Honeymoon Around the World » Iran

In Takestan with the family Sajjad

Arpi — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 06:00:53 +0000

We met a motorcyclist, who was wearing a mask. He gave us some grapes.
We became very good friends with Sajjad, he got out his geography book and we showed him the way we had covered already and the way we were planning to cover.
I covered a page in Sajjad’s exercise book with drawings and writing for him to keep as a memory.

Later the other members of the family arrived.
We learned that unlike all other parts of the world the thumbs up sign has a very rude meaning.

When we said good-bye to Sajjad we made him promise to go on learning English, attend school diligently and persistently and go on with his studies at university just like his brothers. And of course if he happens to come to Hungary at any time in his life, he ahould by all means visit us.
Mohammat accompanied us for the first 40 km dressed as a cyclist from top to toe, as far as the next town, Quazvin.
Zita was very happy with a big mug of capuccino, Pafriz and I ate even an icecream.

Leaving Quazvin we reached the motorway.

Mianeh, Nik Pay, Zanjan, Emidabad – in Iranian villages

Arpi — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 06:00:14 +0000

After Mianeh we rolled down into the bottom of the valley, then crossed two tunnels.
We saw an old stone bridge over the river bed with a collapsed middle.
There were unplastered clay houses with flat roofs by the road.
We arrived at a large open area, the other side of which was bordered by multicoloured stripy hills.
The different coloured rocks formed horizontal strata on the hills.
We stopped for lunch at one of the many roadside rest places.
On top of this we started a slight, but more than 100km long, uphill stretch.

After lunch we turned SE, which put us straight into the wind. On top of this we started a slight, but more than 100km long, uphill stretch. We are struggling with the wind and the uphill.
After the rest we put our shoulders into it for a last time, then at a place called Nik Pay turned down into the village.
Mehmet’s living room was a longish, appr. 30 square meters large room, covered in its entirety with carpets.
There was a gas lamp on the wall.
We ate dinner in the middle of the living room, they put down a cloth, and put a large dish of rice with sultanas and roast meat on it.
Lacking a mutual language, we said our thanks for our food with a „Merci”. They smiled, put their hands on their hearts and nodded. This probably meant „With pleasure, you’re welcome”.
We travelled on towards Zanjan, we decided to turn into the town and have a look.
We stopped at a roundabout in the centre of Zanjan.
We had a kebab in a little shop.
After lunch we got an invite by Mustafa for tea.
The girls of the family have also turned up.
The trucks have travelled in convoy.
We spent hours cycling uphill at 12-15km/hour, into the wind, surrounded by traffic.
We stopped at a roadside rest place.
We ate a kebab with rice.

The heat melted the asphalt under our bycicle tyres.
We saw a „shepherd” herding his cattle on a motorbike.

To the right behind us the Sun disappeared.
Almost at the same moment the Moon rose in front of us on the left.
Zita and Akram’s mother.
Girls and women.

From Tabriz to Mianeh

Arpi — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 06:00:56 +0000

Leaving Tabriz, an incredible number of cars were coming [towards us].
We saw ice vendors along the road.
Later we traveled on a second rate road upward to 2120m.
From here we hurled downward for a short while and coasted to a lakeshore.
At a suitable spot we set up our tent and spent the night there.
In the morning animals went by us; a small boy about 10 years old, was their shephard.
Unfortunately we saw a ditch filled with plastic trash.
We met Wim van den Stok, who is cycling from Australia back o his home, the Netherlands.
When we stopped to have lunch in the early afternoon, a motorcycle band gathered around us at the restaurant located in the middle of the village. They were a happy bunch and were glad to see us.
We ate kebab.
They invited us for tea, and we met a lot of merry children and adults.
Here was the 4000 km elevation sign written also in farsi (Persian writing).
They escorted us to the main road with their motorcross bikes.
The valley where we were traveling remained beautiful.
We were wondering how was it that everything was green around us, but the slopes and mountainsides were dry and bare. Soon we realized that they were irrigating from wells.
Late in the afternoon we reached 4000 kms. Of course we celebrated, and Zita wound her black shawl around her just like a chador.

We met Mohsen, who 20 years ago cycled to Hungary.
This is the cycle that Mohsen used in 1991 to start off to Europe. He went there to preach peace.
Nice family; it was a pleasure to meet them; thanks for everything!!

Arrival in Iran – Integration and making friends in Tabriz

Arpi — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 06:00:30 +0000

Even before getting over the border we got a little foretask of the boundless Iranian hospitality from Mahdy himself, who was returning from his fortnightly holiday.
On the border everybody had their photo taken with us and everybody gate us their telephone number so that we could give them a ring, should we have any problem. The bus journey lasted a couple of hours in Iran.
We arrived at Tabriz at night and found campsite by a policeman.
Our policeman woke us up in the morning, too, and then we got an invitation to tea.
We did not pay enough attention; we did not realize that our bank cards cannot be used in Iran. By the time I got out of the bank, Zita was surrounded by a crowd of about 30 people who all in inquired and wanted to help us.
A kind Iranian person gave us dinner: we got delicious scrambled eggs with lavas.
After lunch we popped round to buy clothes for Zita. We bought very thin, light trousers, a top also made of very light material and a headscarf.
In the Eligoli Park we stopped at a campsite, we got an enormous tent, where we could keep our bikes, too.
We had two beds, two chairs and a table, just that we needed.
There we changed oil in the Rohloff geards.
According to strict regulations.