Archive for January, 2008
Sunday, January 20th, 2008
66km Dehbarm to Pahnapahn
A day of cycling in Iran by numbers:
- Hijab removed when nobody was looking: 1
- Showers in a cold stream: 2
- People who insisted we must be wealthy: 2
- Invitations to spend the night: 2
- Mountain peaks climbed: 3
- Pieces of bread eaten: 4
- Food breaks: 5
- Gifts of food: 6 (oranges, apples, yogurt, sugar and two bags of bread)
- Photos snapped by Iranians on their cameraphones: 7
- Motorcyclists who tailed our bikes: 15
- Pictures taken: 150
- Cries of “hello mister”: countless
2 Comments » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Iran, Journal Entries by andrew
Saturday, January 19th, 2008
46km Jomarjan to Dehbarm
In Muslim countries it’s normally the call to prayer from the mosque that regulates our day but recently we’ve become accustomed to a new rythym; the nightly sound of drum beats and singing that signals Moharram. The Sh’ia ceremony marks the martyrdom of Imam Hossein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, and it’s one of the most important religious events for Sh’ias.
In the last day or two you’ve probably seen pictures on the news of the shrine in Kerbala, Iraq where Hossein was killed in 680 CE. Millions of pilgrims make the trip at this time each year to remember Hossein’s tragic death but the event is not only commemorated in Iraq. Here in Iran, every city, town and village has its own way of keeping his memory alive. For over a week now we’ve watched parades in the evening made up of dozens of men walking down the street, flailing themselves with chains to steady drum beats. The whole country wears more subdued colours and mosques are draped in flags. It’s an intense experience and one we can’t help but notice. Even as we write this in our tent, set well away from the nearest houses, we can clearly hear the drums and singing from two villages. (more…)
No Comments » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Iran, Journal Entries by andrew
Friday, January 18th, 2008
96km Shiraz to Jomarjan
It was nothing less than wonderful to get back on our bikes today and head out of Shiraz with the sun on our backs, not to mention a good strong tailwind. Too many long bus trips and hotel stays had made us very eager to get back to the road and peaceful camping that we love. The scenery was beautiful with snow-capped mountains all around and we started getting to grips with what it will be like to cycle here in Iran. So far the much-feared Iranian drivers aren’t so bad as all that. Oh sure, they go faster than they should and at least half of them drive without headlights at night but where cyclists are concerned they almost always slow down as they pass, giving us lots of space and a friendly wave. We wouldn’t rent a car in this country but on a bike we feel pretty comfortable. (more…)
1 Comment » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Iran, Journal Entries by andrew
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
Shiraz and a return to the saddle
A long trip south by bus landed us in Shiraz yesterday. What a change from Tehran. Green grass. Sun warming our backs. Birds singing in the trees. It was a nice arrival indeed. Only the hotel let us down (slightly dingy, on the other hand it’s good for the budget if nothing else) but we haven’t spent much time there anyway. Shiraz has so many shrines, mosques, gardens and other sites to visit we’ve been pounding the pavement most of the day. The rest of the time we’ve been gazing at maps, plotting our return to the road. After so long off the bikes we are really going stir crazy so now that the weather is manageable again we’re going to head down to the Persian Gulf tomorrow, charting a course via Firuz Abad to the coast, then west towards Bushehr and back up to Shiraz in two weeks for our first visa extension. The whole area is filled with ruins so we shouldn’t be short of things to see and the seaside will give us a real taste of warmth in the winter. But the best part of all will be getting back in the saddle again. If the past few weeks have taught us anything, it’s that bus travel is definitely not our style!
1 Comment » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Iran, Journal Entries by friedel
Friday, January 11th, 2008
Escape from Tabriz
Once again we were standing in the bitterly cold winter air, waiting to get our bikes on a bus. At least this time there was a bus. That was the good news; services had finally resumed after four days and we had our ticket for Tehran. The problem now was the bus driver. He was making a huge fuss about carrying our bicycles, even though we’d called before we bought the ticket and been assured there was no problem and our bikes could come free of charge.
“Yok,” he said angrily, waving his hands around in the air and glaring at us. The message
was clear. He did not want our heavy baggage on his bus. We weren’t worried because this had happened so many times in Turkey. We had our strategy: wait out the song and dance and then use clever packing to find a place for our bikes. It had always worked before but this time the bus driver continued to be hostile even after everyone else had loaded their luggage. A translator soon appeared. “He says you must pay 20,000 for your bikes because he has to leave carpets behind to make room for you,” we were told. No problem we thought, converting the amount in our heads to about $2. It seemed a fair tip and our bikes and bags were loaded onto the bus. Of course life is never that simple. (more…)
