Uzbekistan: Khiva & Bhukara

Situated in the heart of the Great Silk Road, Uzbekistan’s ancient trading cities of Khiva and Bukhara feature a stunning array of historic Islamic architecture. Although both cities were undeniably beautiful to explore, there was something about them that just didn’t quite ‘click’ with me. Maybe it was because I was still feeling sick after my last night in Turkmenistan, or maybe because I was a bit mosqued out, having already seen some of the most beautiful Islamic architecture in the world in both Turkey and Iran. Or maybe just because it was unbearably hot, with temperatures regularly hitting the mid 40sºC. In that kind of heat, you make the most of the shade when you can find it:

Khiva’s most iconic sight is probably the unfinished Kalta Minor minaret, which was intended to be so tall that you could see Bukhara on a clear day (just 450km away). After the king that commissioned it died, it was never completed, leaving an unusually stumpy tower:

Another of the city’s most striking features is the city wall, which surrounds the old city:

After deciding to scale the city walls for sunset, we were told by the security guard that the walls had closed an hour earlier! This being Central Asia, a few dollars ‘tea money’ was paid to the security guard and we made our way to the top to watch the sun go down.

We also took the opportunity for a bit of fancy dress Uzbek style, complete with Central Asia’s obligatory silly hats:

Our hotel bathroom also sported this superb toilet seat cover:

Bukhara meanwhile is Uzbekistan’s holiest city, with the city littered with mosques, madrassas and minarets. It’s fair to say that we were getting really quite mosqued out by this point, so we perhaps didn’t explore as much of the city as we could have. But the world cup was on late at night, so it was the perfect excuse to get boozed up on outrageously cheap vodka, Uzbek style. This is the result:

The next day, sporting a stinking hangover, I was not impressed at the prospect of looking at more buildings, when all I wanted to do was sleep:

But you’re only in Uzbekistan once, and we soon met this fantastic group of ladies just outside the city’s Ark who lifted our spirits! Unfortunately the photo doesn’t quite do justice to their amazing collection of gold teeth:

Feeling progressively better as the day went on, we mustered up just enough energy to explore the city and see its collection of Islamic architecture, including my favourite the Chor Minor:

With a craving for Western food after days of terrible Uzbek food, Matt, Jenny and I went looking for a good pizza restaurant that was rumoured to be near our hotel. After finding it in a shopping mall on the edge of town, we were gutted to find that the restaurant was closed that evening for a private birthday party. But just as we were about to leave, the father of the birthday girl invited us in, where the restaurant had been converted into a disco and we were greeted by the sight of 40 Uzbek teenagers dancing to Lady Gaga. The girls wore cocktail dresses while the guys just wore tshirts and jeans and a very surreal meal ensued, complete with Uzbek party games and some very interesting dancing. It was great to see the kids having such a good time and it was great of the family to even allow us in – if a British family had booked a restaurant for a private birthday party, I doubt very much that they’d let a random group of Uzbeks in for a meal!

Next stop Samarkand, home to…wait for it…some of the most impressive Islamic architecture in Central Asia!

The Aral Sea…Or Desert?

After crossing the border into Uzbekistan, we headed north towards the Aral Sea, scene to one of the planet’s worst environmental disasters.

Formerly the world’s fourth-largest saltwater lake at 68,000 sq km (about the size of the Republic of Ireland),the Aral Sea has been steadily disappearing over the last 50 years after the Soviet Union diverted the two main rivers that fed it to irrigate the nearby desert in order to grow cotton. The sea is now less than 10% of its former size; these NASA satellite images give some indication of the extent of the damage:

This has destroyed the once-prosperous fishing industry in the area and brought widespread unemployment and economic hardship to the towns that used to sit on its shores. Nowhere is this more apparent than the town of Mo‘ynoq in northern Uzbekistan.

Once a prosperous fishing village, Mo‘ynoq is now over 100km from the edge of the sea, and where there used to be water, there is now desert. Evidence of the town’s former glories litter the ‘shoreline’ of the town in its very own ship graveyard:

The insanity of the situation was captured perfectly in this sign as we entered the town:

Of course as it was a sea, it was only right that Malc went for a swim, and I had a go at ‘playing Leo’:

But unfortunately, it’s not a joke for the residents of Mo‘ynoq. As the waters have receded, they have left behind huge deserts covered with salt and toxic chemicals from weapons testing, industry and farming. With no protection from the wind, this toxic dust blows through the town and others like it across the region and has led to high rates of cancer and lung diseases in the local population. The retreating sea has affected the health of almost 5 million people throughout the region.

