Back home
Location: Denver, CO, USA
Date: Saturday, 10th May 2008
We arrived home from Dubai last night. Persia Overland was a great trip, the geographic differences as we traveled from Baku in the north to Bandar-e Abbas in the south surprised me greatly and the friendly and hospitable Iranian people is something I won’t forget.
The trip report and the select photos will be posted on exerro.com soon, but in the meantime, it’s time to plan “Africa – Right Hand Side”!
En-route to Exit
Location: Hormoz Hotel, Bandar-e Abbas, Iran
Date: 5th May, 2008
A long (600+km) drive today from Shiraz to Bandar-e Abbas, the port where we’re due to leave Iran from by boat tomorrow.
We broke the journey by stopping at Sarvestan, briefly as the traffic was held up be the sacrifice of a cow on the main road into town in honor of the Leaders (Ayatollah Khamenei) visit. We then stopped at the Sasanian Palace, just outide of Sarvestan, a lovely domed building from around the 5th Century CE.
Afterwards, the trucks pwnd the road. We saw hardly any cars for 300km, but loads of trucks heading to and from Irans main port. Ironically, being in Iran, there were no gas stations and we arrived at our final Iranian destination running on fumes…
A small whine in Shiraz
Location: Aryo Barzan Hotel, Shiraz, Iran
Date: 4th May, 2008
We started the day with a stroll around the Shiraz Botanical Garden, hugely busy with locals, as friendly as ever, and impressive for its collection of Roses.
Back in the city center, we parked and walked past the Arg-e Karim Khani (Citadel of Karim Khan), complete with its own leaning tower (apparently the sewers couldn’t cope with the volume when the purpose of part of the citadel became a prison and leached out, softening the foundations), en-route to the Bazaar.
The Bazar-e Vakil is a classic Persian Bazar. Kristy was shopping again, but bazaars are always interesting places to wander around in. I’m always on the lookout for a good astrolabe, and I saw a couple here but they were not in great condition.
In the bazaar I was introduced to a new treat! If you ever get the chance, try faloudeh, it’s made from little bits of wheat like mini-spaghetti and frozen rosewater. I added ice cream which made it even better! Shiraz is apparently famous for this – highly recommended!
Right next to the bazaar is the Masjed-e Vakil, or Regents Mosque. It was a pretty enough building, and remarkably empty but I must confess to be getting a bit mosque-ed out at the moment…
After a few hours back at the hotel, we ventured out to see another mosque (yayyy!), the Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque. Actually, despite not feeling up to seeing another mosque, I’m glad I saw this one. It’s built on a far more intimate and human scale than many of the others we’ve seen, and the craftsmanship is exceptional.
After visiting the extremely popular tombs of the poets Sa’di and Hafez, we had dinner and retired for the day.
Finally, I have to say I can’t recommend this hotel. Amongst other things, they switched the A/C chillers off overnight leaving us waking up in a sweat in a 90F room. And they promised that they wouldn’t do that…
Persepolis, I Presume?
Location: Aryo Barzan Hotel, Shiraz, Iran
Date: 3rd May, 2008
Today was a day that belonged to the long-dead Achaemenid Kings. After stopping in Aberkouh to see something that pre-dates Cyrus the Great, a 4000 year old Cypress tree, we made our way to Pasargadae.
Pasargadae is mostly in ruins now and sees far fewer visitors than the later, and better preserved Persepolis. However, Cyrus left his mark here and it was great to see both the remains of his quite modest private palace. His tomb is also in great shape, thanks to Alexander leaving it well alone – the story goes that Cyrus had carved inside “I know one day you will come, begrudge me not this small amount of land on which I lie”. I’ll have to remember that one.
Next up, Naqsh-e Rostam, and the tombs of 4 Achaemenid Kings, including Darius the Great and his son, Xerxes.
Finally onto the highlight of the day, Persepolis. Wonderfully preserved and looking wonderful after almost 2500 years in the evening light, the city which is believed to have been used only once a year for the Spring festival is worth a visit. We even saw Stanleys signature (no Livingstone though) – carved into one of the great pillars on the main gate, bloody vandal!
The Highest Minarets in Dar-es Islam
Location: ITTIC Tourist Inn, Yazd, Iran
Date: 2nd May, 2008
After a late start, we toured the sights of Yazd today, starting with the Zoroastrian Fire Temple. I was a little disappointed as the atmosphere wasn’t overly spiritual, blame the tourists for that and the fact that the flame, the “Ateshkadeh”, was burning behind a piece of glass. The flame has been burning for over 1500 years, which is quite impressive. I imagine the High Priest has many alarm clocks!
Still, it was interesting to see a temple of the worlds oldest monotheistic religion, to which Judaism, Christianity and Islam all owe a debt.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m reading Paul William Roberts book, “The Journey of the Magi“, which is ideal ready for a journey through Iran. It’s particularly interesting if you’d like to know more about the Magi, who were Zoroastrian, and the influence of Zoroastrianism had during the early days of the three major religions.
