Blogs from Middle East - page 1238

It took around 90 minutes to make it through to the Afghan-Iranian border, to get the most thorough examination we have seen yet. They took two hours to search everything, including sleeping bags, and panels of the bus – and this was only the disembarkation from Afghanistan! The Iran authorities were not so tough, but the whole deal took some 5 hours to complete, including lunchtime. The clocks going back an hour gave us a bit of extra time. The road into Iran was slightly greener, but still of little interest. Many of the signs being only in Arabic made navigation more difficult. We encountered frequent dust-storms, occasional willy-willies and some light rain, our first rain of the trip. We finally reached Mashhad around 5pm and booked into the Darbandi Hotel, which was really expensive, but ... read more

Day 41 - Thursday 23rd March The train arrived in Mashhad in the late morning. The scenery en-route had not been very inspiring - in fact it was bleak. The countryside was mainly desert-like with patches of grass resembling tumbleweed. The villages were mud huts surrounded by mud walls. Some buildings had domed roofs. A significant number of villagers seemed to be digging ditches but it was unclear whether the activity was to renovate irrigation ditches for Spring or more likely to help with the dispersal of pools of flood water. According to our new travelling friend from the University of Shiraz, 1972 had been the worst winter for many years. On our arrival in Mashhad we could see the Golden Temple - the Imam Raza Shrine - but unfortunately once again, we felt the need ... read more

Day 39 - Tuesday 21st March Yet another cold snowy wintry day. Heather is still feeling very unwell and so we will not be leaving Teheran today. As it is New Year, all of the tourist sites are closed and so nothing to do. The day's highlight was a long hot shower (extra fee !) but after it finished it was back to the cold bedroom. I finished my book and wrote some letters to friends in UK. At lunchtime we went to our regular cafe for an enjoyable soup but there seemed to be a slight atmosphere from the staff. Maybe they thought that we spent to little cash but sat at their tables for too long - both true. Once again, no coaches had managed to get through to Mashad due to the heavy ... read more

Day 37 - Sunday 19th March John was feeling very poorly and wanted to find a doctor - according to the hotel desk, a doctor's appointment would cost 200 rials (£1). It was snowing quite heavily but I decided to walk to the Post Office to collect my mail. John had returned from the doctors with his 180 rials worth of medicine including syrup and penicillin. In the afternoon, Michael, Heather and myself headed towards the bazaar. We passed the Golestan Palace which was sadly closed for New Year but you could still admire its decorative beauty by peering through the railings. By this time, the heavy snow had turned to rain and many of the roads were flooded - the bedlam added to by the mad city drivers - my feet were frozen. The bazaar ... read more

Day 35 - Friday 17th March The coach left at a few minutes before 6am. We were given seats at the back. The coach managed a pretty impressive speed and the driver was excellent. The scenery to the border was still snow covered mountains and small poor looking villages of mainly mud huts. The road was virtually empty of traffic. At the border everything was unloaded from the coach and our passports and health certificates were scrutinised by the Turkish side. The Iranian border guards declared that Michael's visa was invalid which was annoying as all three (Michael, Heather and mine) had been issued at the very same time by the Embassy in London. After a lively discussion, they eventually stamped the visa and let him through. The customs area checked our luggage and added "camera" ... read more