Searching for Persia: Aras Valley and onto Kurdistan.

Journal Entry 23 October 2011
We decided to travel to the Aras Valley along the Armenian and Azerbaijan borders. For us the area is important as it was a major route on the Silk Road. 
The Aras valley leads from Armenia to Turkey. The roads have been heavily fortified since 1920 when the area was the first line of defense against the Russian juggernaut.

The Aras valley makes up the border north of Tabriz. Our journey will take us along the border looping back to Tabriz. 

The valley has been occupied since prehistoric times. It has been occupied by all the usual suspects and the last lot were the British and the Russians. Once the Persians got rid of that lot, the Armenians and Azerbaijan decided to have a go. The border is still a disputed area between Iran, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Take a good look at the map and you will see that Armenia holds a sliver of land fronting onto Iran. Azerbaijan is split and Azerbaijan is not happy. 


We did not need a military pass but cameras are banned in some sensitive areas. 


The valley is dotted with historic sites. Armenian churches, Zoastrian temples, Caravansaries, forts, barriers and walls, even a Hammam (bath house). The valley ends at the the Caspian Sea where the river empties. 
Short of the Caspian is a mountain range we will cross to get you some magic views. There are ski resorts in the area and 4 star hotels are planned but that is a long way off.

Tomorrow we plan to make an early start to get to Sanandoj in Kurdistan. Then travel along the Iraq border joining the main highway at Hamadan for our run into Esfahan. Probably 4 days time.

23/10/11 Journal entry
Our day started before dawn with our driver waiting at the door. 
The Iranians (Persians) 
They never travel anywhere without a flask of boiling hot tea and some sweets. Tea is taken black, usually with 3 lumps of sugar. Then you put a lump in your mouth after every swig. Then there are sweet cakes and biscuits.  It is a dentist's dream. Not to mention the hypos. Sure have a sweet tooth. 


Off we go! 
Out onto grid locked roads before dawn. There is no room for soft stomachs or poor nerves here mate. There are 2 speeds, stopped and flat out. The pedestrians cross roads, even motorways, with any fear. The drivers have no lanes and no rules. 
You would love it. It is awesome.  
Just wear a seat belt. What seat belt?
Red light. What red light? 
To be fair, they are really good drivers as they do not waste a square metre of road. They do not miss a weakness from another vehicle. Their horn is the best form of warning. 
Yep, mine is louder than yours! Bugger off!  
Most cars have bangs all over them looking like prize fighters on a bad day. 

Citt at the Khaje Nasar Inn Caravanserai with our taxi car.

The cars comprise old models, locally manufactured Peugeot and Hyundai, basic 4 cylinder jobs. There are a lot of BMW 4 X 4 black and flashy. We guessed these were the government or the rich manufacturers.
Fuel
As I can best figure it out, each car is allowed 60 litres of fuel at .45c/litre per month. After that the fuel can be purchased in 20 litre lots at near $2.00/litre. Commercial vehicles are free of all tax and can fill up at designated fuel stops. Most cars are running on LPG but the same rules apply. It all seems good but our trip was to take all day and we were to stop at least 3 times. Each fuel stop has a queue of about 30 cars. With 4 pumps manned by jocks. No more need be said.

The army watch towers all along the roads.

 After stopping to collect some Venezuelan bananas and biscuits for our day we were off into the wilds of the Aras River Valley.

Khaje Nasar Inn Caravanserai 

First stop is the Caravanserai being refurbished, Then onto the most beautiful Christian church, The Church of Saint Stephan. 

Saint Stephan Armenian Christian Church Iran/Azerbaijan border 

Saint Stephan the monk was so successful back in the 1300 spreading his Christian word that the Mullahs took to him and along with 3000 of his followers stoned the lot to death. 

2nd century BC Zoastrian Temple. Fire worship.

 The old church is situated in a valley filled with walnut trees. The site also houses a very well preserved Zoastrian temple.

Saint Stephan Church Iran
It is one of the most spiritual and beautiful places I have ever been in my life. 

The front entrance looking North West

The rest of the day we spent traveling along this wonderful place with history on every corner, ancient and modern. 