We also visited the “Highest Minarets in all of Islam”, at the Jameh Mosque. At almost 50m high, and soaring up from the beautiful tiled portal, it does send quite a message – and as it was also built over a Zoroastrian Fire Temple after the Arab invasion, I suppose that was the idea…
After a quick trip to the water museum, which was crawling with tourists and is quite basic, we visited the Amir Chakhmaq, a takieh that you can climb for great views of Yazd, where it’s possible to see dozens of windtowers. I felt a bit like I was in a game of “Assasins Creed“, but I declined to take the “Leap of Faith“, and made my way down the narrowest and steepest staircase I’ve ever climbed.
After a quick bite at the Hamum-e Khan Restaurant, a converted bathhouse, or Hammam, in the bazaar, complete with all the original blue and white tilework, we returned to the hotel for a well deserved siesta.
Shh! In the Tower of Silence
Location: ITTIC Tourist Inn, Yazd, Iran
Date: 1st May, 2008
An easy day today, through the desert from Garmeh to Yazd. We arrived in Yazd just as daylight was fading – a perfect time to visit the Zoroastrian Towers of Silence. Nice light, but anything but silent – a group of very friendly and very noisy Iranians made it more like the Tower of Babel! Still, after they left talking to Kristy with their 5 words of English, I was left alone in the Tower where once upon a time, the Zoroastrians left their dead to be picked over by vultures – and thus not polluting any of the primal elements (earth, fire, water, air).
My messing around taking low-light photos unfortunately got us all locked in to the compound. And the 80-something year old guardian is obviously as deaf as a post! Amir came to the rescue by climbing over the 2.5m wall, and unlocking the gate. Top bloke!
Blazing Camels
Location: Mr Mohammads House, Mesr, Iran
Date: 30th April, 2008
I’ve never been a fan of riding something with legs and not wheels and something that you merely influence rather than control. Still, Kristy, being a horse trainer, loves riding camels. I always forget how big the blighters are.
So we got up early to make the most of the cooler temperatures and had an enjoyable, though uncomfortable (more padding in the saddle please), couple of hours riding in the desert and into the village of Mesr.
We were invited, yet again, into another locals house and were entertained by a baby camel, baby goats and some worried looking turkeys. After more tea, we retired back to “our house” and had an easy afternoon dozing in the heat.
As the evening cooled, and before the mozzies started biting, we had a walk around the farm. A great contrast the green fields of maize and alfalfa with the sand dunes behind.
One strange thing was the number of dead palm trees, which we’d noticed earlier. It seems this last winter (2007/2008) was the worst for 50 years, with snow in the desert and temperatures as low as -18C (0F). This cold killed most of them, but a few will recover (well, maybe they’re not quite dead, there’re just resting, or something) in the next 5 years.
Finally, we drove to Garmeh, where we would be spending the night in another local house.
A night in Egypt
Location: Mr Mohammads House, Mesr, Iran
Date: 29th April, 2008
After briefly stopping to admire the Khaju Bridge in Esfahan, we made our way to Na’in.
First stop was the millennium old Jameh Mosque. Complete with cool underground tunnels (much appreciated now we’re in the desert), the mosque was in use as we arrived ahead of 2 coach-loads of German tourists.
Next stop in Na’in was a place a bit off the beaten track. Hard to find without a guide, there are some old workshops carved into the hillside in the old center of Na’in. Cool and dry and also about a thousand years old, one was occupied by two gents well into their eighties. Weaving rugs on old-fashioned looms from sheep and camel wool, we couldn’t resist buying one to support them.
Nearby, we scrambled up the hill to the Mohammadiyeh castle, perched in an ideal defensive position with a 360 degree vista. Unfortunately, the castle’s door was bricked up, so we couldn’t get inside.
Driving into the deep Lut Desert, we continued onto the town of Jandaq where we were invited into another house, drank a very sweet cherry juice and ate more wonderfully succulent Iranian fruit (what do we do to it back home)?
After a short while, we headed up the dusty dirt track to the town to Mesr, a town named by Joseph (not sure which one), as it reminded him of Egypt. Mesr is Farsi for Egypt.
Hasham and his sons, Hussein and Ali, made sure we were looked after. After some welcoming drinks served in the alcove in the north side of the courtyard of this traditionally shaped desert house, we heard much low rumbling from outside – a flock of camels, including some very cute babies. Pick of the bunch was the crazy camel that was raised by a cow, man, I’ve never seen a camel jump so much!
And tomorrow we ride them…
Half the World…
Location: Ali Qapu Hotel, Esfahan
Date: 28th April, 2008
Esfahan is a truly beautiful city. Tree-lined streets, fountains and flowers and wonderful architecture make it an incredible place to hand out for a few days. At it was our designated stop for souvenir shopping…
After an experience that started last night, our wallets came away much lighter, and our bags became much heavier, laden with the finest silk carpets Esfahan has to offer! We came away poorer, but with some wonderful pieces of art that we’re extremely happy with. We also picked up some miniature artwork on camel bone, that Esfahan is also famous for (Shah Abbas was a big fan apparently) and a tablecloth. We got on with the sightseeing…
After Amir knocked over a cyclist (he was ok!), we managed to park – it seems we found the only downside of Esfahan, getting parked is difficult, but it’s nowhere near as bad as London or New York.
