Methuselah On The Move - Update 13 (Caspian Sea Loop)

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Caspian Sea loop: Tehran-Klardasht-Chalous-Anzali Port-Masouleh-Rasht-Tehran

Here it is the end of the first leg of the Caspian Sea Loop. We arrived in Chalous this afternoon. The city is located on the shores of the Caspian Sea. This evening whilst walking down along the beach I said to Emir that if somebody 10 years ago had said one day you will be standing by the Caspian Sea, I would have asked them what they were on. Back then I never thought I would travel as much as I have. I guess I have Carol to thank for that, she was the one that finally convinced me to go back to Vietnam in 2003. I don’t know if she realized the beast she had let loose. But then again maybe she did, we had planned on travelling, whether to such exotic places as I have been who knows.

Thursday 10^th October:

Today was a fairly leisurely day driving from Tehran to Chalous, probably about 250 miles (left my map in the car). The scenery along the drive can only be described as spec-bloody-tacular. It really was. We were driving through a pass (one of three that connects the areas north and south of the Alborz Mountains. The road zig-zagged up one side and down the other. When we got to an area where the valley/gorge widened out we struck a new freeway, which according to my map is planned to be completed through to Tehran. If the freeway follows the route of the existing road it would be a shame as the character of the gorge and scenery would be destroyed.

There were quite a few tunnels we had to go through, including one which used to be called the Reza Shah – however since the Revolution Reza Shah is one of those Shahs deemed Un-Islamic therefore is not to be referred to. Reza Shah was a close friend of Kamal Ataturk (1^st President of Turkey) and wanted to emulate what Ataturk had done in Turkey – make his country a secular state. Because he advocated equal employment for women and declared that they didn’t have to wear the Hijab he got on the wrong side of the clerics and conservative politician who unsuccessfully tried to destroy him. The tunnel was dug over 80 years ago, by hand. To get some idea of the complexity it is 2 kms long. I think locals still refer to it by its old name.

On the trip down we did a planned side trip to Valasht Lake near a small town/village Kelardshart. The town is a rural backwater, but also a fairly popular tourist town. There are a lot of “chalets” and small hotels in the area. The road to the lake is a bit rough, you wouldn’t believe it was a top tourist attraction for Iranians. Whoa! Better go back a bit again. Chalous is very popular with Iranians for holidays. It is also popular with Tehranis with some making a weekly or monthly trip up to the Caspian. The narrow road we negotiated is extremely busy during holiday times and the normal 3 hour trip can take over seven. Chalous is sort of like Batemans Bay for Canberrans. The rubbish lying around is appalling, as was the rubbish along the gorge road. This is the first real litter problem I have seen in Iran and is reminiscent of rubbish lying around in other parts of the Middle East and Asia.

The lake despite the rubbish was quite a pretty place. It is high in the mountains and surrounded by high peaks. The water is a nice shade of turquoise. However due to the overcast skies it was difficult to capture it on film.

By coming across the Alborz Range, we entered a different world. One that is green and lush, and wet and humid. Other Iranians come here as they are intrigued by the amount of rain that falls. The vegetation varies (obviously) but we went up on a cable car to the top of a mountain overlooking Namak Abrud (a suburb more or less of Chalous). The vegetation at the top is wet temperate rain forest. Charlie (as opposed to the bear), climbed to the top of the mountain (well OK rode the cable car up) to see what he could see. Nothing except mist and cloud. In the mountains whenever we went above a certain height our heads literally speaking were in the clouds. However the first 2/3rds of the ride up gave spectacular views across the narrow coastal plain and across the Caspian. I’m sitting here with the door open listening to the waves crash on the shore.

The hotel I am staying in is the Parsian Azadi Hotel at Namakabroud (I told you there was no consistency in place spelling here and I’m taking this spelling off their door key). It is rated at 5 Star but I’m wondering whose stars. When built it would have been superb but time seems to have caught up with it. It needs a good renovation: carpets are a bit threadbare and falling apart; plumbing and bathroom fittings rusting and coming off the walls; lot of mildew on the outer walls. Emir says that it is Five Star and the prices are treble those for a Five Star Hotel in Esfahan. Then the place is popular, so unless you are forced to why spend money I guess. A number of hotels I have been staying in whilst touring Iran are in the Parsian chain.