Shockingly, up to 75% of the water that was diverted for agriculture evaporates in the desert before reaching the cotton fields – they’re deserts for a reason and surely no amount of cotton can make up for the devastating health effects on the people!

The future of the region isn’t looking particularly hopeful either. While successful work has been done in Kazakhstan to restore part of what is now the North Aral Sea, Uzbekistan seems to have no interest in restoring the South Aral Sea, instead choosing to explore the newly created desert for oil and gas. It’s criminal really.

Konye-Urgench & The Uzbek Border

Our last stop in Turkmenistan was the town of Konye-Urgench. Apparently it was once the centre of the Islamic world, but I won’t bore you with the history of the place. The locals seemed surprised to see foreign tourists there as well they should; I didn’t find it particularly interesting and most sites were closed. It did have a nice minaret though, as well as an archway that used to lead to something but doesn’t anymore, that Matt and Cindy liked taking photos of:

Following our visit, we made our way to the border with Uzbekistan, where we drove past numerous billboards where President Berdimuhamedow championed the agricultural prowess of Turkmenistan:

Although not quite as strict as the Turkmenistan border had been, the Uzbek border guards still don’t make life easy for people entering the country, with plenty of questions and forms to complete. This time we had to declare the exact amount of currency we were bringing into the country, and were told that if we left with more, it would be confiscated (!). No withdrawing extra $USD in the ATMs then!

With plenty of time to kill at the border, I had time to reflect on the last 5 days and finally getting to experience the craziness of Turkmenistan, one of the last remaining ‘true’ dictatorships and a country unlike any other in the world. After wanting to visit for almost 10 years, I had ticked Ashgabat and the ‘Door to Hell’ from my bucket list…

At least I would have reflected on this, had I not been vomiting in the flowerbeds outside the toilet block as I couldn’t even make it inside. I’d been violently sick the night before and all I wanted to do was sleep, but couldn’t even manage that as we were ushered through the various checkpoints of the land border on foot. Eventually we made it back to the truck, safely in Uzbekistan (with my carpet in hand – the export certificate worked!) where I could finally rest, happily unaware that my illness would persist for another 3 weeks, throughout my time in Uzbekistan.

But spare a thought for Malc our driver; he was also sick, but while I could sit and feel sorry for myself, he had to speak to border officials throughout and still drive us on the other side!

Thanks Turkmenistan, you’ve been awesome!

The Door To Hell: Turkmenistan’s Gas Craters

Situated in the heart of Turkmenistan, the ‘Door to Hell’ is one of those sights that you don’t quite believe exists until you see it yourself. A huge burning hole in the middle of the blisteringly hot Karakum Desert, hundreds of miles from the nearest civilisation. Looking as though it was selected as the entrance to the underworld by Satan himself, it was one of the things I was most looking forward to seeing in Central Asia and it definitely didn’t disappoint!

Otherwise known as the ‘Derweze Gas Craters’, there are three craters in total. Although their origins are unclear, the common belief is that they came about as a result of Soviet Gas exploration in the early 1970s, when Soviet geologists drilled into a gas-filled cavern, causing it to collapse. One filled with water, the other with mud and with poisonous gas escaping from the third, the Soviets decided to burn off the remaining gas to mitigate its effects on the local environment. They believed it would only burn a matter of weeks but 40 years later and the crater is still burning, making for the mother of all bonfires.

As you’d expect from a massive burning crater in the desert, it’s also pretty hot when you get to the edge, and when the wind blows in your direction, it feels as though your face is melting. But stand back a few metres and it’s not a bad place to have a few beers and take a selfie or two.

The fire crater may not be around for too much longer, as in 2010, the president of Turkmenistan ordered it to be filled in, or for its effect on the country’s gas reserves to be minimised. Luckily this hasn’t happened yet and hopefully wont any time soon!

As well as the fire crater, the mud and water craters are also nearby. They’repretty impressive in their own right, although the fire crater is definitely the most impressive of the three. Seeing it has to be the highlight of my trip so far!

Turkmenistan: Land of Police, Carpets and Horses

Our day spent exploring the bizarre sights of Ashgabat truly was a surreal experience. Not just because I finally had the chance to see a city I’d wanted to visit for so long, but also because we were followed around by Turkmen state TV for much of the day. The country has the third-least free press in the world (after North Korea and Eritrea!), with all media outlets being state-owned and criticism of the government or president strictly prohibited. This was taken from a TV talent show where contestants perform national songs to other students in front of an image of the president:

Clearly then this would be a great opportunity to take part in some state-sponsored propaganda! As we toured the city, cameras were set up  and microphones placed in front of us, giving us the opportunity to tell the world how much we enjoyed the country. All very strange, and I’d love to see the final broadcast!