We had a quick look at the Shahs Summer Pavilion or Chehel Sotun place – the place of Forty Columns. There are 20 columns here, the other 20 are the reflections in the lake. It’s a lovely place, decorated inside with hunting and battle scenes. Cut off his head!
We centered the day around Imam Khomeini Square, formerly known as The Maidan, where the Shah would watch Polo matches, executions and other things that amused him from a beautiful grandstand at the Ali Qapu Palace at the west side of the square. Today it provides the rather more peaceful view of people enjoying the gardens and fountains and shopping around the edges.
The Royal Mosque, whoops I mean the Imam Khomeini Mosque, is a building so big you really don’t process it. Shah Abbas the first knew how to impress, but apparently he had corners cut when it had been under construction for a couple of decades and he began to worry he wouldn’t see it completed. Not much sign of that today, it looks like the Department of Cultural Heritage are doing a great job in keeping it maintained. Just a shame that they’re also keeping the scaffolding there…
The Eagle and the Serpent
Location: Ali Qapu Hotel, Esfahan
Date: 27th April, 2008
Back to ancient history today, with a trip to the Sialk Hills, a settlement from 5500BCE.
We then hit the road to Esfahan, via the Nantaz Nuclear facility which is apparently causing a bit of a fuss. We saw a couple of military bases and a number of anti-aircraft emplacements – the Iranian Government are clearly taking its security seriously, and there’s no doubt in my mind they’ll bring the reactor on-line just as soon as they’re ready. As for the Iranian military, all I’ve seen are well prepared, disciplined soldiers supported by reasonably modern hardware and a good infrastructure. It would be no “Iraqi Freedom” taking these guys on…
Anyway, after a tour of the plant (only joking!), we drove to the mountain village of Abyaneh, recognized by UNSCO for its unique ochre colored mud-brick buildings. The women here wear brightly colored headscarfs and there seems to be no-one under 70 living here at all!
The temperature up here was far more pleasant, and we spent a couple of hours wandering around the village, visiting a small, disused Zoroastrian Fire Temple and the Zeyaratgah shrine. We also visited an old house, which doubled as a traditional clothing store and Kristy bought some jewelry.
After lunch, we visited the peaceful, tree-lined town of Natanz. We saw the 14th Century Jameh Mosque and the shrine of a local Sufi mystic, the Imamzadeh-ye Abd al-Samad.
On the way out of Natanz, I noticed a small dome-shaped building atop a mountain some way south of town. Amir knew a story about it, and the story of the dome goes something like this. Shah Abbas was riding with a small detachment of his army near Natanz. While resting by a stream, his men attempted to drink. The Shahs eagle, which was flying up ahead, dived at the men, screeching and flapping in their faces. Shah Abbas, not know for his patience, killed the eagle. His men started to drink, and immediately died. The eagle had been able to see the wicked serpent upstream that had poised the stream. Filled with remorse (which it seems he never showed his subjects), the Shah built a dome on a nearby mountaintop in remembrance of the eagle that tried to save their lives.
After a bit more driving and some traffic on the outskirts of town, we arrived at the Ali Qapu Hotel in Esfahan.
http://www.aliqapuhotel.com/
A house and gardens
Location: Amir Kabir Hotel, Kashan, Iran
Date: 26th April, 2008
Happy Birthday Kristy! I, of course, got her a book about travel!
Man, it got hot today. We drove about 400 km from Hamedan to Kashan, dropped a couple of thousand feet (to 3500) and dropped a couple of degrees of latitude. We also got closer to the Lout desert, so that all meant it got hot.
We arrived in Kashan in the middle of the afternoon, and drove straight to the Tabatabei house. The 3500sqm house was the house of an obviously wealthy merchant who made his money in carpets (what else!?!) in the mid-19th Century. Wonderful courtyards, with fountains and flowers, with cool underground areas and wind-towers to catch the breeze direct it to various parts of the house (think 19thC a/c), made it a pleasant place to spend some time.
Also extremely pleasant were the Fin Gardens, Bagh-e-Tarikhi-ye Fin. With a natural spring, rivulets, pools, old Cypress trees and all kinds of plants – as well as being several degrees cooler than the outside, made me want to stay all day. It was also full of giggling schoolgirls who wanted to take a photo of themselves with Kristy and I. Famous for a few minutes – remind me *never* to win an Oscar…
Fin Gardens also has its share of stories, from the stream that was discovered by Soloman (maybe the King, or maybe someone else), to the murder of a Caliph. Checkout the Wikipedia entry for more.
A Family Dinner
Location: Buali Hotel, Hamedan, Iran
Date: 25th April, 2008
We drove about 180km to Kermanshah today, to see a couple of sights. Firstly we stopped at Bisotoum to see the ancient carving of Hercules that Darius the Great ordered carved – he’s a smaller bloke than I thought. We also saw (from a distance) a bas-relif of Darius and the 9 slaves.
Then onwards to Taghebestan and a very pleasant site of two more carvings and then a lunch where we were serenaded by a kamanchech player!
