Thursday, March 8, 2018

First impressions of Iran

Entering Iran at Bazargan on a Fridy evening turned-out to be an excellent idea as there weren't too many people. The  first page of my "Carnet de Passage en douane" was duly stamped, I bought insurance for the Land Roamer, changed money and started driving towards Tabriz.

Up in the mountains, the weather was still overcast, raining and even had snow fleuries. Getting away from the cold was my objective and I had long days behind the steering wheel...

A glimpse of Tehran

Getting to a hotel in Tehran was quite a task. Tehran is a big city of 8 million inhabitants and their driving is quite… “energetic”. Traffic jams are dreadful: cars are stopped for long period of times on the main roads. Before heading further South in my desperate search for warmth, I took the metro to see the mountains in the northern part of town, at the Tabiat bridge.
The Bridge is the largest pedestrian overpass built in Tehran, Iran. The 270-metre (890 ft) bridge connects two public parks—Taleghani Park and Abo-Atash Park—by spanning Modarres Expressway, one of the main highways in northern Tehran. The word tabiat means "nature" in the Persian language.

Tehran Times - March 6, 2018


Day trip in the Maranjab desert

Located close to the ancient city of Kashan, Maranjab Desert is one of the most beautiful deserts in Iran whose golden sand dunes are truly mesmerizing. Deserts in Iran are fascinating not just because of their unforgettable scenery, but also because of their long, ancient, and enchanting history.

The Aran Bigdol salt lake is located on the northern side of the desert


Maranjab Desert's Caravanserai
Being a vast empire, ancient Persia was not easy to cross. And so, there were convenient accommodation facilities on most of the major roads to accommodate the weary travelers. These accommodation facilities were called caravanserais and Maranjab Caravanserai built in the 16th century, was one of the important ones. It was important because it was located on the ancient Silk Road through which the empire's commerce prospered.



With the Land Roamer thoroughly coated with salt, 
a serious power washing of the truck and a grease job 
were ABSOLUTELY necessary...



Next blog : Driving South, towards Queshm is here