Turkmenistan is still very much a police state, with photography frustratingly banned from large sections of Ashgabat, particularly government buildings and the enormous independence square. So no photos of the Orwellian Ministry Row, featuring the Ministry of Education (shaped like a book), the Ministry of Gas (shaped like a cigarette lighter), the Ministry of Fairness or the Ministry of Control.  Police and guards are everywhere, popping out of nowhere to tell you not to take photos. CCTV cameras are also on every corner and the only other place I’ve seen that many is in London!

It’s also quite clear that the country isn’t particularly interested in attracting tourism or foreign influence. Our visas were particularly difficult to get hold of and when we did receive them, we were told the exact route and timings we had to take through the country and if we deviated from that, we’d be fined $200 per person! The border was also a real pain; after x-raying our bags, a border guard asked me if I had any guns or cocaine (er…no – what was he expecting me to say?!?), then over the next 6 hours they proceeded to take the truck apart, searching every corner, even opening up and sniffing our spice pots!

Horses & Carpets

The two things Turkmenistan is most proud of is its carpets and its horses. Unless you buy your carpet from a hotel, they are frustratingly difficult to export as they need to be taken to the national carpet museum to be measured, valued and taxed; without this certificate, the carpet can’t leave the country. With only a day in Ashgabat, I had no option than to buy mine from a hotel, where this was already taken care of. Thankfully the one I bought was actually my favourite since starting the trip, featuring a traditional Turkmen design and coming complete with a nifty horse bag:

Although we didn’t see any horses while in the country, we did see a whole lot of pictures of them. The current president of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov is known for his love of Turkmen horses, which I’m told are renowned for their beauty and strength, although the Turkmenistan state media was suspiciously silent when he fell from one in 2013.

The Turkmen people themselves seemed to be a mix of super-hospitable and suspicious. They are known for their hospitality and this fruit seller for instance insisted I take a bag of apricots for free and was genuinely offended when I offered to pay. Seemingly the old Cold-War attitudes still run deep though as a lot of the other locals we encountered were very suspicious and a lot less friendly

To be honest though, I like my [relative] anonymity and after 3 weeks of everyone stopping to chat in Iran, it was actually a relief to be left alone for a change!

It was also great to be back in a country that sold alcohol! There’s some days when you just want a beer in the evening, and after being in a dry country, the non-alcoholic beer just didn’t quite cut it. With cheap vodka and beer readily available, a nightclub in the basement of our hotel and restaurants that had more than just meat and rice on the menu, we definitely made the most of it!

Ashgabat: The Strangest City In the World?

After leaving Iran, the next stop on our journey was Turkmenistan, truly one of the strangest and most unusual countries on Earth. I’ve been fascinated by the country for over 10 years now, ever since I’d first heard about the excesses of its first president and although I’d often spoken to my friend Jamie about visiting, I never thought I’d actually get the chance to see it first-hand!

Home to the world’s 4^th largest natural gas reserves, Turkmenistan was ruled with an iron fist by President Saparmurat Niyazov, the self-styled ‘Turkmenbashi’ or leader of the Turkmen people.After gaining independence from the USSR in 1991, he became concerned that the country had no real distinct cultural identity of its own, so he decided to fashion one around himself and carried out a series of bizarre reforms across the country including:

• Making his own autobiographical pseudo-spiritual guide to life, the Ruhnama, required reading for all school students and new drivers;
• Renaming the days of the week and months of the year after himself and his family;
• Renaming the Turkmen word for ‘bread’ after his mother;
• Banning long hair and beards;
• Banning television presenters from wearing makeup because he had difficulty in distinguishing between the men and women and because the Turkmen women were already attractive enough;
• Banning lip-syncing at music concerts;
• Banning smoking in public places after he had been forced to quit smoking for health reasons;
• Banning opera, ballet and the circus;
• Banning gold teeth;
• Banning music in cars
• Making all students must wear national dress to college / university

Although Turkmenbashi died of a heart attack in 2006, his legacy is still clear across the country, particularly in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan’s capital city and our first stop.

The historic city of Ashgabat was levelled in an earthquake in 1948, and the rebuilt city now falls into two very distinct areas; the grim, concrete soviet-built old city and the surreal, sparkling new town, with all buildings clad in imported white marble as decreed by Turkmenbashi himself.

