Iran 2

(see dutch version or photolinks for pictures)

Zanjan owns a beautiful restored Caravanserai where we spent a full evening, having dinner and talking with students. We cycle about 350 km to Teheran through a big wide valley, which is boring from time to time. We have to make big distances and really have to be careful for the crazy traffic next to us, but there is always something to take your mind of the job; an historical site, a beautiful landscape or someone reaching out to help us. Like the man who was determined to give us some money. After refusing several times, I take the money and we're both happy. At some picknicks on the side of the road many cars stop to give us something. When we leave our supplies have grown instead of shrunken.

The closer we get to Teheran, the crazier the traffic. In Karaj (45 km from Teheran) we decide to take a taxi to Teheran for Janneke is totally fed up with the traffic.
Our mission in Teheran is to arrange some visa, but we'er up for some dissapointements. China is due to the Olympic games very difficult to organize. You have to able to show a detailled schedule of your booked hotels, quite some work! Tadjikistan does need a letter of invitation after all and Kyrgystan can only give visa after a week, time we don't have....We only manage to get the transitvisum for Turkmenistan, we can pick it up in Mashhad.

We quickly leave Teheran for a two-day trip to Esfahan, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The bikes stay in the hotel, we take the nighttrain. The city fully matches our expectations. It's beautifully green with great parks, though it's located in the middle of the dessert. There are many palaces, romantic bridges en impressive mosques for it was the Shah's capital 400 years ago. Esfahan also has the second biggest square in the world (after Beijing).

Around this big square there's a big bazaar full of art. We cannot keep our wallets closed and we sent a big packet of souvenirs home.
We are most impressed by the bridges at night with their magical lights. There are families everywhere to picknick or to relax, entjoying this scenery. You can have a pretty good night with only thee and sweets!

We're now back in Teheran and tomorrow we're heading for the holy city Mashhad. First we have to cross the mountains in the north to the Caspian see en than cycling to the east. In two weeks we are in Masshad, near the Turkmen boarder.