| Feels good riding the motorcycle in Tehran: wide avenues, many expressways and no longer dependant on buses and unscrupulous taxi drivers. Most guide books advise travelers about the high pollution and extremely dangerous traffic. Perhaps the authors who wrote that haven’t seen too many Asian countries. In fact, we found Tehran to be the cleanest capital (among those visited during this trip), with many parks, gardens and clean streets. Very livable conditions!
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| Skiing in Iran, at end of May? Yes, only 20 minutes away from Tehran. Just take the Tochal gondola lift and you will reach an altitude of 3740m.
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| A good observation point is also the 435m high Milad tower, completed in 2007.
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| One of the many sweets stores in Iran. Absolutely delicious!
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| Special thanks to Ali and his family for hosting us while in Tehran. You were great! |
Tehran
Desert riding
| Feels good to be cruising at 150km/h, for the first time in this trip. The road from Bandar Abbas to Tehran is good and traffic is light. With 960km in one day, we managed to break the previous record (950km/day in Argentina). |
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Chatting during lunch with some Kurdish truck drivers on the side of the road. They deliver the Kurdish oil to Bandar Abbas for exporting, avoiding the Baghdad government’s restrictions. |
Bandar Abbas
After a 12 hrs trip by night train we arrived in Bandar Abbas. Even though we got off at 7AM, the heat was unbearable. By noon, it was already extreme. I never felt such heat before in my life (from natural causes). You have to feel it to believe it!
In the first picture we are with Hamid (from the ocean shipping company) and his family at the Strait of Hormuz beach, separating the Gulf of Oman from the Persian Gulf. The water was hotter than I would use for a shower!
The next day, after some 6 hours spent in the port, we managed to unleash Palomina. The process involved obtaining approvals, signatures and stamps from more than 20 officials but, as opposed to the situation in Vietnam, all of them were friendly and even served us with tea and coffee while waiting.
Now, with only 13 days left on our visa, we are preparing to cross the desert as soon as possible, to use the remaining time in Tehran and Tabriz.
Funny thing: while in other Asian countries the local calendar is used merely for ceremonial and religious purposes, the Persian calendar is used in Iran for all official business. Meaning that, in my Carnet de Passage, the entry date for Palomina was recorded as 31.02.1391 🙂
Saryazd caravanserai + fortress
Not too far from Yazd is located the Saryazd village. We found there a relatively new caravanserai (first picture) dating from the Safavid era (XVI – XVIII centuries). It was used as a resting place for caravans. The central area was for storage, the rooms on the side were for the people and in the corners there is an area designated for the animals.
But the main attraction was the fortress, originally built during the Sassanid era (III – VII centuries). It was used mainly for defensive purposes and for storing goods, animals and valuables during invasions. In the meantime, some of the roofs have collapsed, but most stairs and corridors are still accessible. The fortress was locked but our new Yazdi friend, Mostafa, found the key holder. He opened the gate and we enjoyed mostly unrestricted access to the maze – like structure. Exploring it was truly exciting, bringing back memories from a great classic game, Prince of Persia.
Yazd
We spent 3 days in Yazd. There is a nice old part of town worth visiting, with mud brick hotels, museums and narrow alleys.
We stayed at Pooya and Goli, a wonderful couple that, although very busy, found time to chat with us late in the evenings as well as cook delicious Iranian dishes.
We choose to return the favor by preparing “tochitura cu mamaliga”, a traditional Romanian dish. Due to lack of key ingredients (pork and sausage) we decided to serve “mamaliga” with cheese and egg and then prepare a second dish that was more like the Mexican fajitas.