Our visit to Ashgabat began with a visit to the Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque, the largest mosque in Central Asia, and home to Turkmenbashi’s tomb. The mosque was a quite unnecessary gift to the town of Turkmenbashi’s birth, as it is large enough to accommodate every resident of the town with room to spare, while the inside of the mosque is not adorned with passages of the Koran as you might expect, but of the Ruhnama, Turkmenbashi’s autobiography! There is even a massive, slightly trippy replica of the Ruhnama in the heart of the city, which opens on special occasions with an accompanying light and music show.

Next stop in Ashgabat was the Arch of Neutrality. This 95m high monument was built to celebrate Turkmenistan being recognised as the first neutral state in the world and is perhaps the most famous example of the excesses and megalomania of Turkmenbashi, as it’s topped with a 12m high gold-plated statue of the former president that would rotate to always face the sun.

The monument used to overlook the presidential palace in the centre of the city but as part of attempts by the new president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov to dismantle the cult of personality Turkmenbashi had built, has now been moved to the outskirts of the city while the gold Turkmenbashi statue no longer rotates. While Berdimuhamedow may have undone some of the excesses of his predecessor, he has built up quite a cult of personality himself, with pictures of himself in hotels and on public buildings across the country, looking very presidential:

Newlyweds are even required to take official photos of themselves in front of the president when registering their marriage at the ‘palace of happiness’ wedding palace.

*Note this image is merely a representation of how one might propose in front of the wedding palace. No actual proposals took place.

We then had a look at the Ashgabat flagpole, which at 133m high used to be the largest flagpole in the world before North Korea, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan all felt the need to join in the competition and outdo each other:

As we drove around, it was striking just how quiet the new city was. While the old Soviet city had some activity, albeit still not that much, the new parts of the city were deathly quiet with barely any cars on the roads and even fewer pedestrians.

Even the ornately designed and fully air-conditioned bus stops were empty:

We then paid a visit to the independence monument or ‘plunger’ as it’s better known.

Situated in yet another empty park, the tower is surrounded by statues of 27 historical Turkmen heroes and him again, Turkmenbashi

Elsewhere in the city is what we were told was the largest fountain in the world, complete with obligatory Turkmenbashi bust. Clearly it’s nowhere near the biggest and even if it was, the fountain was bone dry:

In a nod to the country’s socialist past, the city also boasts a tiny statue of Lenin sitting atop an enormous, ornate and very central-Asian plinth, with the modernist designed former Archive of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan just around the corner

I also loved this retro Soviet-era phone box. No coins needed and it still had a dialling tone!

Iran: A Few Thoughts

I’ve had a few thoughts on Iran that I haven’t quite managed to squeeze in elsewhere in the blog, so I’ve included them here in this post. This may be updated in the future if anything else comes to me. Not many photos I’m afraid, but here’s a picture of an Iranian mannequin, wearing a traditional chador and monobrow.

Religion & Clothing

Although the country is an Islamic Republic, from what I saw, the people are generally quite moderate in their beliefs, with most shops not closing during prayer times (Friday excluded). In fact, I heard the Adhan, (the Islamic call to prayer) ring out more across Turkey than I did in Iran! Most women also opt for the hijab over the more traditional and all-covering chador clothing (above). Of course there is still a sizeable proportion of the country that’s more traditional, particularly in Mashhad, but a lot of the younger generation in particular will push the clothing restrictions where they can, wearing as much colour and make-up as they can get away with. The below lion is a fairly good representation of this trend:

Food

Oh Iran, this is where you really let me down. I was expecting so much – I really like the Iranian food I’ve tried in London and our first meal, a buffet dinner at the beginning of our stay was so promising. Fresh and pickled vegetables, grilled meats, sauces and fresh bread. I hear this style of food is still eaten in homes across Iran, and the variety of produce available in markets would suggest that. But we didn’t eat at home, we ate in restaurants where all that was served and consequently all we ate for 3 weeks, was meat on sticks served with a mound of rice, or crappy western fast-food; imitation hot-dogs or stodgy deep-pan pizzas, made without tomatoes with a pile of processed meat on top. For a bit of variety, you might have skewered chicken skin instead of chicken, or mutton instead of beef, or a spinach or tomato soup as a side. Some of the kebabs were really good, some weren’t but when that’s all you have, you just can’t appreciate the good ones. Really good rice though (I did like the saffron flavour) and if you got the bread fresh from the bakers, it was delicious! But that’s not enough for me I’m afraid.