The road along the Aras valley

The Hammam was the most humbling experience. Ceramic art work at its best. Arches, domes and pillars all being refurbished. Do not know who will visit. It is totally deserted. Maybe, maybe one day. 

We did not get the shots of the mountains. We became engulfed in fog. 

Travelling into the mountains Aras Valley

We arrived back in Tabriz late. But we got our taxi man to drop us at the Jameil Mosque or the Blue Mosque as it is called because of the ceramic tiles. it is in the state of repair after the last earthquake.

Landscape of the Arras valley

24/11/11 Journal entry.
Bus from Tabriz  to Sanadoj Kurdistan.
Again and early start, too early for our hotel to supply brekkie. The buses were not booking when we got to the bus station. 

A bus take a close look at the back.

Getting going at the bus station.

We had tea in the shop. Then found the best local food in the way of hot bread biskit honey and fetta. Man that is the best honey in the world.

MMMM the best breakfast in the East. Fresh bread biskit, honey and fetta.

We spent all day on the bus and had a good time with the other people on the bus, 
Our stay in Iran had only been 3 days but we have found only kindness, hospitality and interest from all the people. (except those #$(&^ heads on the bus from the border) but hey, shit happens.

Our driver, jockey and spare man. Note the nose job.

Arrived in Sandoj in the dark. It was packed with people and busy as all. There is no English only Farsi here and we got a little lost. Eventually ended up in a hotel cost $12 for two. And was probably the worst hotel I have ever stayed in other than a hotel in Gua Masang in Malaysia. 
Still what do you expect for $6?
The silver lining is we are in Kurd country and they are all in their native clothes with poo catcher trousers, sashes and scarves. We loved the feel. 
Went out to a restaurant for dinner. It was the most unusual place and of course as always we got involved with a wedding party. Yep, everyone has some relatives in Sydney even folks from Sanandoj in Kurdistan Iran. 

Restaurant in Kurdish country Sanandoj

We had a great time. Gotta tell you this one. 
Citt went to the toilet and came back with a strange look on her face. 
She exclaimed the toilets are multi sexual.


25/11/11
Tomorrow we travel to the mountains along the Iraq border. It will maybe take us a couple of days. We do not know what to expect as we are told there is no transport or hotels. 
The reason we are going? 
Beause it is the heart of Kurdistan and we can.


We will just wing it. 
It always works.

Inside Iran: Tabriz, Carpets and Kandovan stone houses.

Journal entry 22/10/2011
Today finds us in Tabriz Northern Iran after riding a bus from the border. (There were some really difficult blokes on the bus being childish and it made our journey very unpleasant). 

Short distance Meredes Benz buses.

However we arrived at the Central Bus Station and after a short easy taxi ride we checked into our Hotel Morvarid in Central Tabriz.

Hotel Moravid Tabriz

Tabriz is situated in the North Western border area of Iran. It has a long history of Kings and Conquerors dating from the 3rd century BC. However it also has a long history of earthquakes needless to say most of the ancient wonders are gone to rubble. The most striking thing about Tabriz is its people. Situated in East Azerbijan province the people are mainly Azerbijan people with some Armenian and Turks in the mix. We found the people to be friendly and helpful. The city is modern, filled with mens' wear shops and not a sign of women's fashion. No shoes, no hairdressers, no handbags. Just amazing. Only mens wear shoes and stuff. Sorry ladies we did look real hard as Citt wanted a haircut after Norway and Germany. But hey, she has on a scarf. So no problem she said........

On the way to the markets. Chador clad ladies.

Tabriz has a mixed history being founded in antiquity. It can claim to be the hub of the old Silk Road in Persia.  Roads lead to Baghdad, Aleppo, Damascus, Babylon, Byblos, Beirut, Cairo, south to Esfahan and the Gulf ports to Arabia. To the North West lie the Med Ports of Antalya and Antachya. 
Today Tabriz is an industrial city. The road still leads to Turkey and the markets of Europe. Embargos are in place. (I counted at least 350 articulated lorries stacked up on both sides of the border). But they all get through somehow. 
The industry around Tabriz consists of Automotive, Cement Plants and Industrial Factories turning out all sorts of things. The city is pleasant with wide one-way streets. The traffic is very very fast when it is not in a log jam.
The buildings are three story limit. I guess because of the earth shaking.


