Iran, Yazd – Persepolis – Kish

Pretty neighbour at the parking lot in Yazd. / Pentax

Yazd is one of the oldest, still inhabited cities in Iran and is home to the largest Zoroastrian community in the country. Zoroastrianism was the main religion across the Iranian plateau before Islam and it was one of the first religions to have one supreme god. Yazd turned out to be a very interesting and pretty city with its mud houses and narrow lanes, but very hot and with few places to escape the sun with the kids. After another couple of nights at the parking lot of the silk road hotel , we made friends with a couple from Holland traveling overland to Malaysia. They were going to drive north in search for some nomads to camp with since this is the time of the year when the nomads move from the lowlands to the cooler highlands. They inspired us to change our plans slightly and instead of rushing towards Pakistan, we decided to go south towards Kish Island in the hope of bumping into some nomads. Kish Island, we were told, is quite a paradise, where foreign women and men are allowed to swim together without the woman having to wear chador (cover and veil). After four days in dusty, hot Yazd we were longing for the beach and some snorkeling… Costa and Chi would continue with us. We all wander a bit how it will be when we finally separate, now they´ve become like family members…

On our last night in Yazd we camped by the Towers of Silence. This is where the Zoroastrians used to place their dead for the vultures to take the bodies. According to their belief cremating or burying the dead would pollute the air or soil. They stopped doing this in the 60´s and now the 5500 remaining Zoroastrians in Yazd bury their dead in the small graveyard next to the towers.

Camping by the towers of silence, Yazd. /Pentax

This is where Zorastrians used to put their dead. / Pentax

Driving south from Yazd in the lookout for nomads we soon realized that we probably missed them. By this time most of them would have headed further up north, towards Esfahan because of the heat. So with no nomads in sight we turned off the desert road to camp in a small oasis village about 200 km north of Shiraz. We met a very friendly farming family that let us camp on their grounds. After a refreshing, cool night we continued south…

Some curious bikers in Firuz Abad. /Pentax

Friendly farmers. /Pentax

Next stop was Persepolis, an ancient site of the Achaemenid empire. This city was built between 518 BC and 400 BC and was the place where people came to pay homage to the kings during New Year. Persepolis was burnt to the ground in 330 BC by Alexander the great. We camped right by the ancient city, and had a long walk around the magical and fascinating grounds.

Persepolis. / Pentax

We continued further south and given up our hope to find nomads we got to Firuz Abad, where we spent one night by the ruins of Ardeshir´s palace. The ruins show what is thought to be the earliest examples of a squinch, which is what the domes rest on. After a morning wander around the palace, we started our, what was going to be a very hot and sweaty, drive to the coast. With over 40 degrees in the car and warm wind in our faces reaching the coast was like driving into a wall of humidity. The change is quite drastic as you get to the Persian Gulf and as there was no breeze by the sea we were all quite desperate to get into the water. (Pia and Lina still in their clothes however).

Costa and Chi measuring and taking notes of Ardeshir´s palace./ Pentax

Desert, desert, desert... /Pentax

To find out how and when to get to Kish Island took us a day or two and after finally finding a friendly captain with a ship that would take us without charging over price (they don´t seem to be so used to foreigners going to this island by car) we departed Bandar-e-Charak very late at night. We had to wait (for about six hours!) for trucks to load onto several ships before it was our turn to go. An estimated midnight departure turned into three o clock and with four sleeping children and six very sleepy adults we were finally on our way. We all tried to catch some sleep on the boat and arrived to Kish at 6 in the morning. At the port we had to wait for another of couple of hours for the immigrations office to open before we finally were released onto the island.

We soon find out that the so looked forward to foreigners beach had been closed down. Pia and I were now directed to the women´s only beach which is the only place on the island where women are allowed to swim. Not quite the paradise we had thought! Very disappointed it was however quite an experience to go to this beach where security is more strict than on any airport. No cameras or mobile phones are allowed, they search through the bags (and body!) carefully, and guards walk along the surrounding walls with shock guns in case of unwanted intruders. Inside is like any beach apart from the no men bit, and here women are free to wear bikini and no head dress. There is a life guard that whistles very angrily at you if you swim too far out (which Pia and Lina did all the time : ) ) or too close to the edges…

Beach bums! /Pentax

After a couple of days on the island were introduced to the Center of protection & monitoring of sea turtles. Sea turtles come to Kish to lay eggs right around this time of the year. To have a chance to see the turtles we camped by the little hut on the beach where they have guards 24 hours a day monitoring the turtles. Two years ago people would dig up and eat the eggs and they still do if they get a chance.

On the first night we had no luck even though we all stayed up half the night. But on the second night we actually got to see a Hawksbill turtle lay her eggs! It is so incredible to have seen it in real life. For one and a half hour we were watching this turtle digging, laying eggs, carefully covering the eggs in sand and slowly disappearing back into the water. We are now here by the Center of protection & monitoring of sea turtles for the fourth night and we´ve been lucky enough to see one more turtle. Tired however from the lack of sleep (it is now 3:18 and Costa is doing a last search on the beach) we spend the days on the beach or in the cool shopping malls which is not so bad. Today we managed to find a secluded beach with a cove where we all could swim together. (Feeling a bit like criminals however since it is strictly forbidden.) The day after tomorrow we will leave Kish and head for Bam, and Pakistan two weeks later than we originally thought.

By the center of monitoring & protection of sea turtles. /Pentax

Heading back to the sea after laying eggs. /Pentax