Coffee

Apart from one random service station and Tehran which has a decent café culture, finding proper coffee was nigh-on impossible, with 3-in-1 sachets the only thing available. Maybe it’s the sanctions, I don’t know but it’s not good! To be fair though, their tea was pretty good.

History & Culture

If you have an interest in Islamic history and architecture, Iran is a must-see. With over 2500 years of continuous rule, the Iranians have one of the richest cultural heritages in the world. Although it can become quite (very) similar after a while, the mosques and historic sites are beautiful and well-worth spending some time exploring.

Things To Do

Honestly? Not a great deal. Apart from sightseeing, we couldn’t find a lot to ‘do’ by way of activities. Tehran was a lively metropolis, with plenty to do and see to keep you occupied, but with no bars or nightclubs and most locals opting to picnic or eat incredibly late, we struggled to keep ourselves entertained at night. We ended up spending a lot of time shopping or in Tea Rooms and smoked a lot of sheesha / hookeh / qaylan / bubble pipe, which isn’t a particularly healthy way to spend our time!

Final Thoughts

As a country, Iran defies any expectations you might have of it. Rich in culture, the architecture is beautiful, if a little same-y after a while, while the people are warm, welcoming and friendly. As you might expect it can be difficult to find the time to speak to English-speakers in enough depth to really find out about the country, while the food in restaurants truly is terrible. It’s a fascinating country to see first-hand, but I never quite got the feeling that I saw the ‘real’ Iran. I’m sure so much more goes on behind closed-doors that you will never see while staying in a hotel.

If you’re open-minded and interested in experiencing new cultures, I would thoroughly recommend you visit Iran, as there’s nowhere quite like it. If you do, I think the best way to really see the country is to couch-surf, to stay at the homes of regular Iranians, speak to them, see how they live and try their proper, home-cooked food. They might even find you an alcoholic drink or two! Unfortunately this option wasn’t available to us, as current visa regulations effectively ban Brits, Canadians and Americans from travelling independently, as we have to be in a tour group with a nominated tour guide. Iran doesn’t have many Western visitors, especially younger ones, and Iranians are keen to show off the beauty of their country and culture, so stay with an Iranian family and see what the country truly has to offer!

Mashhad: Swimming with Iranians

Apart from visiting Imam Reza’s Mausoleum and the associated religious attractions, there’s not a great deal else to see in Mashhad. This actually suited us quite well though as to be honest, we were starting to get bored with the interesting Islamic architecture and could do with a break. So with a free day and a craving to do something different, Gaps, Matt and I decided to pay a visit to Water Waves Land, the Middle East’s largest indoor water park. Luckily for us it was gents day, as with this being Iran, mixed swimming is not allowed and men and women must attend on alternate days.

After entering the venue, being given a promotional calendar and going through about 7 different ticket kiosks and checkpoints, we eventually made it to the poolside, where the security guards gave us a pat down (no idea what they were looking for) before having a look down our trunks to make sure we weren’t wearing any underwear! Suitably free of underwear, we made our way inside and were faced with the sight of hundreds of hairy Iranian men splashing about in the water.

Iranian men and friends in particular are very forward and tactile and it’s not uncommon to see male friends holding hands or stroking each others faces. It’s just a sign of affection to them, but for a British guy it’s unusual to say the least and over the next two hours, we witnessed an extraordinary amount of dunking and play-fighting, and so much screaming, especially considering there were no women in the centre. Behaviour that would definitely qualify as heavy petting if it was between a man and woman back home! In a particularly surreal moment while queuing for one ride, a group of guys got speaking to us and noting Gaps’ clean shaven chest, one of them pointed at his crotch and asked if he was ‘cut’ there! He definitely wasn’t one to beat around the bush. Or lack thereof; Gaps never did answer the question…

After enjoying the rides for a few hours and being plied with free chocolate bars from a guy in the café that took a liking to us, we got a taxi back into town, driven by a woman. I say that as if it’s a strange thing, only because in Iran it could be. On public buses, men and women are separated, with different entrances and seating areas, however despite its perception from the outside, Iranian society is not as structured and strict as some other Islamic countries. Women are allowed to drive, although you’ll still never see a wife drive her husband around and it was great to see a woman comfortably driving a car full of men around town. It’s just a shame there weren’t more female taxi drivers, as the mini tour and explanation of the city that she gave as we drove through town was more than any of the men ever did!

