Whilst we were in Shiraz we got a message from the Swiss cyclists we had met in Yazd that there might be problems with getting a Pakistani visa in Zahedan. Our hearts fell and we phoned the Pakistan Consulate in Zahedan as soon as we could. They said that the policy had changed since the time we had previously phoned and that there was no way we could get a visa there, we must go to Tehran. We jumped on a bus that night and made it to the British Embassy for a letter of recommendation and then lodged our Pakistani [View Full Entry]

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In Yazd we had one day to sort out ourselves and bikes before setting off to Shiraz. Again we were getting close to the end of our visa and needed to make an extension in Shiraz. We met two Swiss cyclists in the hotel in Yazd. They had come from Kathmandu and we swapped stories and looked at each other’s maps for tips about the roads ahead. I went out to search the many crappy bike shops of Yazd for some inner tubes. You can easily find 2cm wide tubes anywhere, but because both our rear rims were only 1.5 cm [View Full Entry]

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We decided to take a bus to Tehran to see our friend Majid, who we had met in Hamedan, and to try to climb Damavand, Iran’s highest mountain. Buying a bus ticket in Yazd was a bit of an effort as everyone assumed we wanted the luxury coach. No, I want to go on the retro-chic Mercedes bus and when we came to board it I was not disappointed. On the side of the 1960’s style coach emblazoned in big letters it said “Beautiful Bus”, I could not agree more. The big ugly and air-conditioned modern coaches pulled away from the [View Full Entry]

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We had a good fast cycle out of Esfahan towards Yazd, but failed to make an early start and so it was hot, especially now that we had left the Zagros Mountains behind and were entering the central deserts. Although it was a main road it was not too busy and the wind was not too bad at first. The desert was pretty flat and uninteresting though and we passed by the salty marsh where the river flowing through Esfahan terminates in a depression in the desert. In the afternoon the wind picked up and although the going was flat our [View Full Entry]

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So after all Erika’s blogs about Iran so far its time for me to say something. Iran really is one of the best countries we have visited and certainly one of the most surprising and interesting. It is not at all like I had imagined and the people are amazing. We are asked all the time what we think about Iran and what we thought/knew about Iran before we came. I am never sure how to answer as I did not have a fixed view or opinion and guessed that much that we are told in the west would be wrong, [View Full Entry]

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Hamedan is a pleasant, green city with fantastic views up to the Zagros Mountains, with Alvand peak dominating the skyline. The Farsisch Guesthouse was really welcoming and the 2 crazy old men who run it made us feel very at home, giving us washing powder for our laundry and helping to tie a rope on the roof to dry it, even if they were mumbling stuff about “Hitler, good” and “Britain, hmmm Bobby Sands ha-ha-ha”. It was Friday and so it seemed everyone in Iran had gone for a picnic. We met Majid in the guesthouse, he is a student in [View Full Entry]

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We left Tabriz early in the morning and headed out of the city and around the western side of Mt Sabalan, the huge volcano south of Tabriz, and down the eastern shore of Orumiye salt lake. After making good progress we stopped for a mid-morning snack and encountered our first Iranian hospitality when we met Leila, a student of English literature, who bought us kebabs. She spoke excellent English with a strong American accent and seemed fairly annoyed when the guy from the kebab shop wanted her to ask us about our views on Iran’s World Cup chances and what was [View Full Entry]

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I knew nothing about the Islamic Republic of Iran before this trip, and although Robin knew a little more the country was largely a mystery for both of us. It was also something of an enigma - we knew one story about the country based on news, history and political impressions from the west. We had already learnt from our experience in Syria and other countries not to trust these however. The stories from other travellers and Iranian people themselves, i.e. people who had actually been there and didn’t have a political axe to grind, painted a very different picture. This [View Full Entry]

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So we stayed in Van longer than planned, trying to make sure our bikes were in full working order before we crossed to Iran. With only 21 days on our visa we did not want to have to make any unsheduled stops. Thanks to Bush, Blair & the “war on terror” it is also impossible to use foreign cards in the numerous ATMs in Iran or to cash travellers cheques - in fact all international banking is closed. Our only option was to stock up on dollars - perversely despite the US financial embargo and the depiction of the USA [View Full Entry]

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Finally we are back in colder climes, mountain streams rush by, snowy mountains appear round every bend, and the air is clean and clear (well until the next truck thunders past us blasting its horn again!). We are back in Turkey but things here are a bit different - the people and the customs all seem a lot more European, oh yes thats because this area is Kurdistan, as we are reminded by almost everyone we meet. We were told a lot of things about this part of Eastern Turkey last time we were here in the country - mostly that [View Full Entry]

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