Tomorrow Friday we head west along the southern shore of the Caspian. Our destination is Bander-e Anzali (Anzali Port) which used to be called Bandar-e Pahlavi until the Revolution. The Pahlavies were the last royal dynasty in Iran. The ones removed by the student’s revolution. You know the one that saw the US Embassy taken over.

During the drive today I was mulling things over. What had I gained from my visit to Iran? Was it worth coming? What are my impressions? What is the future for Iran and its people? A lot of questions, some of which are easy to answer, which with my time here winding down I will try and answer or at least discuss.

I think the first thing that has struck me is the reinforcement of something I already knew and tried to pass onto people at home. The Iranians are very friendly, courteous and kind. They enjoy meeting foreigners. Throughout my tour strangers on the street came up to emir and asked where I was from. When told they held out their hand and said welcome I hope you enjoy your time in Iran (either in English or via Emir). They are also helpful and if asked something and they don’t know apologetic. Two examples of how people reacted to me: a group of young lads early in the tour (in Tehran) asked Emir where I was from. When told their reply is he is very lucky, he has freedoms. Emir asked them how they knew that and they replied we have read it. Freedom was a recurring them in discussions with people. The second example happened two days ago in Damghan. We went to a site called Pir Allander, a “tower” near the Jameh Mosque. As I was strolling back to the car I passed a small corner shop (quite a poor one) and the owner, an aged gentleman spoke to me. I put my hand on my heart and said sorry English. Emir came up and told him I was from Australia, he shook my hand a second time. When we started to leave the old guy dived into a box of cucumbers and a box of apples and gave each of us one of each. He would not accept payment. I was truly touched as I don’t think his shop was a big money earner. I guess that what I am trying to say is that despite the bad press in the west, Iranians are dammed nice people. OK their leaders are not the most appropriate but are we any different. I will go onto the political scene later, but suffice to say that under the new guy Rouhanni there is a feeling of optimism running through the country, especially those who are too young to have taken part in the revolution.

That’s all for this part of the tome. Meeting Emir for dinner and I need a shower. We have been told that the hotel restaurant has seafood on its menu. When asked, reception said yes we have trout and Emir said no fish from the sea: yes, yes was the reply. I wait in anticipation and will report back the outcome tomorrow.



Friday 11^th October:

Today we travelled along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Couldn’t see much because of buildings etc. The area is pretty much like many coastal places – over built and over populated. In retrospect I feel that I should have followed the original itinerary which was to go from Tehran to Gorgan and back. Persian Tours said that the better route was to head west from Chalous. OK there is some nice country and scenery, but I feel my interests would have been better fulfilled by heading east. Ah well! No use winging.

During the drive I noticed that there were a lot of differences between the part of Iran south of the Alborz Mountains and that to the north along the Caspian. To begin with – the people are different. Almost a mix of Turkic, Azerbaijanis, Russians. They look different and apparently speak a mixture of Farsi and Turkic. They also behave differently, almost appearing to thumb their noses at the Mullahs in Tehran and Qom. Over the last couple of days I have seen a number of women without headscarves. The clothes worn by the women are also much brighter as is the Hijab. Again most women wear it pushed to the back of their head. I mentioned to Emir that I had noticed that the style of building in the Caspian area is very different to the rest of Iran. My opinion was that there was a very strong Russian or south-east European influence. Emir thought SE European.

Our drive was from Chalous to Bander-e Anzali which is the major Iranian port on the Caspian. When we got to Anzali we had a look at the “Clock Tower” which I was told is a must. Well almost a must. It is difficult to get a perfect view of it due to a large number of tall buildings around it. One old gentleman that Emir chatted to blamed the Mullahs for allowing rich people to build what and where they like. He said the harbor front was much prettier before the Revolution. This was a recurring theme in conversations: you either liked the results of the Revolution, or you loathed them – no middle ground for the majority.

The Clock Tower was most interesting and was a lot older than it looked. Originally it was a minaret – tower for fire or light. In other words a lighthouse. The tower overlooks the Port which was fairly busy. There were a number of ships (small coasters) loading and unloading. The majority of the trade is with Russia. There is also a sizable Iranian Naval Base in the harbor. During our visit I noted about four large gunboats (very modern looking) and a large number of smaller patrol boats. There is also some shipbuilding going on – I noted one new Gunboat fitting out.

