With all the family!
The visit to Kerman would have been quite forgettable if it wasn't for the accidental meeting with a taxi driver in the bus station. Now Kerman was one of the most uforgettable experiences in the whole trip. After Kerman, one day visiting the city of Bam made it for a quite perfect 3 days in Southern Iran.
After taking the first Iranian overnight train from Kashan to Kerman, we decided it would as well be the last one. The trip lasted 13 hours, as expected, but the ride was terrible. 6 people cramped in a tiny compartment which was stinky, sweaty, unconvenient... everything but a pleasant ride. Nothing compared to comfortable Chinese or even Russian trains. So now it was clear: the best way to travel in Iran is by VIP bus. B y far.
Anyway, from the railway station in Kerman (as usual far from the city center) we went to the hotel, a quite nice one and with quite decent Internet, which was needed as that day I had a Skype conversation with the students of the second school we have an agreement with: Meeting Point.
Anyway, from the railway station in Kerman (as usual far from the city center) we went to the hotel, a quite nice one and with quite decent Internet, which was needed as that day I had a Skype conversation with the students of the second school we have an agreement with: Meeting Point.
But before the conversation we went to explore a bit the city, actually the area around the bazar. Kerman is a small city which in our case it was the base to go to Bam, some 3 hours away towards the Pakistani border. We just walked around the Bazar area to find out Kerman is actually cute: a really long bazar, some cute square with a mosque... but no pictures this time as it was dark and I forgot my tripod, but anyway not much to show.
Mahan Garden
In the evening we had the Skype video-call, which was really good and the following morning we went to the bus station to try to go and visit Rayen, which is a mudbrick city about an hour and a half from Kerman. The plan was going to Rayen, coming back to Kerman and the following day taking a bus to Bam and staying overnight there. But for the first time in Iran we had problems to find buses.
Normally you just show up at the bus station and there are hundreds of options to get to your destination, no matter if it is a big city or a small village. But this time it was different: there was only one bus going to Rayen at 2 in the afternoon and the last one coming back to Kerman was at 5, so taking into account that the trip takes one and a half hours, it was impossible to get to Rayen and back on the same day. Ok, we skip Rayen, and we'll just go to Bam the following day. Actually the only reason to go to Rayen is to have an idea how Bam was before the earthquake, as both are mudbrick towns (Rayen in a much lower scale) but while Bam was totally destroyed by the 2003 earthquake, Rayen wasn't.
We decided to take a taxi back to the center of Kerman and here was where the amazing thing started. The taxi driver told us a price, we agreed and jumped into the car. On the ride he was talking by phone and all of a sudden he gave me the phone. It was his daughter on the other side who started to ask questions: where are you from, how are you, we can be friends... the typical conversation with any Iranian.
The thing changed when after the taxi ride the driver didn't accept any payment and he said he invited us to his home to have lunch. And this time we agreed. And it was something you can't even imagine. He drove us to his home, introduced us to his wife and his three daughters, one of whom was Hengameh, the one I had been talkimg on the phone earlier and the only member of the family who spoke English.
Normally you just show up at the bus station and there are hundreds of options to get to your destination, no matter if it is a big city or a small village. But this time it was different: there was only one bus going to Rayen at 2 in the afternoon and the last one coming back to Kerman was at 5, so taking into account that the trip takes one and a half hours, it was impossible to get to Rayen and back on the same day. Ok, we skip Rayen, and we'll just go to Bam the following day. Actually the only reason to go to Rayen is to have an idea how Bam was before the earthquake, as both are mudbrick towns (Rayen in a much lower scale) but while Bam was totally destroyed by the 2003 earthquake, Rayen wasn't.
We decided to take a taxi back to the center of Kerman and here was where the amazing thing started. The taxi driver told us a price, we agreed and jumped into the car. On the ride he was talking by phone and all of a sudden he gave me the phone. It was his daughter on the other side who started to ask questions: where are you from, how are you, we can be friends... the typical conversation with any Iranian.
The thing changed when after the taxi ride the driver didn't accept any payment and he said he invited us to his home to have lunch. And this time we agreed. And it was something you can't even imagine. He drove us to his home, introduced us to his wife and his three daughters, one of whom was Hengameh, the one I had been talkimg on the phone earlier and the only member of the family who spoke English.
The Iranian family house where we spent most of the day
The house was really nice, much better than what you expect from an Iranian home. We spent all afternoon there, chatting to the girls, showing them pictures, they offered us more food than we could actually eat and then it came lunch time. We were all sitting on the floor (even if they have tables and chairs, prefer eating on the floor) and when we finished, and after showing us some of their pictures about family trips in Iran and some recent wedding of the family, they said they wanted to take us sightseeing to a nearby place called Mahan. It was Friday so all the family was off and they decided to spend the evening taking us somewhere, so there we went.
