Iran 2019

Next day -Kandovan direction

https://www.visitiran.ir/attraction/kandovan-village

https://www.tourismontheedge.com/hidden-places/asia/kandovan-village-iran

















The houses are electrified and have fresh water. People peel walnuts and pistachios in virtually every yard.

We take few photos and we head towards the Ali Sadr cave. Standard, refueling, food etc.

It is 30 degrees in the sun but at an altitude of 1600-1800 m above sea level we freeze.







It starts to get dark, more and more cars are going on the road, there is probably a festival full of flags, people pray and sing, we decide to find a hotel on the way and attack the caves in the morning.



Motorways: the maximum capacity of motorbikes is 250cc, but 90 percent is 125-150 under a Honda license, hence the ban on motorcycles on motorways. Some sections are paid and there are gates, due to the ban on motorcycles, there are no charges for them, so you enter for free.

There are a lot of police with radars on express roads and highways (the average every 15-20km), there are signs before each check, so everyone slows down just like with us, and after passing the police car, the gas is full. There are also many cameras, but I do not know if they work. In general, everyone goes to the max, buses and trucks at 100-110 km / h, but also trucks cut at 130 km / h.

Gas stations are often "buried" somewhere a few hundred meters from the road, not as many of them as in our country, but it's not bad. And now the most important liter of gasoline is 35-40gr (10 US cents per liter ) , we probably counted for two days and did not believe. So refueling the moto was much cheaper than, for example, coffee at the station. Despite low fuel prices, many cars run on CNG gas which is half the price. All dispensers are pre-paid due to the fact that our "European" ones do not work, there is a card on a string for each of them. At each station there are several service people who pour and delete. Large stations on "highways" have shops and bars and of course mosques or prayer rooms. There are always something like samovars with free hot water and taps with cold drinking next to the shops.

Iran is a fascinating place to visit. Enjoying your trip and pics

So...
When are we going?
(Kelly)

other shots

We wake up early and as the youngest I was selected to get bread. Unfortunately, before the 9th, this mission turned out to be impossible. Bread for breakfast is bought late in the evening.

maybe an exchange?




We pack and go to Ali Sadr cave

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ali-sadr-cave

I was against visiting it, but I would say yes, the cave is impressive and I think it is worth it. A short walk and then you get on the boats pulled by the guest on a pedalo.











a guide grabbed us inside and started asking us what do we think about the Iranian authorities? We were not willing to express our opinion so he started to praise the power in the country, both secular and religious

direction to Isfahan





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At one of the gas stations, we see a lot of flags and large tents again. People sing, pray, etc. We ask what's going on, the locals believe that they have met and praise Ruhollah Khomeini. Hmmmm, lots of cars in the parking lot and buses with people still coming.


We drink, snack and off we go. We chose a GPS hotel in the city center, which there is only a dozen or so kilometers around the center. I will say this, I am not a bit timid behind the wheel and I have already led some "wild" countries, but what happened there. It is impossible to describe it (it was already after sunset), mega traffic jam, heat from asphalt, cars almost rubbing about moto and panniers, eyes flashes and a lot of questions ..... a massacre but we survived and came to the hotel without any damage.

another camera

In the hotel, we stuff our motorbikes somewhere between the kitchen and other utility rooms and fly to the "city to eat something". We find a pub but there is resistance on the part of the staff when it comes to getting along what we want, then a woman appears (she was sitting at the table with her husband) and the support staff. The cook opens the counter, takes out what he has and the girl explains. Ok, they ate, drank, and took a walk. .... this is how another day passes.

Quite nice Hotel Chehel for about 8-11 $ for a night with breakfast

We eat breakfast in the morning and go out into the city. Isfahan is considered the most beautiful city in Iran and it probably is, although it did not make such a stunning impression on us during the day. In the evening it was much better.

Zajande Rud: The Thirty-Three Arch Bridge

Immam Square


Ali Qapu Square

Interesting set. Byzantines v European Crusaders ? The sacking of Constantinople?

other pictures

...

In the morning we take the motorbikes out of the kitchen and, as usual, a photo session with us with motorbikes and motorbikes etc. After a while a nice lady from the reception arrives and asks us to leave reviews on googles that it is very important for them, etc.

In the morning, traffic on the roads is practically negligible and we get to the road towards Persepolis quite efficiently.

On the way, we have Pasagrady https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasargady, we suddenly get lost on the journey, then the guest is traumatized and punished to go behind us. It turns out that he is an employee of the "open air museum" and we manage to enter (he opened the gate for us) to the main and only attractions - the tomb of Cyrus the Great

The mosaic tiles on those buildings are beautiful

Iran is definitely one of my favourites. Rudely interrupted while I was there by the china virus. Just a note, Iranian speed cameras cant read Western Arabic numerals

From Pasagrada we go towards Persepolis https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persepolis on the way we also have Naghsz-e Rostam https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naghsz-e_Rostam for me such a small Petra.











Well, I will say that it made an impression on me, especially since we can already see tombs in the distance.

So we're getting to Persepolis. We are a bit surprised by the void at the checkout, in general there aren't too many people, which even for Iranian conditions is puzzling. Virtually all tickets (with a few exceptions) to museums and other tourist attractions cost 200,000 Rials

We were there in 2018, an amazing country with the friendliest people. Your photos bring back many memories, thank you