In search of Persia: Esfahan and the central desert

Journal entry Sunday 29 - 31 October
Citt and I found our luxury unit at the hotel Hash Behest, Esfahan to be just too comfortable. We stayed for 3 days making good use of the time to wash our clothes, book air fares and eat some yummy food.

Sharastan Bridge with obvious places for coffee and Chaikanna houses now banned in Iran,
This one is in the river bed. I do not think it is too permanent.

Esfahan has a large Christian population - Armenian Lutheran who came here for work during construction of the many mosques and public buildings. They are skilled workers, stonemasons, artisans and ceramic workers and they stayed. The area on the South of the river is the Armenian section. One afternoon we set out to walk to this section, on the way visiting and crossing the Sharastan Bridge, one of the many bridges over the  Zayandeh River. It was dry when we were there. (A sad indictment of the ruling regime. It is said they have dammed the river to feed orchards owned by the members of the ruling junta).

The walkway on the bridge or promenade empty of musicians and poets.
Sadly the Chaicannas have closed by decree.

The walk was long and interesting passing through the Bond Street and Park Lane of  Esfahan. The Christian Chuches were closed however after a meal in a good Armenian restaurant Citt went shopping. Now Citt does not often go shopping but when she does it is a sight to see. The poor shop assistant that gets her attention is put through the hoops. In short she purchased a beautiful original silk scarf for a song. "I think they were glad to get her out of the shop".

Journal entry Sunday 31 October
Bus from Esfahan to Kerman.
I should have been more aware on the bus from Hermansham to Esfahan  to the hidden peril of the guy in the front seat, hacking and coughing, broacasting his germs.  I was to get a flu making me pay big time.

The journey from Esfahan to Kerman is across barren desert country.  The road is divided highway with a speed limit enforced, 110kph.

Huge ceramic factories easily 2 hectares each dot the plains.  Road trains carry loads of tiles heading to Italy, Germany, Russia and who knows, maybe Australia.
The bus is express 9 hours with only one pee stop. Of course the police stops are mandatory. It is not the road to travel if you have drunk too much water.

On arrival in Kerman we had the usual argument with the taxis. Taxi drivers throughout the world are always trying to charge double or triple. It is 'look out wood duck'. 

Truck heading for Pakistan/Iran border. Great sign writing.

So here we were in a nice comfortable hotel in Kerman.  

We set about hiring a guide and a car. 

Our goal

1. Travel to and sleep in the desert at the Koluts (Sand Castle), (5000 star hotel) 220 kilometres out on the desert road to Afghanistan 
2. Visit the ancient oasis’s  
3. Explore  the “Ganuts” underground water channels dug over 2000 years ago to supply water to oasis and caravanserai’s that serviced and sheltered the caravans travelling on the Silk Road from India and Central Asia
4. Visit the Bagh-E Shazde (Shahs Garden) at Mahan, a small town south of Kerman. It was reputed to be famous for opium production prior to the Revolution.
5. Travel to the ancient city of Bam. Pivotal point of the Silk Road with one of largest Arg structures (castle/fort made of sand and mud) in the world. That was until  5.30am December 23, 2003. When the whole city was devasted by an earthquake, 6.8 on the richter scale directly under the city. Today it is reputed to be the largest adobe construction site on earth listed by UNESCO.
6. We did not want to go further than Bam as it is too close to the Pakistan border for our safety. Kidnapping is common south of Bam in the border areas.
7. We will then ride a bus and travel to Bander Abbas situated on the Persian Gulf to visit the Bander people.

Goals set now find a guide.

Me at the Kaluts

Next day our car  (yellow taxi all loaded) just fitted us in.

Citt with our taxi to the Kaluts

Our guide supplied the gear. Two sleeping bags and ground sheet. He had his trusty cooking pot along, Plus some other stuff to make tea and store things. Off we go.

Camping Iran style (Kaluts)

The Kaluts (Sand Castles)

The Kaluts and a desert Caravanserai.

The Kaluts live up to their reputation. They are like Monument Valley in the US, only carved out of sand. We arrived on dusk. Slept most of way as I was a sick puppy.

The sand kept getting up my nose

Citt at the Kaluts

The road takes us through  barren mountains with pockets of fertile lands in the valleys. Emerging into the desert is awesome with flat land as far as the eye can see. There are oasis on this desert and I was intrigued how the water came to these areas. 