That evening (and being Friday evening everyone was out and about and the traffic was terrible), we stopped at a charming little family restaurant (in fact, the family were all eating there) where we got into an interesting discussion of life in the USA and politics with a man, Mr A, who works for the Iranian Government. He had some interesting views (that’s all I’ll say here), and he invited us back to his house to meet all his family. He was intelligent, progressive and reasonable despite being a dead-ringer for President Ahmadinejad! It seems that Iran is full of people like this, which can only be a good thing.
Are you listening Fox “News”? Iranians are nice folks!
In Hamedan
Location: Buali Hotel, Hamedan, Iran
Date: 24th April, 2008
We spent the day in Hamedan visiting the Avicenna Mausoleum (he was a great doctor who researched the effects of plants and herbs in medicine and wrote texts used after the renaissance over 700 years after his death) and the ancient Ecbatana Excavations at Hegmatane Hill, a city of the Median Empire founded in 650BCE.
A quick visit to Gonbad-e-Alavian (the Alavian tomb) and the tomb of Ester and Mordecai, situated with a synagogue was fascinating. The curator, one of 15 Jews left in Hamadan, told us the interesting story of Esther, wife of Xerxes and her uncle, Mordachai who saved thousands of Jews from slaughter.
Finally we visited Sang-e-Shir, a 2300 year old stone lion that once guarded the gates to the city of Ecbatana, and now a children’s plaything situated in a pleasant park.
Cala Ataperistan – Castle of the Fire-Worshippers
Location: Buali Hotel, Hamedan, Iran
Date: 23rd April, 2008
After a late night, we got started at a reasonable hour, we were on the road by 0830. We were on the road for about 3 minutes before we arrived at the Iranian National Museum. The museum is quite small, and therefore easily digestible. The post-Islam section is currently closed, but the pre-Islam section is fascinating.
It’s rare you see artifacts from 7000 years ago, and even more rare to see them in great shape. Iran truly has a long history… I was even happier to see the Darius and Xerxes bas-relif, a part of history I’ve always been interested in. The workmanship was impressive, and the sword of the bodyguard was incredible.
A quick return to the hotel, changed some money and picked-up the passports we forgot (!) and we were on our way, though the Tehran traffic.
We were lucky enough to miss rush-hour again, so the traffic wasn’t that bad. A lot of people complain about how crazy it is, but to me at least it’s not that bad. One thing the drivers do here that you see so little of in the US and UK is PAY ATTENTION! Given that it is a little crazy, if you drove with the same care and attention you drive I-25, you’d be bending metal real soon.
Leaving Tehran, we headed for Saveh, where nearby was a place I’d wanted to visit for years – Cala Ataperistan.
Only one of my friends and his family have been here, Jim Laurel, and you can read about his experience on his site, spectare.com. Jim had previously told me the story of Cala Ataperistan and I was hooked. Not only is the castle perched on a Tolkienesque craggy mountaintop inaccessible from 3 sides, infrequently visited (our guide, Amir, nor any of his contacts had heard of it), but it’s supposedly the home of one of the Magi. Paul William Roberts also writes about it in his book, “Journey of the Magi“, which I recommend as a great piece of travel writing. Another famous visitor to the site was none other than Marco Polo.
When I mentioned we were visiting Iran, Jim dug-out the co-ordinates and a rough description of how to find it. Now Jim had a Land Rover Discovery, and we’re in a regular saloon/sedan with only 2 driven wheels. I was naturally a bit anxious about getting there. But armed with a map, GPS and a set of co-ords, we left Saveh heading west, on the Hamedan road.
Surprising myself, we turned off the road to a village at the foot of a mountain range we later found out is called “Asiabacke Band”. The tarmac soon gave way to dirt, and we stopped by a small store in the middle of the village to ask about “the castle”.
It turns out that no-one locally knows the name “Cala Ataperistan”, instead they call it “Ghez Ghale” – the Castle of the Daughter. All we learned about that story is that it was built by a lady around 2000 years ago (and of course, that ties in nicely with the Magi story)!
We were on the right track, and as we rounded a corner I was sure I could make out a regular pattern on a crag in the mountains around 5km away, according to the GPS. Leaving the village, the road swung around, crossed a dry river bed and headed in the right direction. After another 10 minutes of careful driving, the road ended at a path winding up to the castle! I was so happy to have made it, it was clear we were in the right place.
Cala Ataperistan is in a defensive position to die for, as I’m sure they did. Surrounded on 3 sides by steep, craggy slopes and the only access is via a steep walk to a single pass which was clearly well guarded, up another steep slope to the castle itself. Steps have recently been cut into the slope, for which we were grateful, but they were unexpected. Anyway, we hiked up, jumping over streams (so the place had a good supply of water) and getting to the top in 15 minutes or so.
It’s clear this place is old, and it’s sometimes difficult to see where the rock ends and the castle begins. There are a collection of crumbling outbuildings but the main building is is surprisingly good shape.
You have to climb up into the main castle, I’m sure health and safety people would have a fit if they saw it. It’s a bit of a scramble, but worth it. Next up you have to cross a floor which has a couple of large holes in it, just enough to fire up the Indiana Jones gene!