We jumped in the car and after haf an hour we were in Mahan, a place with some nice garden and a mosque. They didn't allow us to pay for anything, gave us explanations about everything... crazy, or at least crazy from the point of view of a Westerner, how come a whole family take a complete stranger home, offer food, drink and even go sightseeing whole day? These Iranians are something really special.
We jumped in the car and after haf an hour we were in Mahan, a place with some nice garden and a mosque. They didn't allow us to pay for anything, gave us explanations about everything... crazy, or at least crazy from the point of view of a Westerner, how come a whole family take a complete stranger home, offer food, drink and even go sightseeing whole day? These Iranians are something really special.
Mahan
After the trip, back to their home and more food and drinks. This time we tried Qavoon, some powder you eat which is really tasty! One of the best food in all Iran! Now it was getting a bit late and we told them that maybe it was time to go back to our hotel. Of course they offered us to stay overnight at their place and go with Hengameh next morning to Bam (she is studying Tourism there and was just spending the weekend at home), but we said we had already payed for the hotel and actually it was already too much what they had done for us, so we felt it was time to leave and thank them for all. And that was what we did. We said goodbye to all the family and the father and Hengameh drove us to the hotel, not without driving us around Kerman to see the main sights by car.
Finally they dropped us at the hotel and we said we would meet Hengameh in two days in Bam. It was by far the most rewarding experience in all Iran. Priceless. We had already experienced Iranian hospitality several times, actually every day and even had some wonderful experiences such as with Hossein or Ibrahim in Kashan, but this one was impossible to get better. Totally and absolutely amazing. And the only thing they asked for in exchange was a momento, so I gave Hengameh one of my bracelets. You cannot really have an idea of how Iranian people are until you meet some of them and , like in this case, you accept an invitation to go home. If you ever have the opportunity, just say yes. You won't regret!
Finally they dropped us at the hotel and we said we would meet Hengameh in two days in Bam. It was by far the most rewarding experience in all Iran. Priceless. We had already experienced Iranian hospitality several times, actually every day and even had some wonderful experiences such as with Hossein or Ibrahim in Kashan, but this one was impossible to get better. Totally and absolutely amazing. And the only thing they asked for in exchange was a momento, so I gave Hengameh one of my bracelets. You cannot really have an idea of how Iranian people are until you meet some of them and , like in this case, you accept an invitation to go home. If you ever have the opportunity, just say yes. You won't regret!
Next day, after the Iranian family experience, we headed to the bus station to catch a bus to Bam, just to discover that, like the day before to go to Rayen, there was only one bus at 2 in the afternoon, and it was only 12. How is it, from Kerman there are only buses at 2 in the afternoon or what? Ok, so 2 hours waiting until we could get on the bus. And this one was the worst bus we took in the whole trip. It was driven by a Baluchi guy and apparently his friends, a group of Baluchis smoking and drinking tea all the 4 hours that the trip lasted. Baluchis are people from Baluchistan, the region from Pakistan with Quetta as a capital and also taking a bit of area inside Iran, exactly where we were now, as we were very close to Pakistan. These people look totally different from Iranians and they are all dressed in white baggy pants and loose shirts, quite a strange look.
The bus was full with Baluchis and the trip was quite an unpleasant one, as the driver was driving like crazy, talking on the phone all the time, smoking, drinking tea and every 2 minutes caring about his hairstyle. What an idiot!
Luckily we survived to the trip and we made it safe and sound to Bam. Straight to the hostel (this time Akbar Guesthouse) and we were immediately offered some tea. In the hostel we met two of the few travellers in the whole trip so far. It was Jan and Catherine, a German couple on holidays travelling around Iran. They were really nice and we spent almost all the time in Bam with them.
The bus was full with Baluchis and the trip was quite an unpleasant one, as the driver was driving like crazy, talking on the phone all the time, smoking, drinking tea and every 2 minutes caring about his hairstyle. What an idiot!
Luckily we survived to the trip and we made it safe and sound to Bam. Straight to the hostel (this time Akbar Guesthouse) and we were immediately offered some tea. In the hostel we met two of the few travellers in the whole trip so far. It was Jan and Catherine, a German couple on holidays travelling around Iran. They were really nice and we spent almost all the time in Bam with them.
Earthlooping at Arg-e-Bam
First thing we did was going to have dinner with them and with Amir, a local guide they had met that morning in the Arg (the mudbrick citadel). Amir drove us to a restaurant to have some local food (kebab and salad) and we spent there a few hours just enjoying the food and talking. Afterwards, Amir drove us to the Arg to see it by night. It was the first time we saw it and even if it was by night it was impressive. The Arg-e-Bam is the biggest mudbrick construction in the world and until the 2003 12 second earthquake that killed half of the population of Bam, was the most visited place in Iran. Now almost nobody comes here because it is almost totally destroyed (they are rebuilding it little by little) but still it is one of the most impressive sights in Iran.
