Unforgettable Iran - Part 2

I was sitting road side fifteen (15) kilometres out of Shiraz, the temperature was about 38 degrees and my motorcycle would not start. I reach for my water bottle which was strapped to my black roll bag, knowing that as is always the case the water would be hot enough to make a cup of tea, without any shade and preferring a cool drink I decided to turn the bike around and roll back down the road verge to a small shop I had just past, hoping for shade and a cool drink. I was in luck on both counts, so I sat down on a chair and contemplated my next move. The shop keeper had noticed I had past his shop slowly, stopped up the hill, then rolled back down, not looking like his regular clientele he soon became inquisitive and started speaking to me in Farsi, I did not understand a word he said but I gestured that my motorcycle would not start and I would need a truck to take me to Shiraz. He seemed to understand and said “no problem”, I was going nowhere so I made myself comfortable and waited. After my experience in Mashhad I was confident someone would come past and help.

About one hour later two men aged in their twenties stopped road side in front of me, walked into the shop and purchased a drink each, then stood consuming the drinks and smoking cigarettes while chatting to the shop keeper and looking at the strange character sitting near a big motorcycle. The men then approached me and offered to help, with only a little common language between us, we managed to establish I needed a truck to transport my motorcycle to a mechanic in Shiraz. After making several phone calls, one of the men named Mohammad came closer to me, made another phone call, chatting in his native Farsi language to the person he had called, then handed his phone to me, I said hello, not knowing what reply I would receive, to my surprise and in perfect English I received a “hi” from a gentleman named Reza, followed by a detailed introduction indicating he had a Ph.D in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, taught at a Shiraz university, was Mohammad’s brother in law and that I would be provided with all necessary assistance to transport my motorcycle and myself to Shiraz. After arriving in Shiraz and finding a mechanic, who provided a diagnosis that was not good news, he said it was a fuel pump problem and he could not source parts nor fix my motorcycle, he also said the best option was to freight the bike to Tehran, the capital city of Iran for repair.

Now fairly late in the day my focus turned to accommodation, I gestured this to Mohammad and showed him my written notes with a couple of hotel names and address listed, also mentioning my cost budget. His reply was that the hotels I had chosen were not in a good area, he then made two more phone calls, during the second call he passed the phone to me, it was Reza again, Reza then communicated to me that Mohammad was offering to take me to his family home to stay while investigating motorcycle repair options. Again not knowing what to expect, I accepted his offer and that started twelve (12) thoroughly enjoyable days that provided me with many of the most memorable highlights of my trip to date. Mohammad and his younger sister Uranus are the only two siblings still living in the family home, Mohammad’s father Majid and mother raised eight (8) children in the home so there was more than enough room for one (1) “tourist” me. During my stay I met five (5) of Mohammad’s seven (7) sisters, (yes, 7 girls, 1 boy) and their husbands and children.

Although there was little in the way of common language between us, I was made to feel welcome by everyone, there was barely a quiet moment with the wonderful close family members calling past regularly for a visit or a meal and for me, eating delicious home cooked meals was a most enjoyable change. During my stay with the family I was invited to attend several functions including a farewell get together for the family and friends of Majid’s brother who was travelling to Mecca. The afternoon included prayers for those inclined, a feast including fresh fruit, a delicious chicken dish, rice, bread and tea to drink, attendees then formed a motorcade procession to transport Majid’s brother to the bus station, which would then transport him to the airport for his flight to Mecca. Mecca is the birth place of Muhammad and the site of Muhammad’s first revelation of the Quran. Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in the religion of Islam and a pilgrimage to it known as the Hajj is obligatory for all able Muslims.

I also attended a wedding, Mohamad’s sister Neda and her husband Vahid invited me to the wedding of their friend Amir. It was a great night, Vahid’s university friends and their families were very welcoming, as well as the wedding proceedings the night included dancing, a delicious meal and a lot of laughs.

 

 

Neda and Vahid were great company, I stayed a night in their apartment after the late night wedding, went to Vahid’s football game, and the three of us also had an evening visit to a local sight, Quran Gate. Vahid owns and manages a new car sales dealership, he also sells restored Paycan utility (utes) vehicles. I had seen these vehicles by the truck load, literally, semi-trailers carrying resprayed bodies somewhere to be reassembled, and I also photographed a nice looking customised version.

 



I also had personal guided tours to local sights with other family members, Uranus and her cousin took me to visit the Hafez memorial, Abo Taleb guided me through Vakhilis Bazaar, Vakil Mosque, Citadel of Karim Khan e Zand and Vakil Bath.

 



During my stay in Shiraz Mohammad and I also did a little partying, including celebrating the birthday of Masi, the sister of his girlfriend Shokrah, together with their sister Rosita and Masi’s teenage daughter Alma who translated Farsi to English for me during the night, the six of us ate snack food and birthday cake, played music and danced, and it proved to be a great night.