Once inside, you can see it’s been added to over the years. The original building consisted of 8 rooms, each with a fireplace and the kind of window that makes bad guys shudder. The 8 rooms, 4 on each side separated by a front to rear corridor, were about 10m long by 2m wide.
Making our way to the front, it was clear we were not on solid rock anymore, as there were more holes in the floor. Of course, I jumped down one (I think I heard my wife saying something about “don’t go down there”, nah, I’m sure I didn’t), which opened into an arched room which itself had a basement. The room was made of mud-brick and had led to other rooms with clearly defensive purposes, with arrow slits, etc. There was also a collapse at the front with a 45 degree slippy slope down to a cliff. Kristy ignored her own advice and had followed me down and was exploring away herself.
After enough exploring and soaking up the atmosphere that’s unique when you have free reign over a place like this, we scrambled out (more exciting than getting in), and headed back to the car where Amir, in fine style, had put the kettle on, perfect timing for a cuppa.
Over tea, we met a shepherd and invited him over. He told us some stories about the castle, including mentioning again it was built by a lady 2000 years ago. Drinking his tea through a lump of sugar he held in his mouth, he told the story of how some Americans had visited pre-revolution (which we took to mean early 1970’s), and were hunting for treasure. It wasn’t clear if they’d found any but he clearly wasn’t impressed! We hope Kristy left him with a better impression. He also told stories of how Europeans would come here, pre-revolution, and camp at the base of the hill. Finally, he told us that they are planning to put in a tarmac road to the site – I fear that it’s too fragile to handle many visitors so I have to hope that it’ll be another one of those projects that can take a long, long time in this part of the world…
He mentioned he had 6 kids, 3 of the daughters so Kristy dug out some gifts, hairbands and the like, for them. His stoic face lit up, and after much handshaking and thanks, he remembered his goats and left us at a pace!
Honk, Steer, Brake!
Location: Ferdossi Grand Hotel, Tehran, Iran
Date: 22nd April, 2008
We got a bit of a late start, but it was our first full day in Iran and we’re weren’t going to let that bother us (though getting to Tehran after midnight after some exciting night driving made us regret is slightly).
Kristy needed a lighter scarf as the one she got in the US was proving to be too big and too warm for this weather. She got one in the first shop we passed, the people are super-helpful here. I’m just glad I don’t have to wear the damn thing…
After a nice lunch in the Polo Kababi Restaurant in Rasht, we stopped for some cookies and got drawn in to the friendly guys doing the baking. I don’t know how you can eat them with as much sugar as they have, but we bought some anyway.
Onwards to the mountain village of Masouleh, which is a retreat for the Tehran-ese in the summer and is a wonderfully relaxed village with plentiful tea-shops and alleyways lined with shops selling tourist-tat, though in a remarkably relaxed way. A complete contrast from Morocco, as the streets here reminded me of the Medina in Fes.
After some tea, we started the long drive to Tehran. The good news was we’d get there so late we’d miss the chronic traffic of rush-hour. The bad news is we had some night driving.
There are three rules of driving in Iran:
1. Honk
2. Steer
3. Brake, but only if you really have to
Once you accept this, you’ll do well. Our drive was of two halves, one an older, mostly triple lane highway and the other a modern motorway. The first section made for some excitement, punctuated by a stop for olives and some pomegranate paste, the second was a 140 kph blast into Tehran.
En-route we picked up some olives and pomegranate paste.
Finally, we’d been invited by Amir for dinner at his home with his family. It was delightful! We were made to feel much at home, and had a delicious meal. Kristy finished off the evening with some photos of home.
We got to our hotel tired but happy, and almost sleeping on our feet!
Paykan’s, Peugeots and Paddy Fields
Location: Sefid Kenar Hotel, Bandar Anzali, Iran
Date: 21st April, 2008
We’d arranged our driver to pick us up at 1030, so, as is the way, is was nearer 1130 when we left. It was a long and pretty boring drive amongst the mighty Kamaz trucks to the Azerbaijan/Iran border at Astara.
The border is a door at the end of the street. A little unusual, but we founf a porter and were whisked though Azeri customs and immigration in 5 minutes with a salute and a “good-bye and good luck”! The Azeri people are truly nice.
Welcomed into Iran by a 20 year old smiling soldier with ginger hair who would have looked more at home in Dublin than Iran, we had our passports taken and told to sit down. While they were very friendly, we were sitting for a hour or so while they found the fingerprint kit. I don’t know why they did this, but it was the old, dirty and inky way. Still, it was done with good nature and apologies, although one stern looking guy took great delight in watching our faces as he slowly snapped on the latex gloves – just before laughter all round. Whew…
Once fingerprints were taken, we picked-up our bags (no one looked at them) and Amir, our driver and guide for the next 16 days whisked us away in his car.
A 2/3 hour drive, punctuated with surprising views of rice growning in paddy fields, hundreds of Paykans (a ubiquitous car made in Iran), and Peugeots made here under licence, a stop at Gisum Beach, ended at our hotel in Bandar Anzari, where we crashed after a long day.
