, in which hand-written Qurans were kept by Sultan Ibrahim Bin Shahrukh Gurekani. It is believed that travellers passing underneath the gates received the blessing of the Holy Book as they began their trip or journey from Shiraz. When we visited the Quran gate was also being restored, making the pictures less attractive. Our last stop was the Hafez tomb in a well-kept garden in northeast of town. Hafez is arguably the most loved and respected poet in the vast canon of Persian literature and he is considered the master of the ghazal (a short, amorous, rhyming poem). Iranians from all ages can quote his verses on demand. PersepolisAfter our visit of Hafez tomb we left Shiraz and arrived at the ancient site Persepolis end of the afternoon. Even though it was still very hot we decided to visit the site that afternoon. So we filled our water bottles, put sunscreen on and walked up the entrance stairway to reach the top terrace. The construction of this dual stairway, known as the Persepolitan stairway, was built in a symmetrical manner on the western side of the Great Hall. The 111 steps were 6,9 metres wide and rises of 10 centimetres. Originally the steps were believed to have been constructed this way to allow for nobles and royalty to ascend by horseback. New theories suggest that this was to allow visiting dignitaries to, in fact, walk up the stairs while keeping a regal appearance, permissible by the ease in which the stairs could be climbed due to the small distance between each step. Whenever important foreign delegations arrived, their presence was heralded by trumpeters at the top of the staircase. Persepolis, literally meaning "city of Persians", was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BCE). Archaeological evidence shows that the earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BC. It was Darius I who built the terrace and the great palaces and his work was continued by his son Xeres. Persepolias was destroyed by Alexander the Great when he set it on the fire. Actually when Alexander the Great arrived at Persepolis it was the jewel of Persia and, when he left, it was a ruin whose spot would be known for generations only as "the palace of the forty columns" for the remaining palace columns left standing in the sand. It took him 3000 camels and donkeys to carry the gold and silver he robed from Persepolis. On the top terrace we visited three main structures; Gate of all Nations, Apadana Palace, and Throne Hall. Gate of all Nations The Gate of All Nations (also the waiting Palace/The Xerxes's Palace) is one of the palaces in the Persepolis located directly after the entrance stairway. This gate was not on Darius the Great's initial plan for Persepolis but was added by his son and successor, Xerxes. The reason it was called the Nations Palace was that different people from different countries entered the hall and then moved on to the other places in Persepolis, and it was a sort of waiting room. Apadana Palace Darius I built the greatest palace at Persepolis on the western side. This palace was called the Apadana. The King of Kings used it for official audiences. The work began in 515 BC and his son Xerxes I completed it 30 years later. The palace had a grand hall in the shape of a square, each side 60 metres long with seventy-two columns, thirteen of which still stand on the enormous platform. Each column is 19 metres high with a square Taurus and plinth. The columns carried the weight of the vast and heavy ceiling. Throne Hall Next to the Apadana, second largest building of the Terrace and the final edifices, is the Throne Hall, also called the "Hundred-Columns Palace". This 70x70 square meter hall was started by Xerxes and completed by his son Artaxerxes I by the end of the fifth century BC. In the beginning of Xerxes's reign, the Throne Hall was used mainly for receptions of military commanders and representatives of all the subject nations of the empire. Later the Throne Hall served as an imperial museum. There are also two tombs carved into the mountain, just behind Persepolis. We visited one of those tombs and it belonged to Artaxerxes II. After that we went back to the parking and it was still very hot…what to do… Next to Persepolis is the Adapana hotel, built by the last Shah of Iran in 1953 and after being closed for many, many years it finally reopened it’s doors again. So, we gave it a try and were able to negotiate a good rate for a double room with aircon. |
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