 

Mohammad owns and runs a business selling excavators, his office is about one (1) kilometre from where I broke down, he was on his way home from work when he stopped for a drink and assisted me. The office is also close to the Ancient City of Persepolis, so I took the opportunity to visit the site one afternoon while Mohammad was at work. Takht-e Jamshid, meaning “City of Persians” was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550 – 330 BC). The earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515 BC. It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture and UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage site in 1979. The buildings at Persepolis include three general groupings, military quarters, the treasury, and the reception halls and occasional houses for the King. Noted structures include the Great Stairway, the Gate of Nations, Apadana Palace, The Throne Hall and Tombs of Kings.

 



Mohammad and I eventually got down to the business of motorcycle repair, visiting many motorcycle workshops before eventually finding an excellent mechanic named Saeed, whom together with his brother repaired my motorcycle so I was able to continue my travels.

 

After having such a great time in Shiraz with Mohammad and his family I was reluctant to move on, but with only a thirty (30) day visa and still a lot of kilometres to travel it was time to get back on the road and head West towards the city of Esfahan.

Unforgettable Iran - Part 1

I have a Carnet De Passage document for my motorcycle, it permits vehicle importation and access to countries throughout the world, but not all countries require a Carnet and after not having used it for several months I dug it out of my pannier ready for use entering Iran. I expected the border entry to be an arduous affair, it was not. After obtaining an entry stamp in my passport from possibly the friendliest border official I have had the pleasure of dealing with, I presented the Carnet to a Customs official, he promptly filled out and stamped the appropriate sections, tore out the importation section and handed the Carnet back to me, I was good to go.

I intended to take it slow and easy in Iran, now back on my original planned adventure route, I had researched Iran, I had a basic idea of the cities and towns I wanted to visit and the sights I wanted to see. Day one (1) was a short ride to the town of Quchan and with the temperature sitting on 38 degrees I was glad to find a hotel quickly and easily. While settling in I noticed the hotel restaurant had a steady stream of locals purchasing food, so I gestured to the hotel manager who spoke little English and I speak no Farsi that I would like to eat.

I have to say I have eaten some pretty ordinary food in recent months, had a crook stomach for more time than not, and was well and truly over it, so while I stayed close to the toilet after a dodgy doner kebab on my last day in Turkmenistan I gave in and took a dose of antibiotics from my medical kit. Feeling much better just a day later I was keen for some decent food, and decent food was what I got. Jouje kebab and Berenj (flame grilled skewered chicken and rice), who would have thought plain rice and grilled chicken could taste so-good.

As I finished my delicious meal the hotel manager’s younger brother came over and introduced himself, speaking good English he provided me with some information that would be helpful during my Iran travels, including the symbols for numbers 1 to 9, money exchange values, and names of various foods. So with my newfound knowledge I left the hotel and wandered the streets, I found a money changer, negotiated a good rate, then I retreated from the days heat.

The following morning I set out from Quchan on what should have been a long day’s ride, but the long ride did not eventuate, as I approached the city of Mashhad I was on the lookout for a by-pass road to take me South, then my motorcycle cut out, I turned off the ignition and restarted the bike only to have it cut out when mobile again. The bike cut out numerous times in several kilometres, I found the bypass road and while stopped road side contemplating my next move a man in a car pulled over to offer assistance after noticing my stop start road edge riding. I asked Hossain who spoke good English if he knew of a mechanic who could investigate my motorcycle issue, he said he did and offered to guide me to the mechanics workshop. With the bike continuing to cut out it was a slow trip to the mechanic and on arrival the motorcycle stopped cutting out and ran fine. The mechanic offered advice as to the problem and said he could not get parts to fix the problem anyway, and I should continue on my travels. Being close to Hossain’s home, he invited me to drink tea, I accepted and there began my experience of just how friendly and hospitable Iranian people are. During the afternoon I met Hossain’s wife Shohre, their two sons Ali and MJ (Mohammad Javad) and two cousins, drank tea, ate a meal and discussed my travel route and destinations while in Iran, Hossain also provided me with suggestions for additional or alternative places to visit. Ali and MJ then found me a good hotel within my budget and during that evening MJ picked me up in his car and we visited Mashhad Holy Shrine, it was incredibly busy with hundreds of other visitors, but a worthwhile experience.

 

Due to my short ride to Mashhad I had ground to make up and an even longer ride South the following day, with the temperature rising to 40 degrees I rode 520 kilometres in about eight (8) hours, my motorcycle cut out several times midway but started again and got me to the town of Tabas. I stopped at a pretty run down hotel that looked deserted, but the young man at the small entry/guard building was extremely happy, friendly and accommodating and with little other option I settled in.