Oasis
Date palms and vegetable patches grew fed by streams The stream turned out to be an engineering feat called a Ganut. Tunnels dug by engineers starting 2000 years ago and still active today. 

Daily Chores on the Ganut

The ancient citadel in the oasis.

Our night at the Kaluts was sleeping out in bags.  The wind was strong and we buried our heads in the bags. The morning dawned clear and bright. Citt and I took photos and enjoyed the moment. On the way out of the desert we visited an oasis and investigated the Ganut feeding the village.

The Ganuts. First find a reliable water source in the mountains (50kms away) then dig the tunnels at an average depth of 8 metres. A manhole is dug approx every 10 metres. The water is gravity fed.
The Ganut diggers are still active today.
We found the same technology in Tulafan in the area near Urumqui in the northern Gobi desert China.

Our journey to Hamay we visited the Princes garden and the old citadel at Ronay

The Shahs gardens

The Shahs garden at night made even more spectacular as it is in the desert.

 before heading finally to Bam into which, to our disappointment, we arrived in the dark. Bam was completely destroyed by an earthquake in the last few years it has risen from the ashes with new steel framed modern buildings. Unesco is supervising the rebuild of the old Citadel. 


We saw little of the place and it seemed pointless to drive all the way down here and only see an outline.
As a bonus our guide took us to meet a friend of his who lost all in the quake. He told us of the nightmare and the heartache the quake had created. He lost 18 family members that morning. Those that survived the quake, but were trapped in the debris, froze to death. 

The town is suffering as the overland route used to go through here from India. The Afgahn war has stopped the flow and the tourists (local)do not come to view the magnificent Citadel which we were told was perfect and the largest in Iran.

But the tourists will return once the Citadel is completed.

It was late as we headed back toward Kerman stopping for dinner at the Shahs Place and then a onto a hotel.

The Shahs palace

The next morning we traveled back to Kerman and jumped on a bus and headed straight for Bander Abbas on the Persian Gulf. (9 hours)

Dhows on the Persian Gulf

Next a fishy story and a flight to Shiraz

Hiccup on the road of life.

Hello and gooday.
Hello mates "I have been crook" as we say in Aussie.
I thought it time to correct a Hernia. Result of an earlier cancer operation. Here's me thinking it would be a quick in and out of hospital, Wrong again  the first operation  went pear shape and the surgeon had to go in and repair the repair another operation.  
Painful & expensive. Difficult for my family with a new baby due and Citt coming home to be here for the birth. 

Our mate Jo Hassan made me biscuits in the shape of red shoes.  Just to cheer me up.

But all is well now we have a beautiful grand-daughter. Citt has returned to "our world" and I am at last feeling good,


"Absolutely fabulous"  now we can resume our journey in Iran. The next leg is written and I will post in the next day or so.


Hope you are fine wherever you are. 
I had a great time on the net while I was crook and loved this clip. 
If it offends some just turn it off 
I like it as it is uplifting and taking the Micky out of establishment,


Life of Brian.
http://youtu.be/WlBiLNN1NhQ


Next Post
Travelling from Esfahan to Kerman/Bam/Bander Abbas (on the Persian Gulf)

In search of Persia: Polis, Isfahan, time to rest

Journal entry
27 October 2011
Kermansham (Harmadan) in North West Iran a university town. 
The region is on the borders of the tribal lands Kurdish and the Turkic People.


We were watching the weather closely. Citt was trying out her new knowledge as a meteorologist  with daily forecasts looking at the charts and the weather patterns. (Hmm... Pretty well got the weather right every time). Her cheery predictions snow and low temperatures for this region in the coming days.  (What a bright little button she is. That is what every back packer wants to hear).
Now we needed to get to Esfahan and get some miles into our journey as we had a long way to go and the days were running out.

Harmadan to Esfahan (Names are spelt differently in all the books.)

After a quick look around the city of Kermasham (Hamadan) we made our way to the bus station on the outskirts of town. The bus station was a modern enough place however we found the people not so friendly nor helpful. We had an hour to kill so headed to the cafe for some cay. Here we met some strange people. We were not sure what was their problem but in hindsight we now realize this is the start of the regimes  strong area. Up to this point we had been in areas where the Ayatollahs had little or no authority. This is a different ball game.


Like all good travelers! Mind our own business (zip it up).