Elsewhere in Mashhad, we had a look around the bazaar where I bought some traditional Iranian saffron (the best in the world I hear) and where free ice lollies were being given out A really nice gesture, but they were just plain weird– bright green and tasting of roses with frozen noodles inside.

I really wish I had some other nice pictures of Mashhad, but well…there’s just not that much to see that’s not religious. So here’s a picture of traffic, Norm enjoying his last meal in Iran and Matt enjoying his last non-alcoholic beer on our last night of sobriety for some time.

Next stop: Turkmenistan

Mashhad: Iran’s Holy City

Our final stop in Iran was Mashhad, Iran’s holiest and second most populous city. Mashhad translates as ‘the burial place of the martyr’ and almost everything in the city revolves around Islam and particularly the enormous Imam Reza shrine in the centre of the city.

Iran is a predominantly Shia country, an Islamic denomination that makes up less than 15% of the world’s Muslims. Shias believe that the 12 Imams, relatives of the prophet Muhammad, are the rightful heirs and leaders of the Islamic world. These imams all lived between the 7th-9th Century CE and are revered for being sinless. While 10 of the 12 imams are buried in Iraq or Mecca (with the twelfth still to return to Earth and dispense justice to the world), the eighth Imam Reza is buried in Mashhad, where he was poisoned in 817 CE.

According to the promotional literature we were given, Imam Reza was well-known for his generosity, clemency and patience, and ‘paid lots of attention to being fragrant among people’. His mausoleum and mosque is now the largest in the world by size (second by capacity) and has become a place of pilgrimage to Shias around the world who come in their millions each year to pay their respects.

Across Iran, both men and women are required to dress modestly and this is especially important in Reza’s shrine, where women are required to wear a chador (literally ‘tent’ in Persian). As none of our group had these, they were given chadors to wear that looked suspiciously like bedsheets, as Sally can demonstrate:

Although cameras are banned inside the complex, the Iranians all use their phones to take photos…but only when the army of feather-duster wielding security guards aren’t looking:

We had a good walk around the site and it truly is massive, with 7 courtyards and a particularly eclectic museum, featuring a pictorial history of the complex as well as a bizarre selection of stuffed animals, dead butterflies, stamps and banknotes from Iran’s history.

 

The complex was impressive and it was fascinating to see inside a site that clearly meant so much to so many people, but I have to say that I wasn’t a fan. Admittedly I’m not remotely religious and non-Muslims aren’t allowed within large sections of the site including the mausoleum and shrine, the site’s holiest sections, but I just found the sheer size and number of people at the complex took something away from its spirituality. The museum was interesting, but I much preferred the feel of the other more peaceful mosques found elsewhere across Iran!

Yazd: The Desert City

Our  journey to Yazd involved a two-day drive through the desert, and by the time we got there, the majority of our group was either sick or recovering from illness. One of the joys of travelling I suppose! We still managed to find time to play a few drinking games on the truck though (no alcohol of course, this is Iran – press ups were the forfeit!), which led to some of our most enjoyable driving days on the trip, before we camped out in the middle of the desert:

The city of Yazd is still very much in the heart of the desert, where the blistering heat and dry weather have led to the creation of a city very different to any other in Iran. Getting lost in the maze of alleys, wind-towers and MOSQUES in the mud-brick old town is a great way to get a feel for the city:

With the temperature rising, we decided to stop for ice cream in a hotel in town. As we sat down, we were approached by a smartly dressed gentleman, sporting a glorious moustache. With his English skills lacking, he proceeded to show us around the hotel and onto the roof with a series of grunts and noises. ‘hmmm’, ‘yes’, ‘very good’, ‘oh’, ‘ah’ ‘go up’, ‘take photo of me’:

We then travelled to the local Zurkhaneh or gymnasium, where Iranian men train for the Pahlevani and zoorkhanei rituals, traditional forms of gymnastics, strength training and wrestling. Frustratingly, the gym took our money and let us look around, but didn’t tell us that there was no training scheduled for that day for us to see. But not to be disappointed, we made our own fun and had a go on the equipment ourselves:

We also paid a visit to the Zoroastrian ‘Towers of Silence’. With a history spanning over 4,000 years, Zoroastrianism originated in Iran and is one of the world’s oldest religions. Zoroastrians view death as a form of corruption, so would leave their dead atop large Stone towers, where vultures picked the bodies clean, thereby preventing the corruption of the earth around them. As the towers are no longer in use, Matt and I have given demonstrations of how the towers would normally be used: