May 1st – 12th 2014

Iran continued to shock and awe.

I have never felt safer wild camping anywhere else in the World. Families passed time together relaxing, eating and playing in the shade by rivers, streams; anywhere there was a flat bit of ground and a tree to protect them from the heat of the relentless sun. We found ourselves searching out these places to sleep on the nights. Once darkness came the families would pack up and disperse, happily waving to us as they left. At any given opportunity strangers gave us gifts. If we were parked people would come to say hello, even if they couldn’t speak any English, they would come, the women would hold my hands and smile at me with such sincerity it burned. They were genuinely so happy we were visiting Iran, they gave us melons by the dozens, sour milk drinks (a firm favourite is mint flavour), we were handed kebabs if they were cooking, hookah if they were smoking, I was even handed babies if they had them. It was so surreal and I craved to be able to talk with everyone we met, they were such a happy, friendly, polite bunch. I had so much to ask but sadly the language barrier was one I couldn’t get over. We made do with smiles and heartfelt handshakes.

Driving along the coast of the Caspian Sea was an eye opener, the largest inland body of water on the planet was surrounded by paddy fields. We felt impelled to visit the town of Ramsar, which is known for having the highest levels of natural background radiation on Earth and found a small strange quiet town. So many strange facts kept revealing themselves as we travelled towards Tehran but we were soon distracted from them by Peggy. She just wasn’t right, even after all the work we had done in Armenia.

Her timing was off due to all of the climbing and water was pouring out of the radiator. That problem fixed we then got stuck in a small ditch. She just didn’t seem to have any oomph left, it felt like she was slowly but surely giving up. Next we almost ran out of fuel driving across a mountain pass and then got robbed by a Turkish man while eating our lunch by the side of the road…before we had made it to a gas station…meaning no money to buy fuel when we finally lurched onto the forecourt! Luckily a few stashed dollars were accepted by the attendant, we must have looked desperate.

That day went from bad to worse as we found ourselves in Tehran, the largest city in Western Asia with over 14 million inhabitants. We drove in and immediately wanted out. Finding the way out was a nightmare but once done we seemed to be instantly back in the middle of nowhere, until the next city, Qom. Of course, with our usual impeccable timing it was Mosque ‘O’ clock bedlam when we arrived and promptly got lost because Alex thought he knew the way to a hotel better than the map that I was holding. We argued until screaming point. Deliriously exhausted, desperate to shower and sleep we found a hotel and did just that.

Strange the things you see on the roadside in Iran

Qom city is the largest center for Shi’a scholarship in the world, it is the religious capital of Iran and is a significant destination of pilgrimage. The hotel was just walking distance from the famous Fatima Masumeh Shrine and we decided to visit the next morning. Our intention was just to walk past and enjoy the building from outside the walls but we must have gotten too close. A gentle hand ushered me behind a curtain and a lady with a huge smile wrapped me in a sheet and put socks on my feet. She smiled so warmly into my eyes the entire time she dressed me, all the while calling all of her friends to come and look at me and to stroke my face, repeatedly saying ‘beautiful, beautiful’. It was a strange experience but not at all threatening. Once I was completely covered with just my face showing I was allowed through to the other side of the curtain, into the Shrine.

Alex was stood waiting for me looking increasingly worried about where I had gone and by his side was a man who ushered us into a room and sat us down and told us to wait. We exchanged confused glances but it soon became apparent that we had been attached to a tour. I was glad afterwards as we would have missed seeing such a beautiful place if we had just stayed outside the walls. The Shrine was stunning, people were everywhere kissing the walls, kneeling and praying, clutching prayer beads called tasbih or a special stone called a turbah; all whispering quietly and deep in thought. I felt a little like I was intruding but I always do in places of worship. However, we were made welcome with nods of acceptance from people passing us and even making several friends who were intrigued about the way that Iran is portrayed in the Western world. The tour guide even gave me his own turbah, such a personal object, yet he was so impressed by how far we had come to visit Iran that he wanted me to have it. The Turbah is made from mud or clay and symbolises the earth. It is held against the forehead during prayer and wrapped in a cloth to protect it when not in use. I clutched it in my palm as I handed back my sheet on the way out of the Shrine. I was hugged goodbye by the lady who had dressed me and felt like something special had happened to me in there.

The experience was a mind bending one and as we reflected on our walk back to the hotel completely absorbed in talking about the Shrine several people stopped Alex to tell him I was improperly dressed. The city, being such a religious centre, wasn’t as open-minded as young vibrant Tabriz where I had purchased my clothes for our Iranian tour. Although I was covered head to toe, I was wearing leggings and a dress. The shape of my lower legs was clearly visible and we scurried back to the hotel as fast as my socked/flip-flopped feet would carry me, head down, ashamed. I felt naked and under scrutiny from everyone around me. Qom certainly had a different feeling to Tabriz and I suddenly didn’t feel as welcome and was eager to leave.

Esfahan was our next stop and it couldn’t be more different yet again. From desert to being presented with a lush green oasis. The central reservations in the roads burst with topiary bushes, scented roses lined the pavements and parks were in abundance. The smell of jasmine and honeysuckle permeated the very air. We were there to meet with Marzieh, she had made it possible for us to visit Iran. After so much fraught effort she bypassed the antiquated system and made it easy for us to arrive and drive freely through the country, we had so much to thank her for; Iran had quickly become one of the most impressive places we had visited so far and without her we would have never seen its beauty.

Marzieh and a group of her friends took us on a cable car ride up the Sofe mountain. We all hiked to the other side of the mountain top to watch the sun set over the city. It was a liberating, fun experience and also a defining one. Watching the sun drop beyond our vision and the city start to twinkle like phosphorescence below us as we sat surrounded by stars was quite profound for me. I felt like so much had happened for us to be there at that very moment and it just felt right. Deep, I know haha.

All of this was before we had even made it to Shiraz, the home of Persepolis and Naqsh-e-Rustam. Having been truly blown away by Irans beauty it seemed impossible for it to just kept getting more and more amazing. We wild camped in a valley under a ruined old village that we just found by chance, wandered under the enormous tombs carved as far back as 1000BC and stood mouths agape at the towering columns of the City of the Persians. We were continually surprised and impressed by the diversity of Iran, we even spent a night in the desert in heat like we had never experienced in our lives, we also got Peggy absolutely stuck in the mud one night looking for a place to wild camp but were incredibly sad when it came to the end of our Iranian adventure.

Peggy stuck in mud video —————————————–

We had made it to Zahadan, the border city with Taftan Pakistan and were due to cross into Pakistan the next day. We checked into a hotel for our first shower in 6 incredibly hot, dusty days.

Once showered we were relaxing and catching up on emails in our room when Alex was called to the reception area and taken into an interrogation room by two men. They questioned him about his intentions in travelling into Pakistan, what he thought about Iran and what he would tell his family about his stay. He was gone for at least an hour and was visibly shaken when he came back to the room, cue paranoid hysteria from me. We got so paranoid and worried that they were going to kidnap us or sell us or something that we called the receptionists and asked them if it was normal to be interviewed in such a way, they said it was, and we eventually googled it and it did seem legit. We had just gotten carried away with ourselves and slept a little uneasily that night worrying about our escort to the Pakistan border and onwards through Balochistan, we, as usual, had no idea what to expect next.

Not enough pictures here? Have a look at our image diary from Iran too.

If you are considering visiting Iran we cannot recommend Parandis Travel enough. Marzieh helped us through every leg of our adventure and made us feel as welcome as family when we visited with her. Without her help we could have never had any of these experiences.