Maidens & Mud
Location: Ramada Hotel, Baku, Azerbaijan
Date: 20th April, 2008
Today went quickly, a trip to the Maiden Tower in central Baku – great views of the city, picking up our carpets and a trip to the mud volcanoes and pictograms in Gobustan.
The ancient Shah and the Coppersmiths
Location: Ramada Hote, Baku, Azerbaijan
Date: 19th April, 2008
After enjoying the night at the Caravanserai hotel, we wandered around Sheki, and visited the amazing Khans Place.
After sending some postcards, we drove to the mountain village of Lahic, founded over a 1000 years ago by a retiring Persian Shah in a beautiful setting among steep-sided valleys.
Famous for it’s copperworks, we wandered around the small centre, browsing and talking to the coppersmiths. We ended up buying a small oil lantern (yes, we rubbed it, it’s sans-djinn), and talking to a guy who showed us a small museum above his shop.
It was getting late and we had a long drive to Baku, but I couldn’t resist the sight of the old guys of the village drinking tea and playing dominoes, so we joined them.
We got a few strange looks, but we ordered “chai” and started playing dominoes together. A crowd soon gathered, tea was delivered and then the shopkeeper challenged me to a match! We had a few good games, and I held my own but lost on the tie-breaker… Not bad for a first-timer though! Kristy then had a few games, and the sight of a woman playing dominoes was clearly too much as a bigger crowd gathered around to watch! We had a great time in Lahic, with great people, but we had to get back to Baku…
Kristy took the exciting night-driving shift, and it was a long drive. We didn’t have a place to stay, and as luck would have it we passed a “Ramada” sign after by-passing Baku, and pulled into a huge new hotel.
About 200 rooms and we were the only guests! We were very spoilled! We’d missed the restaurant (although the manager was about to call the chef and wait-staff back), so we went to the nightclub. Blaring music, locals dancing and flashing lights made to an entertaining and surreal end to the day…
I highly recommend “Russian Standard – St Petersburg” vodka, as smooth as a good scotch!
Ramada Baku
http://ramadabaku.com
Salyan Highway, Shikhov Beach, 1023 Baku, Azerbaijan
Mud, Mountains and the road to Seki
Location: Caravanserai Hotel, Seki
We drifted off to sleep last night hoping that the lashing rain wouldn’t leak into our yurt; we survived well and even got a late start. After a typical breakfast of tea, bread and cheese we headed north along a rapidly deteriorating asphalt road. Potholes the size of olympic swimming pools and a heavy fog (really just the cloud at 4000ft) hampered our progress, but within 45 minutes we arrived at Perguli.
Pergulis claim to fame is it’s 1960’s observatory. Built in classic Soviet style, i.e. without any, I understand it earned it’s renown with some observations on Mars back in the day. With the cloud we had, it weren’t observin’ nuthin today. Still, there was a break in the cloud and I snapped a hasty photo over the fence, expecting any minute to be pursued by a goose-stepping conscript and being thrown on the next train to Moscow. Instead I just jumped back in the car and got out of the rain. The weather really added to the “back in the USSR feeling”! Driving on, we passed a particularly depressing accommodation block. Anything that can make you feel proud of a 1970’s British Council block really has problems.
It seems the USSR funding only covered building an asphalt road to the observatory, and as we planned to loop around to Lahic we plunged (quite literally) onto the puddle covered mud track northwards.
If ever there was a day I wished for my Best Friend Goodrich and his interminable Mud Terrain tyres it was today. The $3 tyres we have are labelled “4×4″ and “Cross Country” but were reduced to slicks in 3 seconds flat. Slip-sliding along a rough mountain track in the fog and rain – cool! It wasn’t long before I was wishing my Defender was attached to those BFGs. Still, it was occasionally scenic and it’s always good to get off the beaten track.
At least, until the track becomes a river. We rounded a crest (scared a horse – blame Kristy), and could see the village of Damerchi over a very wide river-bed, that had a number of well-stocked-from-last-nights-rain rivulets to cross, the first being the widest and fastest. Now with slick tyres and not much clearance, and the infernal independent rear suspension further lowering the clearance of our supermarket-run 4×4 Honda CR-V, I would say cheeks were clenched. Aw, hell, I’d seen a couple of tractors earlier, surely one would be along if we needed it. So I went for it. And of course it was ok. Apart from one little bit where we lost traction, but we were across the river and on to Damerchi.
Damerchi doesn’t see many tourists. I’d bet Damerchi doesn’t see much of anything. Apart from rain and mud by the look of it. There was a major lack of anything mechanical, and as we drove up the main road I had the feeling we were the first to do so in a good while. Like the rest of Azerbaijan, it’s clean and tidy, though the rain and mud make it feel less so. It’s obviously a hard-working rural town (it wouldn’t survive otherwise), and again, like the rest of Azerbaijan, the locals were not really interested in us (take note, children of North Africa)!
The road to Lahic left through the North and West of the town, so after a quick photo-op we pushed on. But not for much longer. This road was clearly little traveled, and we were pushing 2 inch deep ruts as we were driving. I could see that the road was heading up and over a pass so (for a change) discretion got the better part of valour. After jumping out for a quick check, sinking 2in into the mud and barely being able to stand upright, I jumped back into the car and retraced about 3.5 hours back to the main highway. Did I mention I was wishing for my Defender?