The bus was two hours late and we looked forward to a 10 hour journey to Isfahan. My map showed it was a cross country type of route not a direct motorway at all. The road wound through the industrial areas of Iran into Isfahan. 


You would have be living under a rock to not know that Isfahan was the center of Iran's' nuclear program. Of course all foreigners would be watched especially a media specialist from the UNU "Citt Williams". 


Eventually the bus arrived at near midday and it was full. 
The booking office always made sure we were up front as that is where foreigners and women sit, (We are finding out about Iran real quick. Either up front or on the engine box.)
Anyway a whole lot of people were haranguing us on the Iran Government and what it is doing to them in this place. 


(We feel a bit isolated and alone for the first time in our travels. One never knows who is watching and how the system works.We are fully aware the back packer Americans were arrested just west of here and that they had just been sentenced. The papers were full of it. The papers were running stories on an attack from America and Israel. The locals were like us being filled with propaganda.) 


Our minds go ahead to Isfahan. At this rate we will be in that city near midnight. We have no booking and are not sure if the holiday tomorrow will make getting a room difficult. 
We decide to wing it. It will be OK don't you think?

Take a good look at the door

The bus journey.
Every time we get on a bus an adventure begins, this one is no different.
The rules seem to be. 
There are road blocks about every 70 kilometers or so. The bus driver must stop and take his manifesto into the Polis. 
Not sure if there is a tariff to pay as I did not go into the polis station. 
Cars are stopped at random and trucks are held up for a long time.  
Women cannot travel without the written consent of their husbands or fathers. Women must not travel alone, 
This is as I figure it.
Off we go with our sweeties and and water in our bag.
Isfahan some ten hours away
The journey.
The road took us through the Industrial areas of Iran constantly changing highways. Along the way we are entertained by some really good videos.The music hip hop Iran style with lots of drums and strings. I liked it and wondered where we could get copies. 


My question was answered but not quite how I expected.


The bus was constantly stopping for road blocks and at one of these stops it took a little longer than usual. 
Suddenly the polis entered the bus.
Walked up the bus and down the bus,
Looked carefully at each passenger.
Then a strange thing. 
They talked to the jockey and he handed over the whole package of Video and Music that we were enjoying, 
The Polis then ceremoniously dropped each disc on the floor and stood on each one separately. 
After emptying all the sleeves he scooped the poor broken DVD's up and put them in a box, Then looked at all of us like "you bad children and left the bus". I sort of hoped he would fall and break his neck. Or even better get run over on the the road by one of those big trucks. (I thought bad thoughts to him).


There was stunned silence........ a man speaking English whispered to me. That the DVD's were pirate. I thought Iran does not adhere to Piracy law. I questioned the speaker and he explained that the contents of the DVD's CD were underground Music and Videos and they were  not authorized by the regime.

 I am in search of Persia this is it. It is not all good news.


The incident galvanized the passengers on this bus. I think that an informer was on the bus and the passengers were not happy. I guessed he had gone
 As we traveled on into the night a group of guys grouped around us and started asking questions about what the international  press is saying about Iran. 
It turned out we were on a bus full of teachers. Kermansham is a center for Teacher education and this mob were on their way home. Teachers come from all over Iran to learn at the university and the teaching institutions. 


It worked in our favor as teachers like to learn and teach. We were interesting fodder.


In Citt they found a font of knowledge the discussion was of climate change, politics, and the role of the UN. Women joined the group to discuss their role in society.. 
They wanted to know all about our home-land Australia our beaches, lifestyle, customs and our religion.
Some had relations in America Europe and Australia. The hours passed quickly and the information on both sides was like pouring water into a sponge. 
We came in search of Persia. "sometimes you gotta be careful about what you ask for".. 


We were exhausted when the bus dropped us in the dead of night on the outskirts of Esfahan. A teacher hopped off the bus to make sure we got safely into a taxi before rejoining the bus to finish his long journey home another 9 hours. 


For us Persian hospitality has no boundaries.


Esfahan
Not a mouse was stirring on the streets of this Beautiful city. 
Our recommended hotel was full. Bugger.
We had a back up and it worked. But if you arrive late you have no bargaining power and this was expensive. But we got bed/breakfast and internet connection to check in to Oz. 
Besides it was to be the most flambouyant hotel I have ever been in. 
Take a look. The restaurant was amazing.

The guide book said it was gaudy but you know!

Blessed.
Shower and Bed 1.00AM