Lovely Iran

16/01/2023

in

26/07/2022

village

The distances are very long in the central part of Iran. Every 100 to 200 kms we see a small village.

Esfahak is 400 kms from Yazd . It's like an oasis in the middle of nowhere.

These villages are off the usual tourist routs but luckily there are nice and cozy guest houses where you can rest and stay away from the busy and noisy cities.

Definitely summer is not the right time to go there.


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22/07/2022

22/07/2022

Camels in Iran?!

Driving along such a never ending road on Dasht-e Kavir ( Kavir desert ) that is 400 kms wide, we see domesticated camels

A mother camel is milking her baby!
Like the camel baby, you can taste the camel milk too

19/07/2022

14/07/2022

From Caspian sea to the Persian Gulf!

The temperature is 38 now. It is so hot and humid that when i open the car door it is like entering a big sauna!

Yesterday I drove 660 Kms from Yazd to Bandar Abbas to pick up a couple from Switzerland and drive back to Yaz.

06/07/2022

A different kind of Iranian rice ! Short and round but tasty. Majority of Iranians prefer the rice from Caspian area or Shomali rice which means the rice from North.

Yesterday i was in the Southwest of Iran as you see on the map. on the slope of Zagros mountain close to Shiraz

There are small rice paddies in this part of Iran!

04/07/2022

Rarely people visit the gates to the after life world!
No one cares about cemeteries and they try to avoid walking in there.
There is no cremation and no sky burial in Iran.

We stopped at a cemetery on the road side in Bandar Turkmen.
We are close to the borders with Turkmenistan and we are still in Iran

01/07/2022

Iranian rice and rice paddies

Most of the long-grain rice that is grown in Iran comes from the Caspian Sea area, the provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran, as well as the slopes of the Alborz mountains

30/06/2022

Camino de Santiago!

Driving along the coastline we noticed a small group of people holding flags and walking to the East

They are pilgrims from Karbala in Iraq to Mashhad in the Northeast Iran where the shrine of 8th Imam of Sh*te muslims is located

This reminded me of Camino de Santiago in Spain! although it's not a fair comparison

28/06/2022

Fast omelette!

Fry tomato paste and then add beaten eggs to it, Iranian omelette is ready!

Fast omelette is frequently ordered for breakfast in Ghahve Khaane or Coffee houses

26/06/2022

Drinking coffee in a Coffeehouse? no no no!

In iran you go to a Ghahveh khaane which means coffeehouse or the place where you can order breakfast or smoke hubblebubble but you will not find coffee in the menu!

We are talking about local coffeehouses in every town in bazaar area not a fancy coffeeshop

25/06/2022

Can women swim in Caspian sea?

Yes they can! But They have to remain clothed and watch from the shore as men swim and children play
or
They have to find an area designated for them. Walls made of fabric or plastic mark that space.
or
To seek out an unpopulated area and wade in just a feet or two. weighed down in a menteau and headscarf.

As we did

24/06/2022

Your reaction when you swim in the world's largest lake for the first time in your life

24/06/2022

And Caspian sea,
One of the reasons to be in this trip

The worl's largest lake
28 meters below sea level!
1000 kilometers long, 430 kms wide
1000 meters deep, the second lowest after lake Baikal

22/06/2022

In Iran the tea is usually served in a crystal glass sitting on a tea saucer to cool down the boiling hot tea.

Today We stop for a glass of tea made on wood fire which is tasting smoky

21/06/2022

Iran is a desert country. All you can do is driving on the long boring desert roads!

We drive down the mountains from Filband to Sangchal village

20/06/2022

Look!
Last night we were standing at the same point facing the Caspian sea, driving up the mountains

19/06/2022

Do you have cows in Iran?!

While driving in the central parts of Iran, most of my clients sitting in my car ask" do you have cows in Iran?"

The answer is " Yes we do, but in the desert area we have cow farms.
In the Caspian area we have cows everywhere on the streets!

18/06/2022

Westerners in the North!

400 years ago in Safavid time the kurdish people from Ilam, a province sharing border with Iraq, forced to move to the North , to the Caspian area.

When i am walking in the village i feel the accent of the people is not pure Caspian . Kurdish is so strong that has affected the Caspian accent.

17/06/2022

Don't look for a special meal!
Bread and cheese, walnut, tomato or cucumber and a glass of tea is a normal every day Iranian breakfast. Some days Bread and butter and a kind of jam or boiled/ fried egg can be different options.
A 5 star hotel breakfast never represent Iranian one.

16/06/2022

Wake up at 05:30 before sunrise with the birds loud chirp to see such an amazing view. I don't know what the birds are talking about
but it reminds me of a story from Golestan/ Gulistan Saadi one of the greatest medival Persian poets.

I remember that once we had travelled all night in a caravan and at dawn we went to sleep next to a pond.
A distracted person who was on the trip with us gave a shout and headed into the desert . When it was day i asked him" what was wrong with you?"
"I noticed nightingales had staryed singing in the trees " he replied . and so also the quails in the mountains, the frogs in the water and the beasts in the forest.
I thought it would not be manly of me to let all of them praise God while i slumbered in heedlessness

16/06/2022

We keep driving and reach to the final destination, a village called Filband , the elevation is 2300 meters. we stop to buy some fresh bread and to rent a house to stay overnight here.

This is the night view of Amol city from our house balcony.

16/06/2022

12/06/2022

icecream time

12/06/2022

Well. we are on the road at 04:00 pm . and we drive 150 kms through the Elborz mountain. we are lucky to see the beautiful elegant snowcapped Damavand peak which is the highest mountain in Iran and highest volcano in Asia. It is about 5600 meters high

10/06/2022

Let's sit in my car and start a trip to the Northern part of Iran, a trip to the Caspian coastline from east Tehran. this road is known as Haraz road and is 215 kms long and 4 hours drive nonstop . but we will stop wherever we find interesting to take rest and take photos and talk to the locals.

08/06/2022

some people traveling to Iran as a middle eastern country are looking for camels on the streets!
here they are but not in the streets but in the biggest desert in Iran, Dashte Kavir

07/06/2022

Damavand mountain, 5609 meters high
A view from Haraz Road, the road from Tehran to Caspian sea