Our Iranian adventures (continued)

We leave Tehran and continue our journey through Iran towards Turkey. We cross a desert to Tabriz and ride up in the mountains that separate Iran, Turkey and Armenia. All along the road, the legendary Iranian hospitality keeps surprising us.

Route 2 341 253 - powered by www.bikemap.net

We cover the most part between Tehran and Tabriz on the highway. It is a safer option for us, as we can ride on a large shoulder. Part of our route is a desert and we load up ourselves with water and food. There is not much traffic, which is rare on Iranian roads.

 The highway between Tehran and Tabriz is crossing a splendid desert

 

It is easy to find camping spots

Thanks to a plank of wood that was by the side of the road, we can warm up around a fire

Desert crossing



Weekend handyman

In Hashtgerd, we meet Hamid, a teddy bear who drives an old Paykan (Iranian-made car). He invites us for a tea in his kitchen furniture store and offers us to sleep in the shop's shed. He also offers to sleep at his place, but since he lives far away, it's not convenient. On the next morning, he escorts us in his Paykan over a couple of kilometers. By driving at 20km/h behind us, he creates traffic jams on the road, but it does not seem to bother him. Our friend Hamid is like that.




Hamid, the kindest person in the world

We sleep in the shed of Hamid's shop

In Sahin Qaleh, we are hosted by Hadi and his family. We arranged this a few days ago with him at the side of the highway. Hadi takes us with his brothers and cousins to harvest vegetables in his fields. We then eat a sumptuous dinner all together. He gives us the sunflower-seed-grazing virus (which is a national sport in the whole region). 

We should meet Hadi at the entrance of Sahin Qaleh

 

Tomato harvest with Hadi and his cousins

Good vibes at our friend Hadi's place

There is a lot of people in Hadi's family

We are back on the road full of energy and do a small detour to the Soltanieh mausoleum, which is visible from far away thanks to its impressive height.





Soltanieh mausoleum, the world's highest brick dome



A farmer offers us tomatoes

Welcomed like kings in a Red Crescent center

We rest for a couple of days in Tabriz, the last big city before the Turkish border. We make the acquaintance of Ilgar and Nafiseh, who are coming out of their French lesson and invite us for a tea with their friend Neda on the following day. It is the first time that we have the opportunity to talk freely to women of our age in Iran. They talk to us, among other things, about the influence of the religious police in the Iranian society.

Ilgar, Nafiseh and Neda (who perfectly speak English and French) invite us for a tea

Outside of the blue mosque, Tabriz

While we are in Tabriz, seasons change brutally. In a matter of days and a few kilometers, the maximum temperature drops from 25°C to 10°C. This cold wave is a warning. We have to hurry up to leave the mountainous region before winter.


Exiting Tabriz

At the entrance of every town or village, there is a sign in memory of the Iran-Irak war victims (it says: "Lord, please open the path of martyrdom to our beloved ones")

In Marand, we make a strange encounter. Akbar is a collector of bike tourers. He uses a powerful network of truck drivers who call him whenever a cyclist gets closer to the city. This unusual Iranian then leaves his work (his brother replaces him at the shop), hops on his bicycle and ride towards the bike tourer that was spotted by his informants. He takes a picture and writes down the name, citizenship and e-mail address.

Akbar is a hell of a figure!

Akbar's photo album (see it on Facebook) is some kind of register of travelers who crossed the border between Iran and Turkey (he does not miss a single one). We learn that we are the 341st and 342nd cyclist riding through Marand.




It has just snowed... beautiful, but it is freezing out here!

Kyoji, a super kind bike tourer that we met in Qarahziyaeddin

We do a small detour through the Armenian monastery of St-Thaddeus, at the extreme West of Iran. An incredible feeling of serenity is emerging from this abbey, lost in the middle of nowhere and on the UNESCO world heritage list. We are allowed to camp in the garden. Tourists from Tehran offer us tea and fruits as we are pitching our tents.



St-Thaddeus monastery, lost in the mountains between Iran and Turkey

Safe from thieves but not from the cold!

Fine details on the abbey's stones

On the next day, as we are looking for a place to lunch, Esmail invites us to eat at his house. We spend some time at his warehouse (full of tractor parts) chatting with his colleagues, before going to his home where we are treated with an excellent meal. We are back on road with a fruit basket and a bottle of nettle essence (not really useful but we were unable to decline).

Esmail (first on the right) and his colleagues in the workshop

Esmail's daughter shows us how to mimic a wolf with her hands



Feast your eyes on this

It is already time to leave Iran, which would have unquestionably stricken us by the kindness and benevolence of its population. We cannot keep track of smiles, friendly handshakes, invitations for tea, for a meal or for a place to sleep that we had. Many warm thanks to all Iranians for your incredible welcome!

The Iran-Turkey border, with the Mount Ararat (5165m) in the background

Next goal: cross Turkey before winter gets harsher. Indeed, in the Eastern part of the country, temperatures frequently goes down to -50°C. That kind of small things keeps you further on the road.