Blogs from Kerman, South, Iran, Middle East

Geo: 29.0454, 56.9681Humm… we set out from Shiraz (which was nondescript) and headed for a town called Rayen… apparently it is just like Bam except it did not get flattened in the 2003 earthquake…I say apparently because we never got to see it. One of the issues that can happen with self drive overland is you just can't find the place you wanted to go… The signs start off in English then either change to Persian or just fade out altogether… The result is the same… opportunity missed… and it was only a 650Km diversion… lucky fuel is cheap.Stayed at Kerman and it was a crazy place… crazy insomuch as the drivers were particularly aggressive. Really intimidating to say the least. Rather boring town with only a few things to see like the ancient Ice House… ... read more

How low? Out of 1.9 litres of oil I got down to about half a litre… low enough to cause catastrophic engine failure! So pretty low :-( But before I go into the embarrassing explanation of how that happened, perhaps first some lighter news. The Iranian Highway Code Having now spent about five weeks in Iran I think I have grasped the road rules here. They are unusual, and not like those in Europe and Australia, but fortunately they are short. So, in rough order of importance: 1. Speed: the appropriate speed is determined by estimating the minimum safe stopping distance. You should always travel at greater than this speed to maintain priority (right of way) - see Rule 2. This is a minimum speed, not a maximum speed. 2. Turning: turning traffic, traffic crossing your ... read more

Krasna avsak lehce fadni poustni krajina jihovychodniho Iranu. Vzduch se teteli horkem a my uhanime silnici rovnou jako kdyz streli. Ve chvili, kdy lehce drimnu, prejede auto pres dva retardery a zastavi. Otviram rozespale oci a vidim tvar policisty pri bezne silnicni kontrole. Neco si rikaji s ridicem a vypada to na zapomenuvsi chvili. Jenze v tom z mista spolujezdce se mihne Marusky ruka, tasi fotak a miri s nim na policistu. „Coze? Ne, Marusko …“ stacime hlesnout. Cvak … pozde, na displeji fotaku se objevuje detail policajsta a jeho samopalu. Zda se, ze ani on neveri svym bleskem ozarenym ocim. Necha nas zajet do odstavneho pruhu, instinktivne zasouvam nohou svuj fotak pod ridicovu sedacku a po zadech mi zacina ztekat pot. Super, na iransko-pakistanskych hranicich, kde kontroluji kazde auto kvuli pasovani opia, my , frajeri ... read more

Day Twenty Six did not start well. We eoke up to find a message from the tour leader, written at 3:45 that morning, saying that she'd had to take a passanger to hospital. Amazingly the bus left only two hours late, which is a testament to both our tour leader and the passanger in question. After a horribly long bus journey (the front of the bus is a very boring place) we got to Kerman and basically had time for dinner before going to get some much needed sleep. ... read more

Kerman Day 1 The bazaar and the Ganj Ali Khan Square: Kerman is quite an idyllic place. It is a mid size town/oasis on the foothill of the Payeh mountains which is a continuation of the Zagros Mountains in the west. The hightes peak stands above 14 thousand feet. The city dates back to antiquity, it being located on the major Asian trading routes. The city's elevation is 6 thousand feet and is relatively dry. The temperature on arrival is 73 deg F, and the air is clean. The folks here speak Persian in their own dialect and are very friendly. From the airport immediately head to the city center and rent midrange hotel in the center of town close to the bazaar and the street where I grew up. As I head back towards the ... read more