Southeastern Iran Is Frontier Territory
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©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd S o u t h e a s t e r n I r a n ﺍﻳﺮﺍﻥ ﺟﻨﻮﺏ ﺷﺮﻗﯽ Why Go? Meymand......................222 Southeastern Iran is frontier territory. It combines harsh Kerman .........................222 landscapes, periodic banditry and warm welcomes to form Around Kerman ............229 a unique and exotic travelling experience. There are some Rayen .............................231 dangers; see the box, p 233 , before heading this way. The re- gion stretches east across ancient Kerman province, through Bam ...............................231 high deserts scarred by brown snow-capped mountain Zahedan .......................233 ranges and coloured by occasional oasis towns and seasonal Mirjaveh ........................235 lakes. Kerman, the main city, is, in eff ect, the cultural bor- der separating the Persians and the more eastern-oriented Baluchis, whose dress and customs feel more Pakistani. Best Places to Eat Following old caravan routes southeast across the edge of the forbidding Dasht-e Lut, most travellers will stop in » Restaurant Ganjali Khan historic Bam and, if heading to Pakistan, in Zahedan, where (p 228 ) smugglers criss-cross the deserts and the rule of law is ten- » Akhavan Hotel Restaurant uous. Kerman city is the launch pad for the surrounding (p 228 ) historic towns and incredible desert landscapes, including » Hamam-e Vakil Chay- Mahan and the Kaluts. khaneh (p 228 ) » Bagh-e Khannevadeh (p 233 ) When to Go » Ghana-at Faludeh (p 228 ) Much of southeastern Iran is desert or semidesert and the best time to avoid the heat is between around November Best Places to and March. During these times daytime temperatures are Stay often quite comfortable between about 10°C and 20°C, but overnight temperatures regularly fall to -10°C. This is par- » Akhavan Hotel (p 227 ) ticularly so in Kerman city, where the 1754m elevation tem- » Akbar Tourist Guest House pers the heat. (p 233 ) Most of the places in this chapter are very dry and towns » ‘Million-star hotel’ (p 230 ) depend on qanats (underground water channels or canals) for their water supply. The hottest months are June to » Meymand Guesthouse August. (p 221 ) 221 Semnan Kashmar Torbat-e Heidariyeh Torbat-e Jam Taybad D a s h t - e K a v i r Herat Gonabad 0 200 km 0 120 miles Esfahan Ferdõs Qa'en Tabas Bayaziye A F G H A N I S T A N Birjand D a s h t - e Yazd A78 Bandan Behabad Lake Yazd Khorasan-e Sistan Fahraj Jonub Taft Bafgh L u t River Mehriz Zein-o-din P a y e h A02 Kaluts S I S T A N Zabol Kuh-e Khajeh Zarand Kaluts Shahr-e Sokhta Lahijan Shafi Abad Lake Hamun Kerman Tasuki Meymand Rafsanjan ὄShahdad Suryan (Bavanat) Sirch Hirmand Joopar M o u n t a i n s River Harat Shahr-e Bardsir Mahan Nosrat Abad Golbaf Babak A79 Mt Hezar (4420m) Rayen A02 Sirjan Mt Lalezar Zahedan PAKISTAN A02 (4374m) Bam Taftan Baft ὄ Mirjaveh Kerman Arg-e Fahraj Mt Taftan Jiroft Jadid B (4042m) Fars A Rostam Abad L A79 U Khash C H Gahkom Kahnuj E S T SOUTHEASTERN IRAN SOUTHEASTERN IRAN Sistan va A SOUTHEASTERN IRAN Hormozgan N Baluchestan Saravan Rudan Bandar Abbas Minab Iranshahr Bandar-e Lengeh Qeshm Island Lavan ait of t r Ho M a k r a n M o u n t a i n s Island Kish S r Island m Pishin o Nikshahr z Nikshahr River O M A N Jask Bahu Tis Kalat P E R S I A N UNITED Konarak River G U L F ARAB Gulf of Oman EMIRATES Chabahar Gavator Southeastern Iran Highlights 1 Shop and explore in 4 Wander through the Arg-e 6 Sleep in a cave in Kerman’s Bazar-e Sartasari Bam (p 232 ), still a highlight Meymand (p 221 ), the (p 223 ) despite the earthquake troglodyte village without a 2 Watch the sunset over the 5 Take a day trip to Mahan million tourists Kaluts (p 230 ), then bed down (p 230 ), with its World 7 Check out the ‘new Arg’ at under a million stars Heritage–listed garden and picturesque Rayen (p 231 ) 3 Lunch with traditional monumental shrine 8 Tuck into some world music in Kerman’s Hamam-e famous Bami dates and date- Vakil Chaykhaneh (p 228 ) fi lled colompeh biscuits.