Blogs from Tabriz, North, Iran, Middle East

Saturday. Another day another castle! Some of our group decided that a day exploring Tabriz would be fun, the rest of us headed for the hills to see Babak castle. This remote site on a crag was three hours from Tabriz by bus then about 20 minutes in ancient four wheel drive jeeps followed by a 40 min walk. Not as strenuous as we thought it might be but the final steps up and across the cliff felt exposed to the drop. The views were worth it when we reached the top. After a good bumble about and picnic snacks we headed back the way we had come. Back in Tabriz we all went out for dinner, a good 40 minute walk away from the hotel - sadly the restaurant recommended in both the guidebooks had ... read more

TABRIZ. REST DAY 13 SEPTEMBER, 2016 What a difference a single room makes, no snoring, no lights being turned on in the middle of the night, a dry bathroom !! Small things I know, but after 30+ nights, memorable! Headed off for the bazaar at 9am as it was opening later due to yesterday's religious holiday. A huge expanse, bustling with people. The alleys were named for the products sold, shoes, jewellery, pots, etc. More like a flea market with mostly home products - soap, etc. To my mind not as magical as the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. After a few hours I needed to escape. Later spoke to other riders who visited, spending 5-6 hours there. Lucky for me I went independently!! Phil and I then went in search of the Blue Mosque, which was ... read more

Day 44 Wednesday 2nd March 2016 Another day in Iran, another town, another taxi. Heading off to Kashan today by bus, but as we got the taxi to the bus terminal the driver tried to talk us into letting him drive us to Kashan for US$88 including a bit of sightseeing but we opted for the much cheaper bus. We had not prebooked our tickets and were not sure of the timetable but the taxi driver recommend a bus company that runs regularly to Kashan. It was 9.00am when we arrived at the counter and the bus was leaving at 9.30am how lucky, the trip was uneventful but it did give me time to think about why all men want to have their photo taken with Scott. Is it because of his good looks ... read more

Geo: 38.081, 46.2901 Donned our Islamic clothing and headed the eerily quiet 30 kms down the road past Turkey's Military check posts, guard towers, tanks, bushrangers and other general displays of might to the border.We had heard this to be a confusing border crossing and had read various tips from previous overlanders. If you can imagine arrival at an international airport, it kind of goes pretty standard immigration and then customs. Overland borders particularly with a vehicle follow no known standard and are further complicated by having departure from one country back to back with arrival to another. Sadly we timed it badly as there was a bus load of Iranians returning from Ramadan festivities in Turkey. Given 40 odd people (conservative estimate) arrive at the one time we could well understand why there was only ... read more

It has been seven years but I am back in Iran and this time I will concentrate on the north west of the country. I left Agarak a little after 8 am and was driven to the border by a very old man in an even older car, I then had quite a walk from the Armenia border post across a bridge spanning the Aras River, getting my passport checked by a multitude of officials, police and soldiers along the way. Finally I arrived at the Iranian immigration area and after a short wait passed through changing my dram to rials before exiting the building and meeting my driver and guide. First stop will be the town of Jolfa which is on the border with Azerbaijan where for some reason they dropped me at the hotel ... read more