In search of Persia" >thumbing it in the mountains of Kurdistan Iran.

I wrote this in Iran and emailed. This is a shortened version.
Iran Government blocks all interactive internet applications Flickr, Facebook, Blogger, Twitter 

The road across the west of Kurdistan

Hoofing it. Waiting for a lift.

26/10/11 Journal entry
We overnighted at a place called Howraman. There was no transport from here to take us to Pavou. So we thumbed it down the dirt road. It was the best day for us. We were picked up several times in small hops until Nivin. 

A beautiful family. We had lunch with them. In time their world will be shattered as the dam will flood their home.

We had had tea (cay) with two families. Lunch or brekkie (we could not agree) with a family of 4 before 12pm.  No one would take a penny for fuel or food.

A Kurd village where the roof is the floor of your neighbour.
Then our luck ran out outside of Nivin or so we thought. We walked for 12 kilometres on the stony mountain road. (Citt is great company in these sort of situations makes it all seem like a huge adventure).

Our drivers and friends to enroute to Parvou.

There was not a car in sight nor a soul and the weather looked like closing in. The packs got heavier and the shoulders began to ache. We rounded a corner expecting to see the next village but it was straight 

up..... no village.

Then we heard it. Unmistakable, a vehicle. Round the corner puffed an old wreck of a Peugeot 1500. Two characters were in it with half the farm in the boot and the rest on the back seat. Not to worry as always out went half the farm and in we went. The car stalled and it would not start. The car runs on gas and I think it has something to do with the vaporization in the carburetor or at least that is what we hoped.

Citt waiting for a lift

Try it 100 miles from anywhere and do not know the language do not really know where the next town is nor what the weather is doing. But these guys are Kurds and nothing stops a Kurd and they know Harry Kewell. Right! (:

Poppie and grand son

The road to Pavou

These engineers gave us a lift part of the way and practiced english.

Lunch stop 2.00pm, in a building at the bottom of a ravine. The biggest bloody rocks I had ever seen hung over this building and Van had just had an earthquake couple of hundred miles away!

Not happy Jan.  I got indigestion, Citt got the giggles. Eventually after cleaning up their plates We were off.
No earthquake.Yes!
We continued to the biggest cave with spring water gushing out. Fabulous.

They were going all the way to Pavou. The journey was a constant stall and start process. The poor old Peugeot had trouble on the 15% grades (had to get a good run at it) and the mountains kept going up and up.

Some miles out of Pavou we rounded a corner and we were stunned......
There in front of us was a huge construction site. This whole beautiful valley was to be flooded. The construction site was a hydro scheme.

The dam work site. Does not make a rats where you live, the corporate will get you!

All of the people in this traditional Kurdish valley with whom we had shared cay and laughed and joked with would be homeless. We were dismayed.

Crest fallen we puffed into Pavou. There the guys put us on a bus for Hermasham a 3 hour ride. We bid them goodbye.  We all had had such a good time together riding in that old Peugeot in the mountains. The old Peugeot coughed and spluttered off up the road. Citt and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.

The day was not over. There was more to come.

It was dark, raining buckets and cold. We were contemplating how to get to a hotel while sitting in the bus as we approached Kermasham, a medium sized city with not a lot to offer.

We were deep in conversation when a gentle voice said "Hello where are you from"?.
Where are you going?
Then he asked "where are you staying tonight"?
Then he said, "I have a hotel in the Teachers quarters. Please come and I will get you a bed. And so it was we were in the University quarters for the night. Sheets, hot water and he even ordered pizza for us.
Gosh how to repay hospitality like that it makes us humble.


27/10/11 Journal entry
Kermasham to Esfahan
10 Hours by bus.

Our coach awaits us for the journey to Esfahan. 

The carvings at Kermanshan.
Celebrating the triumph over the Romans 200 AD

So on and up the road to Esfahan,  Capitol of the Persian Empire from 1200 AD till 1600 AD. 

We hope you are enjoying our journey 



On the bus journey we have an experience with the teachers and the polis board the bus.