I ventured down the road in the early evening, finding a large mosque situated on a roundabout with souvenir shops and eateries on the outer side of the roundabout road. I entered an eatery and ordered a meal, but the lady did not seem happy, due to language differences I had no idea if there was a problem or not. There was three (3) ladies and three (3) children at another table who had just been served large plates of Berenj and Jouje kebabs, one of the ladies speaking a little English asked what I wanted to eat and then spoke to the lady owner, who was still not happy, I think she must have dished up the last of the rice and chicken and could not communicate that to me, anyway, another of the ladies at the other table put rice and chicken on a plate and placed it in front of me and gestured me to eat. After I gestured that she did not have to do that for me, she again gestured me to eat, so I did. After we had all finished our meals I could see one of the ladies talking to her son and gesturing towards me, I sensed he may speak a little English but was too shy to approach me and talk, so I approached him and spoke to him, and yes, he then opened up, speaking enough English to pass on my thanks to them all, asking where I was from, where I was going, along with other questions. I then offered to pay for their meals but they would not accept, so I paid for my share and we all exited the eatery. The children were interested in my motorcycle parked outside, so I sat them on the bike while their mother and I photographed them. I thanked them again, photographed the Mosque and returned to the hotel, grateful again for Iranian hospitality.



 

Before settling in to sleep I set my alarm for an early morning start, and it was lucky I did, the young man at the hotel knocked on my room door at 7.00 am with my breakfast in hand, I ate boiled eggs, flat bread, and carrot jam and drank tea. I then rode another hot day in 38 degree heat through a dry barren mountain and desert landscape, my motorcycle cut out several times but I made it to the city of Yazd mid-afternoon.

 

 

While in Yazd I stayed at a comfortable guesthouse just outside the old city area, with rooms off a central court yard, a large water feature and fountain providing a pleasant area to eat the standard Iranian breakfast consisting of boiled eggs, tomato, cucumber flat bread, jam and plenty of tea to drink, or an evening meal including another widely available dish in Iran, consisting of a leg/breast piece of chicken with a very mild tomato based sauce and rice. I spent my days walking the streets, visiting the sights in the old city including Dowlat Abad Garden, the School/Prison building and the Water Museum which provided insight into how tunnels were dug below the city and provide water to residents in another wise dry area.

 



After several days in Yazd I got back on my motorcycle and rode further South, the ride ended a little short of my intended destination , but Iranian hospitality from a family in Shiraz sure made up for a broken down motorcycle being placed in the hands of a local mechanic.



The Stan Family Part 5 - Turkmenistan

Entering my next adventure destination Turkmenistan at Dashogus was quick and easy, it would want to be with my limited five (5) day visa I was in for a quick trip across the country on one (1) road from North to South.

I had a couple of interesting stops to make on my way South and first up was the town of Konye Urgench and its UNESCO world heritage listed sites. In the town centre I visited Nejameddin Mausoleum and Sultan Ali Mausoleum.

Then on the outskirts of town I made time for a few photographs and a drink of water while visiting the Turabeg Khanym complex, Sayid Ahmed Mausoleum, Gutleg Timur Minaret, Tekesh Mausoleum, Kyrk Molla, ll-Arslon Mausoleum and Mannum ll Minaret.

 

 

I then settled into a hot day, while the temperature sat around forty one (41) degrees I rode through the dry sandy, sun scorched sparse vegetation landscape of the Karakum Desert, the road was not so hot, being a rough, pot-holed affair for about half the way before improving.

 



 

I reached the turn off to my day’s destination late afternoon, then ventured off road to the Darvazza gas craters. A little unusual, but a tourist attraction none the less, travel guides say the craters are the result of Soviet era gas exploration in the 1950’s, but locals say they are the result of surface collapse after the use of the ground water below. One of the three (3) craters has been set alight, it blazes with great intensity and is best viewed a night, so I set up my well-travelled, little used tent for an overnight camp out under the stars in the sandy desert.

 

I visited the other two craters the following morning as I continued my journey south, one crater has a bubbling mud bottom, the other water.

 

 

Again I settled into a forty one (41) degree temperature ride day to the Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat. With white marble palaces and buildings, gleaming gold domes, manicured parkland complete with white marble fountains, the city has been built off the receipts of Turkmenistan’s oil and gas sales. In 1948 the original town was levelled by an earth quake measuring nine (9) on the Richter scale, and currently large areas are being levelled once again, this time by a wrecking ball, making way for more white marble buildings and structures, including a completely new sports facility under construction for the 2018 ASIAN games.

 

I spent two days in Ashgabat, then continued south and exited Turkmenistan, after what had been a very brief yet enjoyable visit to the last Stan in my Stan family tour.