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Zagros Mountains
The road disappearing in the distance.From the airplane flying into Ahwaz, it looked like there was nothing in the dry plain below. Although it was 47 deg C in the plains there was still snow in the hills. Once on the ground, you see there is life in the Zagros Mountains. During the day there is the heat and dust. Oil pipe lines crisscross the country and run along the side of the road to form a kind of a maze. Getting anywhere takes a while on the bumpy mountain roads, but how could travelling be any
better than listening to the Tragically Hip or Matt Mays on the MP3 player while touring the countryside. When the sun goes down it becomes a different world - goat bells and voices carry over the valley; a relaxing end to the day is to watch the goats coming home while drinking a hot glass of tea. On the way back to Ahwaz, we stopped at Shushtar to see the old bridge and water works.
It was already harvest time here. Huge cultivators harvest wheat in the plains, a garden tractor size version does the job on smaller plots, and sycthes are used on slopes where no machine
could go. Women are equal with a pitchfork. Pictures of water/oasis scenes decorate walls and young men who were lost in the war are remembered in the median.
And the Food! There is always a samovar on the boil for tea, with lots of sugar, cubes popped into the mouth. A wide variety of fruit, nuts and pastries are great after a barbacued meal with the always present yougurt. Up in Tehran we ran into a chain of about 10 restaurants called Nayebvozara, the ultimate in kebab. And yes, there is chocolate!
The women have to deal with some pretty tough fashion guidelines, but make it look good, always elegant and trim. The newspaper is full of talk from The Expediency Council, sanctions, terrorists, and football.
In Tehran we stayed at a hotel on Vali-ash street. Pictures of Johnny Deep (Depp) and Tom Cruise smile back from posters. The street has several cool and relaxing parks scattered along its length. At more frequent intervals are donation boxes - in addition to those on the street are ones in offices and homes. At the North end is Saad Abad Palace, which used to belong to the Shah. The
beautiful house (and the Green Palace) and park are well worth a visit.
Nearby is Darband Square - diners watch mountain climbers go by and listen to the sounds of the waterfalls. The sound of running water is very popular - even featured as a quiet moment on National TV, in between reruns of old serials like 'Ponderosa'. In the parks, couples hold hands or carry a baby, and in the evening families gather for a picnic. There are two lineups for the public buses - women for the back door, and men at the front. Vali-ash is a very long and busy street, the traffic lights have counters which advise motorists on how long it is until the light will change. Despite the high traffic volume, many motorists successfully attempt to make U turns in the middle of the road.
Iranians, who are always courteous and hospitable are masters at negotiating, any request is answered by a look of extreme hurt and pain. Iran is a fantastic place for a visit - food, friendly people, history and beautiful clear blue sky.
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