As part of the day we took an unscheduled trip to the wetlands behind the city. Emir did tell me the names of the two rivers but I can’t remember. The wetlands used to be teeming with bird and wildlife. The water was also once clear and clean enough to drink and make tea with. Now it is polluted and infested with a weed that was brought in from Vietnam as fish food. The boatman passed the blame for the deterioration to (no not Genghis Khan) the Mullahs and the Revolution. Seems to be a common thread here: anything that has gone wrong – blame the revolution.

On the way west we were passing through a town called Longaroud when I saw a road sign (quite small) saying Adobe Bridge. Not passing a chance to see a bridge I mentioned it to Emir. He looked for the sign but saw a billboard advertising something – had a picture of a bridge on it. I said no that wasn’t the sign – head down this road. We did and near the markets (actually the Fish Bazaar) was an old brick bridge. Emir read the explanation sign to me (it was in Farsi). The bridge was built during the Safavid Era making it over 400 years old. According to the explanation 450 years ago there was reputedly a timber bridge on the site. The bridge underwent repairs during the Gajar Period. The sign wasn’t forthcoming with more accurate dates. The bridge was a lovely little structure with the deck 9.7 metres above the water – built high so boats could travel under it.

So that was todays adventures, well not quite! After finishing in Anzali Emir asked what I wanted to do. I said go to the hotel – checked my itinerary and said the hotel is in Rasht. We drove to the hotel and on arrival reception said no booking. Emir checked by phone with Persian Travel and they said no the hotel is in Anzali. So back we went to Anzali, luckily it was only 30 km away. I’ve now been over the same piece of road four times. Most of the day traffic was light as its Friday – prayer day. Tomorrow will be a work day so I don’t know what the traffic situation will be. We return to Tehran tomorrow and Emir doesn’t want to arrive before 18:00. He wants to be able to drive straight to the hotel and not muck around with taxis. Once back in Tehran the tour ends. I fly to Dubai on Sunday morning.

I’ now going to head to bed. Didn’t sleep to well last night and had an attack of IBS during the night. Am a bit buggered.

Oh! The route for tomorrow will be from Anzali to a village called Masouleh (on UNESCO World Heritage List), which is 1000 years old. We then head to Tehran via Qazvin – hey guess what I will get to see the Mosque with the odd roof after all. Emir says we have plenty of time so if there’s anything I want to see on the way just let him know. He’s a good lad and does, or is willing to do private tours. He says he will also offer advice to people wanting to visit Iran.



……… and Onwards!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Okay all, I’ve skipped a day but will go back shortly. I’m in Dubai in the UAE. All yesterday was thinking tomorrow Dubai and you know what that means: (in deep throaty voice) BEER for Charlie. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I get here and there’s a notice in reception – due to the Holy Day of Wakfat Arafa the bar will not be serving alcohol. F***! Hang on a minute, what about the mini bar in the room? When I get back to the room after a shopping trip (more later) I check out the mini-bar. YUCK! No they can’t do this to me FOSTERS. Hang on what that hiding at the back? Thank Allah for small mercies – two cans of Stella Artois. After consuming one, a long shower in decent water pressure, sank another Stella (only Fosters Left) and went to dinner. Saw a restaurant on the way to the hotel (about 2 blocks way) couldn’t help myself. Went down, it was actually a fast food sort of place but the meal was tasty. Anyway I’m now sitting here sipping on a bottle (small one) of Lindeman’s Shiraz-Cabernet 2010. Not too bad, but after a drought whose complaining.

Anyway back to Iran.

Yesterday, Ummmmm! Oh Yeah Saturday 12 October

We headed off from Anzali without too many hassles and headed to the village of Masouleh. What a charming little place (if you ignore the tourist trappings). Once you get to the village roads are limited. Most of the place is accessed via footpaths, with many of the footpaths being the roofs of houses on the next level down. The forecourt in front of the Imamsadeh Mosque is roofs of a number of houses. Most of the very old building have been turned into shops and tea houses. There were a number of old people living in the area of the shops and you had to feel sorry for them – being gawked at by tourists. One old lady sitting out on a porch in the sun obviously had some mental disorder as she was crying out. At first I thought it was a child inside the house. Saw another fore shortened person again. Must be in the gene pool as I saw a couple in Istanbul and the one in where was it now? Can’t remember – Isfahan?

