“So, how did you travel through Iran?” Our itinerary may not have been the most logic to follow, but we had our reasons!
Due to our previous good experience with extending my visa in Shiraz, we wanted to be there again to do the same and that meant taking some routes that we might have done differently if a visa extension would not have been necessary and time wasn’t running out. This allowed us however, to pass twice through Shiraz and Yazd, two cities we both love.

After our first Yazd visit, we continued on to Shiraz with only focus to obtain a visa extension, which we received for three weeks. Once received, we could relax and start preparing the next travels through Iran. This took us east to Kerman via Meymand, trodlodyte city where people still live in caves. Upon entering the village, we noticed a bunch of camper vans on the parking. They had German and Dutch registration numbers. And two minutes later we passed the group on a guided tour. We went on our own tour through the village, being enticed by an older lady to come to her shop, taste some mountain nuts and buy a little something. People were washing carpets, we noticed a school in the village and a guest house. And then it was time for a cup of tea. We took our cooker out of the car, the mugs, flask and while Saeed was starting the cooker, John, a Dutch gentleman from the tour, joined us and offered to bring us some Earl Grey tea. What a treat! We had a delightful conversation and learned about their (organised) journey and shared experiences. Such a warmhearted encounter, we were happy to have met him and are still in touch.

We had another lovely encounter on the road south from west to east. We met James and Monique at a kebab place before Shar-e Babak. We had tea in one place, they stopped with driver and tour guide as this place had been recommended for good food. This day however, they were preparing food for Eid coming up on Sunday, but didn’t have anything to offer this evening. So they were sent away to the kebab place further down the road. As Saeed hadn’t been feeling too well and we hadn’t eaten a good meal yet, we went back on our tracks to find this kebab place and see if they would have food left. And this is where we met this lovely French couple, who invited us immediately to join their table. We had a wonderful conversation about their and our experiences, past and future travels and 4×4 routes through Iran. Fondly we said goodbye when they left, not knowing that we would meet them two more times on our journey! The next day, when leaving Meymand, they were entering the village and the third time in Bagh’e Sharhazad in Mahan where we shared a cup of tea with them and their tour guide Nahid, in the lovely gardens.

Arriving in Kerman had us conclude that it was very quiet on the road, so when arriving in town, we heard it was Eid. And so we attributed the quietness of town on a Saturday afternoon to Eid. However, Eid was only on Sunday. It turned out that Kerman is renowned in Iran for its people being very lazy! On Saturday afternoon, no shop is open. Not even the bazaar! On our way out of town again, in the direction of the park-e mosafer (traveller’s park), we found a restaurant open, which openly was fan of the (contemporary) poets of Iran whose portraits embellished the walls.

The traveller’s park was quite new and well laid out, however, as with most things in Iran, not finished and no quality materials used. It was clean however and had sinks as we are used to. The park attendant was very curious about our experiences with other park-e mosafer, so Saeed had an extensive conversation with him. Explaining that there is a level of care missing; people leaving their rubbish, not putting it in the bin, not cleaning up after themselves, leaving the wash basins filled with their food rests, leaving the toilets in disarray. The parks are free of charge, whereas in Europe you would have to pay to stay on a camping. You cannot truly compare them as a traveller’s park rarely offers showers. Or there had been a good idea to make them, but they weren’t functional, such as here in Kerman. In Mashhad on the other hand, there were showers, which you had to pay for.  Each park has been different, with its own quirks. It seems though that all big cities have a traveller’s park and many Iranians set up their tents, cook their meals and spend the night. The Iranian people are very travelling minded and will pack the blankets, carpet, tent and cooking equipment in and on the car and go for the weekend or a few days to another city they wish to see. Of course, all depends on status, as a certain class of people will never be seen at a park-e mosafer.
Due to Eid and Saeed not feeling 100% , we stayed a few days in Kerman, visiting the bazaar, going to Mahan for the lovely garden and picnic with the locals in front of the entrance, staying a night in the parking of a hotel and enjoying a decent shower, the wonderful sufi shrine in Mahan. A little further out, we visited the Argh-e Rayen, remains of an adobe citadel within city walls, and the eerie landscape of the Kaluts, natural sand castles in the dasht-e kavir, which can become 480m high. The only other place in the world where they can be found is in Utah, USA. Absolutely gorgeous in a rewarding silence.

While on our way to the Kaluts, we stopped in a little village on the way for some kebab. This was the basics of basics how kebab used to be served: with bread, some grilled tomato and a few green peppers. In the old days, sabzi  (herbs) would also be part of the dish, but as this is labour intensive, it seems to have disappeared from every menu card. Way back when, there were kebabis, who served only kebab (grilled meat/poultry/fish), and there were restaurants which served khoresh (stews). These days every locality calls itself ‘resturan’, regardless of what they serve, to great confusion of many visiting Iranians.
We were sitting at a table, a group of four students walk in, who hear us speak English, so one of the courageous young ladies strikes up a conversation with me. Absolutely delightful to exchange some words, share a bit of our story, when the try out doesn’t stop with ‘hello, thank you, goodbye’, which is often the case. When then responding ‘salaam, mersi, khoda hafez’, they never know how to respond!
After having seen the Kaluts at sunset, we drove to the desert camp, which was deserted and too enclosed for us to feel comfortable to stay. We passed another camp, which was not to be found and so a little disappointed to not sleep under the stars, we headed back to the traveller’s park in Kerman for a last night before moving on westwards to pay Yazd a second visit.