In the centre of Tabriz is the famous World Heritage listed Tabriz Bazaar. It is the largest covered bazaar in the world and it is the longest. Aleppo Bazaar in Syria is larger by size m2. (Pam, Kellie and I visited in 1974). These places make Westfield look pale, but it is interesting the layout in Westfield centers follow the same, central walkways and specialized areas. Two levels is some areas, housing smaller specialized tenants and showrooms. 
But I am getting ahead of myself again as always.


We wanted to visit the carpet markets within the bazaar. Citt and I have an interest in carpets and we thought you might like to take a look with us? But first a bit about carpets before we go in. 

A very different carpet (Image Citt Williams)

Carpets are unique. They are not just stuff! In the West we tend to lump them as Persian carpets but this is not correct as carpets come from all over the East. Turkey, The Stans, The Caucuses, China, India and Pakistan. 
The Tabriz Bazaar was and still is the most important market for the sale and distribution of carpets. (Tehran we were told was bigger but did not specialize in quality rare carpets). 


Where do they come from? 
Each carpet has a story! 
The story is in the pattern. It can be the story of the family, the village, the tribe. Some patterns stretch back centuries. (The families are very bitter as Chinese factories are copying the patterns and manufacturing carpet copies in large factories without permission.) The dealers can tell you where the carpet came from and just about who made it. The number of knots, the lay of the carpet, the fibre all make for the true value of a carpet. A carpet can be made out of wool, camel hair, cotton, silk or a mixture. The dyes used in the carpets are at best natural vegetable and plant dyes. Some rugs can take up to 5 years to complete. 
The family manufacturing a carpet is by no means guaranteed a good price for the carpets as in this area borders tend to change without warning. There are stories of false walls in houses to hide the rugs in time of trouble.  A rug maker is highly skilled and take on apprentices in the art. The rug makers specialize in the making of, or repair and remake of, damaged rugs. The value of a carpet is complicated taking into account the number of knots, the color, the size, the materials used and the quality of the workmanship, last but not least the rarity of the pattern. 

Mozaffarieh alley (fine carpets) Tabriz Bazaar

We found the rug sellers to be interesting and informative. Yes they wanted to sell us but after explaining we had a long way to go and we did not have a lot of money they turned into information gurus. Like all technical sales people they are experts in their field and we spent hours enjoying talking with them and drinking endless Chai.

Chaikana having lunch. Note the Hooka pipes

We took some images for you.  Please take a trip with us through the Bazaar at Tabriz. 
Just click the picture and the near the top of the picture where it says information clik the full screen and you will have information on the image.




Enjoy.



After the carpets we decided we had better get going and explore some of the outlying region instead of drooling over these gorgeous works of art.



So we hired a taxi and off we went to Kandovan a village of rock houses, no tourists and beautiful weather.

The stone houses of Kandovan 1300 AD Iran.

Tomorrow is a big day we plan to go to Eras River Valley. The Valley runs along the Armenian and Azerbijan border. Historically it is an important border area and parts of the Valley are still contested but it it open for us to visit without military passes. They say the vistas are fabulous.

This is my journal date 22/10/11

Merry Christmas to you and the best for the New Year wherever you are,

It is Christmas in Australia.

It is the time we as a Christian Nation celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth (7-1BC BCE - 30-36 AD/CE)

It is our time of family reunions, a time of celebrations with our friends and colleagues

Our time to remember, the year gone by and celebrate the blessings received

It is Christmas and wherever you are.

We wish you and your loved ones the very best for the season

&

A blessed and bountiful New Year for 2012 

From our home to yours.

From our home: Sunrise over the beautiful Gold Coast Queensland Australia

From our home: Sunset on the Beautiful Gold Coast Queensland Australia

Merry Christmas

From our family to yours