According to the guide books and UNESCO the village of Masouleh dates back 1,000 years. According to the locals there has been a village on the site for the last 2,500 – 3,000 years. There apparently was a Zoroastrian Fire Temple in the village in pre-Islamic times. Most believe it is buried under the Mosque. The Arabs tended to knock down the fire temples and replace them with mosques on the same site.

After Masouleh it was onto Qazvin and my appointment with a mosque with a Mogul Style trim. As we stayed in Masouleh longer than we both expected we got into Qazvin late in the afternoon (15:45) with the sun getting low in the sky. We got to the Jameh Mosque which is the largest in Iran and an absolutely wonderful building. Don’t know why Lonely Planet says Qazvin is not worth visiting. This building had the same trim as was supposed to be on the other mosque, the Nabil (Shah) Mosque. Again after the revolution anything with a reference to the Shah was renamed. This later mosque was accessed via the narrow alleys of the Bazaar which in itself is well worth a look. I somehow think the authors of the Lonely Planet book didn’t do accurate research with regard to Qazvin.

If the Jameh Mosque was wonderful, the Nabil Mosque is outstanding. It really is a magnificent piece of work which illustrates several periods of Islamic architecture. Emir, who is not a strict Muslim, claimed it was probably the most outstanding mosque he has ever been in. It really was perfection, except in Islamic architecture there is no such thing. Only Allah is perfect and in structures such as the mosque there is a flaw built into the design so that it is not perfect. Emir was surprised when I spotted the flaw and pointed it out to him. He hadn’t noticed it.

By the time we finished it was almost dark and we had to push on. A great pity as there were several more places in the city worth a look. A really good look. Inshallar! Next time!

We hit the road again and made a quick stop for CNG. Quick! We were about 10^th in a cue. I know the spellings wron! By the time we had refueled the line was backed up about 300 metres. It was the last CNG place before Karaj about 30 km from Tehran. We finally got to the outskirts of Tehran at about 19:30 and I thought were going to be at the hotel by 20_30 at the latest. Nope! First we had to pick our way through the traffic. Yes we got to Tehran after 18:00 and we could drive into the city. So could everybody else in Tehran who had odd numbered plates. It was chaotic. Then we hit a traffic jam which turned out to be caused by a guy in a suit carrying a radio berating a couple of young guys, one who looked scared. Emir said the guy doing the shouting looked like a basilij (I don’t know how to spell it). These are the guys who are occupying the old US Embassy and believe it is their duty to defend the revolution. Their motto is: If the Ayatollah says it – it’s law. No argument. I said to Emir they wouldn’t last long in Australia. When he asked why I said they’d have the shit kicked out of them. Emir laughed and said they did during the demonstrations after the last elections. Apparently several hundred ended up in hospital. In other words they’re not nice guys.

Then we had to contend with the whim of Emir. We had cleared most of the traffic and got onto a free flowing Expressway. The road cleared after the point where no trucks or pickups were allowed past. Emir asked me if I’d seen such and such. I said no – he said I had to see it (In the Dark!). So we left the expressway and ended up in a carpark. Took us about 45 minutes to cover 2 km. The pedestrians were leaving us for dead. When we got to the place he wanted to show me – very nice another concrete missile (built by the Shah) and not well lit. OK so off to the hotel via another carpark. Emir said he knew a better route which is to the right. SO off we went around this huge roundabout (and I was thinking – if we’re going to the right hadn’t he better get into the right lane). Nope, Emir got trapped in the left lane and we ended up back where we started. Around the roundabout again, and I’m thinking – there’s a 150 metre gap beside us, if he changes lanes (across three actually) we’ll be right. Nope didn’t change lanes till the last minute and we had to barge our way across three lanes of traffic.

We got to the hotel at 21:00 and I was dead tired. I must say traffic in Tehran, if not most of Iran, is chaotic. In fact a free for all. A huge game of chicken. The faint hearted get left behind. Which reminds me the drivers don’t care what’s happening behind them (or in front for that matter). I noticed that if they suddenly change lanes and barge through they are oblivious to the carnage created behind them.

After dinner (which is a story in itself) I was so tired I hit the sack.