Then Amir drove us back to the hostel and we agreed to meet next morning at 11 in the morning outside the Arg, as he wanted to take us to a nearby castle from where to enjoy views of all the city.
Then Amir drove us back to the hostel and we agreed to meet next morning at 11 in the morning outside the Arg, as he wanted to take us to a nearby castle from where to enjoy views of all the city.
Me with a worker in the Arg
And there we went. Next morning, we woke up early and went towards the Arg, some 20 minutes walking from the hostel, where we were supposed to meet Hengameh from Kerman at 9, visit the Arg and at 11 meet Amir, Jan and Catherine.
On the way to the Arg you can really see how powerful the 2003 earthquake was. Even if 11 years have gone by, the whole city is still being rebuilt. You see totally ruined buildings everywhere, a lot of new buildings having already been rebuilt, some other under construction... quite a weird sight, as the city is half new half ruined, nothing strange taking into consideration that the earthquake totally destroyed the city and killed some 40000 people.
A special sight is that of a rebuilt school. It was rebuilt using money from the Chinese government, so they built it in a Chinese style, with the traditional Chinese roof, which is quite funny for being Iran.
Once we got to the Arg, we payed the entrance fee and we met Hengameh and a friend of hers. We got inside and started exploring the site, being the only people there besides the workers who are working on reconstructing the whole place. What you see is really impressive. It is a massive mudbrick village almost totally in ruins, with most of the place looking as a pile of mud and stones, but still you can perfectly imagine how the place looked like before the earthquake.
On the way to the Arg you can really see how powerful the 2003 earthquake was. Even if 11 years have gone by, the whole city is still being rebuilt. You see totally ruined buildings everywhere, a lot of new buildings having already been rebuilt, some other under construction... quite a weird sight, as the city is half new half ruined, nothing strange taking into consideration that the earthquake totally destroyed the city and killed some 40000 people.
A special sight is that of a rebuilt school. It was rebuilt using money from the Chinese government, so they built it in a Chinese style, with the traditional Chinese roof, which is quite funny for being Iran.
Once we got to the Arg, we payed the entrance fee and we met Hengameh and a friend of hers. We got inside and started exploring the site, being the only people there besides the workers who are working on reconstructing the whole place. What you see is really impressive. It is a massive mudbrick village almost totally in ruins, with most of the place looking as a pile of mud and stones, but still you can perfectly imagine how the place looked like before the earthquake.
Bam new city, also being rebuilt
We spent 2 hours walking around admiring the whole site, looking at the rebuilding works and even talking with some workers. Even if the place is more than half destroyed, they have already rebuilt some parts, like half of the castle, which looks really nice. It is a place to come back in a few years and see how it looked like in the past!
After the visit to the Arg, at 11 we said goodbye and thanked again Hengameh and jumped into the car with Amir and the German couple. He took us to a nearby castle to enjoy views of the citadel and the surrounding area: the desert, palm trees, mountains... beautiful. Then back to the car and Amir took us to a couple of mosques, one of them really big and to a teahouse to have tea and shisha.
As we were running out of time and we should go back to Kerman to take an overnight bus to Mashhad, our next and final destination in Iran, we had to rush back to the hostel to pick our stuff up, say goodbye to Amir, Jan and Catherine (and set each other to meet again at their home in the German countryside), go to take a shared taxi to Kerman (no Baluchis' bus this time) and jump in a bus that after some 13 hours should drop us in the holiest city of Iran.
Actually it was a pity not being able to spend at least 2 more days in Bam, but our Iranian visa was expiring in a couple of days and we had to go to Mashhad to pick up our Turkmen visa and from there go to Turkmenistan. Anyway, Bam is definitely in the top 5 places to visit in Iran, and even after the earthquake it is a total must to pay it a visit!
After the visit to the Arg, at 11 we said goodbye and thanked again Hengameh and jumped into the car with Amir and the German couple. He took us to a nearby castle to enjoy views of the citadel and the surrounding area: the desert, palm trees, mountains... beautiful. Then back to the car and Amir took us to a couple of mosques, one of them really big and to a teahouse to have tea and shisha.
As we were running out of time and we should go back to Kerman to take an overnight bus to Mashhad, our next and final destination in Iran, we had to rush back to the hostel to pick our stuff up, say goodbye to Amir, Jan and Catherine (and set each other to meet again at their home in the German countryside), go to take a shared taxi to Kerman (no Baluchis' bus this time) and jump in a bus that after some 13 hours should drop us in the holiest city of Iran.
Actually it was a pity not being able to spend at least 2 more days in Bam, but our Iranian visa was expiring in a couple of days and we had to go to Mashhad to pick up our Turkmen visa and from there go to Turkmenistan. Anyway, Bam is definitely in the top 5 places to visit in Iran, and even after the earthquake it is a total must to pay it a visit!
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