Kaloota : A virtual trip to Mars

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Kerman day 3

East of the impressive Payeh Mountains, the mountain range that separates Kerman from the vast and formidable Desert of Loot, (Kavir-i-Loot) lies a little know place called Kaloota. I had never seen the place, or had even heard of it, although I lived for nine years in Kerman. This particular stretch of the desert is quite inhospitable and gets very hot in the summer.

We start early, at 6 Am for the two hour ride to Kaloota. My driver and companion (Qasem) is a very pleasant and fun local Kermani, who is full of jokes and good humor. He is the manager of Amin hotel where I stayed. To get there we have to drive around the mountain, with an initial steep climb into the mountains and then descent into the desert. On the way up we stopped at his orchard (bagh), in Sirj, 40 km east of the city. Sirj is an amazing place. It is another lush and green oasis on the foothills of the mountains with plenty of water. The entire town or village is green and is filled with small lanes lined with fruit orchards (bagh). A small river runs through the village.

We stopped by for breakfast at 645Am. His mother who has 75 lives on the property and takes care of the place. The orchard is filled with fruit trees, figs, pomegranates, walnuts, cherries, grapes. The house is charming and very modest. A few simply furnished rooms, opening into a divan, face the garden. A cow that has recently given birth provides the fresh milk for breakfast.

His mother appears much younger than her stated age, who is equally pleasant and welcoming. After a brief stroll through the garden and tasting of for the fruits, we sit in the main room, where tea is being brewed on a kerosene stove. The breakfast is simple; it consists of fresh bread we bought on the way, milk, eggs and tea. As we eat a small thin-looking kitten, named Maloos, peeps into the room from the divan asking for food.

After breakfast we head out to Kaloota. By this time we have left the great Iranian Plateau and now are at 500 m above sea level. The few oases we see on rood only survive with irrigation (qanats) tunnels dug deep into the ground from foothills of the surrounding mountains. The greenery is comprised of date and palm tree plantations.

The weather as we head in is perfect, 75 deg F, with little humidity. Before heading into the Kavir, my guide, Qasem, stops by the police station, whose chief happens to be his high shcool friend. As a safety precaution, he tells him that he is taking a local tourist in to the Kavir. Ordinarily, if a foreign born tourist ventures into to the desert they insist on escorting them, but they made an exception in this case. The concern is that the area is occasionally frequent by opium smugglers who use it as a hiding or storage spot for opium which is heading from Afghanistan to Europe.

The landscape of Kaloota is nothing short of spectacular. It some areas thousands of large cone-shaped mounds of mud and sand are seen in the seemingly endless flat desert, not harboring a single plant. The soil is reddish in color and is of the type that is perfect for pottery. There is a constant flow of wind which is the only sound that you hear. As we head in deeper, the mounds turn into mini mountains. They the appearance of having been delicately carved by the perpetual wind; they appear as a forest of skyscrapers of varying shapes, made of sand and mud.

We take a detour deep into the desert, leaving the main road, following the tracks made by vehicles gone before us. My concern was running into drug smugglers, Qasem's concern was getting stuck in the mud. We briefly camp in a shady spot and eat a fresh melon he had picked up on the way. Then I find my way up the highest mountain and take as many pictures as time permits. I take some time up there, gazing the amazing scenery from all directions. With no vegitation in site and the only sound that of the wind, it is as though you are in a different planent.

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Photos

Kaloota
Dasht-i-loot

Kaloota
Heading into no man's land.

An Oasis in the Kavir of Loot
Partially restored castle in a near by oasis. In the backgournd you see a date plantation.l

An Oasis in the Kavir of Loot
A patch of irrigated land.

Sirj
The srtream that runs thru Sirj, in the sping the stream turns into a small river.

An Oasis in the Kavir of Loot
Remains of a fort/settlement near a date plantation.

Qasem
Figs right off the branch.

Orchard at Sirj
Sheltered alcove in the yard covered by branches of grape trees from which hang ripe grapes.

Orchard at Sirj
Lunch spread.

Orchard at Sirj
Qasem and his mother.