Sunday 13^th October

A very early start – Emir wanted to be away to the airport at 06:00, to get me to the airport three hours before departure. I misread the time – thought it was 10-10. It was 10:40. So I had to kill a couple of hours at the airport. At Tehran Airport there isn’t much to do. Then the flight was delayed. Once we were airborne, I flew Emirates, things settled down to normal. The flight was very comfortable and the attendants excellent. Mind you there were 12 of them and the aircraft only 25%!l(MISSING)oaded. The pilot, when he came ion the speaker, turned out to be Seth Efrikan. There were also a number of Kiwis on the flight. When we were lined up to board I heard this NZ accent and turned round and said – bloody hell you can’t get away from Kiwis. A women standing with them said - sadly that’s true. She was an Aussie living in NZ. Turned out she used to live in Gunning and commuted to work in Canberra for 16 years.

Arrived in Dubai (at a different terminal this time – services Emirates) and moved speedily through Immigration. Not as many hassles this time. Mind you the talking across the room to mates still went on. After immigration and baggage collection I was approaching the customs area and there was a blonde standing there in a red suit holding a placard with my name on it. She directed me to a desk off the side where I was given instructions as to where I had to go for my transfer to the hotel. The whole operation went like clockwork. I arrived at my hotel by about 14:30. Once checked in I had to shoot out to do some shopping.

Spoke to the concierge who said the Dubai Mall was the closest. The biggest shopping Mall in the world. So I hoped into a taxi and went there. The place was not packed but well patronized - both locals and tourists. I did my shopping couple of new shirts and sandals (OK and a silly hat). OK so now I’ve done my first tourist thing in Dubai – shopping in the world’s biggest mall. Didn’t take any pics. Didn’t take my camera. Sorry people but I just can’t get excited about a shopping mall even if it has: an ice-skating rink; a waterfall; and aquarium (with sharks and two scuba divers cleaning the glass); a faux Souk (bazaar). Sorry, it’s just a shopping mall. The taxi fare over was 10 dirhams (about AUD3 give or take). To get back to the hotel I took the cheaper option – I near on walked half of it getting to the station. I took the metro the two stations back to the hotel and found out I had to walk back one, as it was only one station I had to go. Bloody tourist maps – not very accurate.

The Dubai Metro is new and still under construction. It is very similar to that in Singapore except the Dubai one is above ground on elevated tracks. As with Singapore – no drivers – computer control. Saw another sign which I thought was a restaurant but have been informed by the concierge (nice black girl on the evening shift) that it’s not a restaurant, it’s a bar. Give it a go tomorrow and report back in the next blog.

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Photos

Tehran to Chalous
The Karaj to Chalous Road - a tortuous route over the central Alborz Mountains. The route has high frequency traffic, especially on holiday as Chalous is a popular destination for Tehranis.

Tehran to Chalous
Yep we're heading down there.

Tehran to Chalous
The narrowest part of the gorge. Note the rock overhang of the road. In places the undercut was much deeper. A great trip.

The Caspian Sea
Contemplating the moment. Who would have thought I would ever stand in the Caspian Sea.

The Caspian Sea
No it's not that cold, but the waves are wetting my trousers (sans legs).

Chalous
Charlie went to the top of the mountain and couldn't see very much.

Chalous to Anzali
An old Kiowa Helicopter - note the gun fittings. The village is the home town of one of the top helicopter gunships pilots of the Iran-Irag War. He's apparently a hero in the eyes of the majority of the Iranian people. Emir did tell me his name. Must chase that up.

Iran
This pic is one of many (literally thousands) that can be found in just about every city, town, village, hamlet, district. I described it as the Cult of the Martyrs. The pics are of soldiers killed (martyred) during the Iran-Iraq War. Emir said that the Iranian people are so used to the posters/pics that they don't notice them any more.

Chalous to Anzali
Longaroud - the very picturesque Safavid Longaroud era bridge. A nice little 400 plus year old bridge.

Longaroud
The fish markets in Longaroud.

Longaroud
Duck Fish. You work it out.

Longaroud
And duck ducks.

Longaroud
Fishmonger at work. The catch was fresh - some where still kicking, and I mean kicking.

Maseulah
I came, I saw, I walked on people's roofs.

Maseulah
A very pretty little village despite the blue tarps.

Anzali to Qazvin
Rice Paddies - not something you would associate with Iran. North of the Caspian is a lot wetter and humid than the other side.

Hazvin
The Nabi (Shah) Mosque. There is an imperfection - but you won't find it in this pic.

Dubai
With a name like that how could you not eat there. A fast food place, then it's namesake eats fast, but tasty.

Dubai
Bastards!