(above – snacks on the Road to Seki)
The rest of the day was driving through beautiful countryside, farmland, orchards, forests and enchanting woodland, Azerbaijan is a really pretty country. We arrived at our destination, the Caravanserai hotel in Seki to a wonderful surprise.
Caravanserai Hotel
Seki
+994 177 44814
I’d heard the hotel was worth a visit, but it is awesome. A 17th or 18th century caravanserai tastefully make into a hotel, complete with comfy beds and hot water. Thick stone walls, a bigger than you expect courtyard and a front door that could tell some stories make for a place with great character. Recommended!
The Absheron Peninsula
Location: Babayurd Yurt Camp, Near Pirguli, Azerbaijan
The day started with Hertz delivering our “Full Size 4WD” vehicle, a Honda CR-V! Apparently, Hertz Azerbaijan has a fleet of six vehicles so I’m not complaining. We need some wheels to get around off the beaten track, and that’s just what we’re doing – though my advice to you whenever renting a vehicle outside of North America or Western Europe is to very carefully check the vehicle, not just for bumps and scrapes but also that it has a jack and wheel-brace, the wheel nuts are in place and tight (I once had one with 4 nuts, and one of those was loose), and that the engine bay can pass a visual inspection.
We checked-out of the Radisson (miffed that they quoted us a net-rate though), loaded up and headed out of Baku. Advice to Azerbaijan – use some oil money on road-signs! We have a GPS, but only for compass functionality and trackback. Getting out of Baku was a bit of a nightmare, heavy traffic and construction. Still, all we had to do was head North-East-ish and we finally got out of the city.
Everything east of Baku is on the Absheron Peninsula, a great piece of land shaped like an eagles head sticking out into the Caspian Sea. It’s also your de-facto Soviet wasteland. I reckon one sight of a place like this would convince most people to drive less. I guess the USSR didn’t have a place in it’s 5 year plans for the environment. I imagine it’s much better than it used to be, a lot of the old smoking factories have closed down, but it’s still a little shocking. The whole place smells like a refinery!
There are gems out in Absheron though, and first on our list was the Ateshgah Fire Temple, a Zoroastrian temple with permanent fire fed by natural gas. Without a single sign, we asked a friendly cop (who didn’t have a non-gold tooth in his head), who promptly jumped in the back of the car and took us half-way. Once on the right road, it was pretty easy to find using the map in our guidebook.
We had the Temple to ourselves. It’s arranged as a caravanserai, with rooms on the outside of a courtyard with the temple surrounding the permanent fire within. There’s a small exhibition in some of the rooms, and you can also climb on the roof for a better view of the temple and the town around.
Next up, the search for Yanar Dag – the flaming hillside. Here, since 1958, part of the hillside has been on fire, fueled by natural gas. It is a truly strange spectacle. You also have to watch for the wind, a quick gust and you’ll loose an eyebrow! There’s a teahouse right next to the site, we though we’d support them by having some tea – they said it was AZN 9 – over $10! We made our apologies and left…
Next we turned west, and headed off the Absheron Peninsula and onto the Azeri mainland. We’re heading for Sheki, but planned to spend the night about halfway near Pirguli. Just off the main road we’d heard about some “mud volcanoes” at a place called Perekishqul, basically piles of mud with methane bubbling through water to the top. Just south of the road, just after KM38 (if you’re heading west, turn left at the signposts on a sweeping right-hander). We drove around 600m up a gravel road, passing a huge flock of sheep and a surprised sheepdog (which I didn’t even see, Kristy tells me it was an Anatolian Sheep Dog, looks just like a sheep), to the top of a hill. The funny shaped volcanoes (only a few feet high), are easily visible to your right. We parked up and had a wander around. I stuck my finger in (they’re cold), and regretted not having a lighter! It was strange to see the mud bubbling up, looking like, well, at least what I imagine, a fart would look like… 
Finally, we made it to a cool campsite at about 3500ft up in the mountains consisting of 3 or 4 Mongolian Yurts (gers) – the Babayurd Yurt Camp. We think it’s early in the season as we’re the only ones here and have not seen any tourists today (and only 3 or 4 since we arrived). Anyway, as I write this by lantern (my Macbooks keyboard gives off more light), we can hear the rain lashing down on the hopefully watertight roof…
A day in Baku
Location: Baku, Azerbaijan
Summary: Got our Iranian visas, saw the old city, bought some rugs and ate at a great restaurant!
So, both Lonely Planet and the Trailblazer guide to Azerbaijan are advising people to go to the Iranian Embassy near Old Baku to pickup visas. This information is now out of date. You have to go to the following address, right over the road from the Nizami Metro Station:
On the left, the Iranian Consulate. On the right, Nizami Metro Station.
