14/02/2015
There are four distinct geographical regions to the land of . Firstly, the central interior plateau is a barren series of closed basins completely surrounded by mountains. A spine of once jagged mountains would loom closer and further as we sped along the highway from to . The plateau is partly covered by salt swamps (kavirs) and plains (dashts). Then there are the Mountains, which include the fertile northwestern regions of and the southern coastal plain of . The third region is the and Talish Mountains and the Lowlands. The fourth area is the barren eastern mountains along the Pakistani and Afghan borders, interwoven fertile valleys.
has two coastlines: in the north along the , and in the south along the . The main river is the Karun and the largest body of water is Lake Urumieh (as salty as the Dead sea and save for one species of useful aquatic nematode, uninhabitable by marine life). At 85 feet (28metres) below sea level the magical-sounding Caspian Sea is slightly salty, providing not only the famed Iranian caviar but also resort towns along its coast and sea sports. as considerable mineral resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc and sulfur. Petroleum provides 85% of government revenue so it is heavily dependent on oil.
Perhaps it is partly due to learning to live in the extremes of the Iranian landscape that has endowed its people with a powerful inner resilience: it leads them to tolerate the hot summers, celebrate the coming of spring and the abundance of harvest and manage judiciously the stores set aside throughout the long winter months, do their best, celebrate joy, mourn loss, be grateful and graciously hospitable.