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Magic Iran

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25.01.2004 from Shiraz, Iran - 8259km

Asalaam dear friends,

Leaving Tehran was like swimming in a pool of sharks... I had to cross some of the worst traffic junctions on this planet (central Tehran). Although the cars can hardly drive faster than I am able to cycle but when it comes to junctions hell brakes loose and everything goes. Taxis driving in the opposite direction, bus drivers crossing at high speed without bothering to look for other cars let alone cyclists and all the normal cars making its way through. Traffic rules seem to exist somehow in Iran, but knowledge of them does not seem to be compulsory for drivers After an hour of racing heartbeat and a few near-collisions I found my way in direction of Qom and Esfahan. The traffic calmed down I could relax my nerves.

The landscape widened and got relatively flat. I was passing at the outskirts of the central salt desert. The blue sky was only interrupted for one day. Winter is the rainy season in Iran, so I witnessed some torrential rain for 24h. I cycled with hardly any vision and the dirt from the road started building up a thick crust on my bicycle and rain suit. In Dodehak, a small town after Qom, I stopped to buy some biscuits. The shopkeeper and his friends could hardly believe what they saw: Cycling is already a strange concept for Iranians, doing this on the long distances between cities and while it is raining appears gets no understanding at all. The people were really nice and they offered me to stay at their 'motel' for free. After a short moment, I could not resist to the outlook of a dry place for the night The 'motel' was actually an empty room in the local taxi office (another empty room with a telefon and a gaz stove). There was nobody who spoke English, but a lot of body language and my small Persian phrasebook helped to have a great evening. Again and again, people were coming to have a chat with the strange person who arrived from the middle of nowhere. Dodehak has probably never seen any tourist, except some passing cyclists maybe...

The next day was perfect: Blue sky without a single cloud. But I faced some stiff headwind, this was the price for the good weather. Soon I arrived in Esfahan, the jewel of Iran. I knew a young Iranian women there and so I was very curious what would await me. The encounter with Sanaz could not have been more wonderful. An old saying goes that 'Esfahan nasf-e jahan' (Esfahan is half the world), but for me Esfahan was the whole world for one week. Not only the wheels of my bicycle stopped spinning but the whole planet seemed to do so. It was like having a very sweet dream. But sometimes I prefer to keep things private and to just enjoy how wonderful life can be... so you won't be able to read much about Esfahan, I am sorry. Just this, the splendor of its mosques, palaces, brigdes and squares are truely breathtaking!

Leaving Esfahan was incredibly difficult... I almost stayed there forever. A bicycle tour seems to be as much about making wonderful new friendships, as it is about separating from friends... I felt very sad and lonely.

My journey then brought me high up into the Zagros mountains. Endless plains covered with a thick crust of snow and ice awaited me. An icy wind was blowing constantly and I was sometimes shivering in the middle of the day. At night the temperatures plunged I had to hurry to get into my sleeping bag, the only comfortable place. The beauty of the snow-capped peaks was incredible and I enjoyed the trip on the almost abandoned roads. At one morning, a truck driver saw my tent as he was waiting for a person to help him repair his vehicle. He starred for more than a quarter of an hour at my tent. When I had finally packed up and I went towards him. His eyes were just filled with disbelieve. He looked as if he would prefer a night with the devil than to be out in the intense cold... I could hardly talk with him, so deep was his astonishment. In the end, he offered me a Chay and some fruits. My next destination was Shiraz, but before I arrived there I saw what a Friday excursion means for Iranians. Hundreds of Shirazi went on that day to the mountains to enjoy a picknick with their extended family. Sliding down the snow slopes on old truck tyre tubes seemed to be the best activity. Apart from that, the families built up whole kitchens, brought tents and carpets to enjoy the picknick at its best. It was really funny to watch all these people enjoying themselves.

Now, I am staying in Shiraz. I checked in at one of the cheapest places in town (a mosaferkhune). I had no idea about the city and was quite happy to have a telephone number of a friend of my friend in Esfahan. I called him and only twenty minutes later I was packing up my stuff from the mosaferkhune. Mehdi wanted me to 'save' from that in his eyes dirty and dangerous place. He brought me to his 'study appartment'. Actually an empty flat in one of the best places of the city. From the balcony I could see the whole city! He uses the appartment just for studying for university. So I had it for myself. Excellent Mehdi is really a great person. As he studies architecture, I have the perfect guide for a city that is famous for its buildings. Thank you! The tombs of the greatest poets of Persia are standing here... Hafez, Sa'adi.

My journey will soon continue towards Bandar-e Abbas at the Persian Gulf, then to Kerman and Mashhad.

Khoda hafez,
Daniel

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