Iran Islam Respublikasinin Bakidaki Sefirliyinin Konsulluq
C. Cabbarli 10
Baku, Azerbaijan
They were exceptionally friendly there, and one of the gentlemen spoke excellent English. You have to fill in a form (1 page), provide a single passport photo and a single copy of the information of your passport, and some cash. It’s currently EUR 85 for Brits and EUR 65 for Americans. I’ve no idea why Kristy got a discount! Anyway, this money has to be changed at the bank for some kind of money order thing, but a fixer did this for us – it took him about 45 minutes and he was based in a building right next to the consulate.
He didn’t charge us a penny…
We dropped everything back off at the Embassy, and came back 3 hours later to issued visas, many smiles, much handshaking and a demand to enjoy our visit to Iran!
Next up, we walked to the Old City. This is the medieval walled city in the center of Baku. It was a relief to get away from the traffic and honking horns, it is much quieter and less busy in there. Like all medieval towns, it’s full of character and alleyways just waiting to be explored. As these places tend to be dynamic, it was a wonderful mix of old and new (well, as new as early 20th century). It reminded us of small Iberian mountain villages.
The most imposing part of the old city is the Shirvanshah’s Palace.
It costs AZN 2 per person, about USD 2.4, and we almost had the place to ourselves. Well, we thought we did until we rounded a corner and realised that the mosque was in full swing! Maybe there’s a better way to describe it, but anyway, we left.
We wandered past the infamous carpet sellers, which were very mild and polite by global carpet selling standards! We even bought a couple (don’t ask how much), very fine silk specimens which we were assured were not made in China! Actually, they’re really nice and we loved them – which is really the only criteria you can apply if you’re going to lug the things by hand for the next 3 weeks and 5000 miles…
After wrapping up the carpet-bagging, we continued around the Old City, passing by the Maidens Tower.
It was 1820. It closed at 1800… Next time…
Finally, we were aiming for a restaurant I’d read about earlier – the Karavansaray. It’s wonderfully atmospheric, situated in an old caravanserai. Small rooms off the main courtyard contain the tables and a roaring gas fire – it’s very cosy. Vegetables like you’d forgotten they could taste (what do we do with our veg in the US and UK?), fine caviar for USD 50 a plate-load (and I do mean load), hunks of meat and grilled veg. We spent about USD 150 on the best meal we’d had in ages. Highly recommended.
A quick walk back through the double gates and fountains square and we were back to the Radisson, which BTW has a great central location.
Azerbaijan!
Location: Baku, Azerbaijan
It’s great to be finally and properly underway! We took a flight from Birmingham in the UK to Baku via Frankfurt. The flight connections in FFT took all of a couple of minutes, contrasting with the pain of connecting through LHR. That airport is making me bitter and twisted, I should just avoid it…
Anyway, Baku was a surprise to us both, despite not leaving the airport until around 2200 local time (the airport, by the way, is bright. modern and efficient – we cleared immigration, got our bags, cleared customs and were in a taxi within 40 minutes).
Driving to the hotel, I was really surprised at the architecture. It’s dark outside, but there’s clearly a lot of turn of the (20th) century buildings that look like they’re in great shape. Kristy tells me they were from the oil boom that happened around that time. I’m just amazed at how much I felt like I was in a European city.
Leaving the hotel to try and find dinner just after 2300 was also fun. It’s late, but it seems like it’s a “late” city. Loads of people walking around (it’s fine and around 13C, 55F), and lots of places still open. We chose an interesting little place that I have no idea of the name, down in a basement with around 20-30 seats. The menus showed items in both the Roman and Cyrillic scripts, but unfortunately in a language neither of us can read…
We need not have worried. We ended up with colourful salads, full of peppers, chicken and croutons followed by some mutton and some kofta-type kebabs. And some Sprite (I could read that one)! All for less than USD 10.
A great start to our trip. We’re really looking forward to seeing Baku in the daylight.
Final Preparation
Location: Sunderland, UK
With great relief, our bags turned up at LHR Terminal 4. We’ve had incredibly bad luck with the baggage handling system at Heathrow – the last big trip we had our bags “delayed” (in the official language, they bags are rarely “missing”) for over 6 weeks. On a 6 week trip… And when you’re traveling overland, carrying clothing for 3 of the 5 Köppen climate groups, photo and video gear, GPS, etc. it’s stressful to be parted from it. So we only checked out luggage through to T4, went landside, picked it up and re-checked it at Terminal 5 for our flight to Newcastle.
While we’re here, we’re having a relaxing time, doing some last minute shopping (we usually travel with some food – we did have almost 4 weeks of fried eggplant for at least 1 meal a day whilst in Sudan), cleaning cameras and double-checking we have everything. It really makes a big difference when you have the extra time to finish the preparation in a leisurely manner. I’m feeling very relaxed – I’m wondering what I’ve forgotten!
On our way…
Location: Denver International Airport, CO, USA
Despite having no Iranian visa, and having major doubts that our luggage will make it through LHR T5, we’re on our way! We plan to have a few days in at my mums in Sunderland before catching a Lufthansa flight from Birmingham to Baku, Azerbaijan. We’re going to roll the dice and see if we can get our visas in Baku, if we can’t, well, our Persia trip will be a Caucasia trip! Georgia and Armenia should be nice.
