© Lonely Planet Publications 310 Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotels SOUTHEASTERN •• Meymand 311

Southeastern Iran 0 200 km Southeastern Iran SOUTHEASTERN IRAN 0 120 miles D a s h t - e Behabad To Birjand Bandan Lake Yazd To Shiraz (96km) Khorasan-e A F G H A N I S T A N Taft Fahraj A78 (275km) Jonub Bafq L u t River ﺍﻳﺮﺍﻥ ﺟﻨﻮﺏ ﺷﺮﻗﯽ Mehriz Zein-o-din A02 P a y e h S I S T A N Zabol Kuh-e Khajeh Zarand ὄKaluts Shahr-e Sokhta Safa Lahijan This is frontier territory. And like the best frontiers it combines harsh landscapes, periodic Shahr Shafi Abad Lake Hirmand Hamun Tasuki banditry and warm welcomes to form a unique and exotic travelling experience. There are Suryan Meymand River (Bavanat) Joopar Mahan Harat Shahr-e M o u n t a i n s Nosrat Abad real dangers, so it’s important to read the boxed text ( p325 ) before heading this way. The Babak A79 Mt Hezar A02 region stretches east across ancient , through high deserts scarred by To Shiraz (4420m) Mt Lalezar Zahedan (90km) A02 P A K I S T A N brown snowcapped mountain ranges and coloured by occasional oasis towns and seasonal (4374m) Taftan ὄBam Railway under Mirjaveh lakes. Kerman is the main city and is, in effect, the cultural border separating the Persians of Arg-e Fahraj construction Kerman Mt Taftan Jadid B To Quetta the central plateau and the more eastern-oriented Baluchis, whose dress and customs feel Fars Rostam A (4042m) (380km) Abad L A79 U Khash more Pakistani than Iranian. Following ancient caravan routes southeast across the edge C Gahkom H of the forbidding Dasht-e Lut, most travellers will stop in historic Bam and then Zahedan, Halil E S Sistan va T A Hormozgan N River Baluchestan the capital of Sistan va Baluchestan province (where smugglers criss-cross the deserts and To Bushehr Rudan Saravan Bampur (375km) River the rule of law is tenuous). Bandar Abbas Minab Iranshahr Bandar-e For travellers, the region hasn’t been quite so attractive since the Bam earthquake in Lengeh Qeshm Island Lavan o a it f H M a k r a n M o u n t a i n s 2003 flattened the city and wrought havoc upon the monumental adobe Arg-e Bam. Island Kish t r o S r Island m Pishin o Nikshahr Rebuilding work on the Arg is ongoing, and Bam’s soothing date groves and strong tradi- z O M A N Nikshahr Jask River tion of hospitality still reward a visit. But taking in a few other places will round out your Tis Bahu Kalat P E R S I A N Konarak River trip. Sleeping in the cave hotel in Meymand is a fun way to start, and Kerman itself is G U L F U N I T E D A R A B Gulf of Oman Chabahar interesting, and an ideal base for day- and overnight-trips to the small but historic towns E M I R A T E S Gavator of Rayen and Mahan, excursions to nomad communities and camel-trekking trips. But the by her family for generations. Given her ﻣﻴﻤﻨﺪ highlight is surely the journey to Shahdad and the Kaluts, where enormous ‘sand castles’ MEYMAND pop 60 in summer, 130 in winter / elev 2240m mother is 97 and her father 115, she might stand like broken teeth punctuating the earth for as far as the eye can see and you can ‘This mosque is about 180 years old,’ said be onto something. A university project has sleep in a ‘million star hotel’. the guide, ‘it’s the newest building in the built an interesting cave museum and the village.’ Welcome to Meymand, a troglo- village hammam (bathhouse) was being re- dyte village about equidistant from Shiraz, stored when we visited. HIGHLIGHTS Yazd and Kerman. Meymand has been „ Sleep in a cave in Meymand (opposite ), continuously occupied for more than 3000 Sleeping & Eating the troglodyte village without a million years and is thought to have originally been To get the most from Meymand it’s best tourists inhabited by sun-worshippers. The village to stay overnight, sleeping in a cave house Kaluts consists of 2560 rooms in 406 cave homes that has barely changed in thousands of „ Marvel at the gardens and historic Kerman dug into the walls of a valley, though most years. On the west side of the valley near mausoleum in Mahan ( p319 ) Mahan Rayen Meymand are now uninhabited. It’s similar to Cappa- the entrance to town, eight rooms of various „ Lunch in Kerman’s Hamam-e Vakil Bam docia in Turkey, albeit on a much smaller size have been converted into the Meymand Chaykhaneh ( p318 ) scale…and without the hordes of tourists. Guesthouse (x0913 356 3442 for Mr Hajirahimi, or 0351 „ Watch sunset over the Kaluts ( p321 ), then Meymand isn’t exactly busy, but it sees 622 5857 in Yazd; www.meymandtour.com; per person full enough day-trippers that the elderly village board first/subsequent nights IR350,000/200,000). With

bed down under a million stars IRAN SOUTHEASTERN women have taken to selling locally woven namad carpets on the floors, beds carved „ Wander through the Arg-e Bam ( p322 ), baskets, wild herbs and traditional nomad into the walls and warm lighting, it’s easy to still a highlight even after the earthquake hats (about IR60,000) made of namad (wool be transported to another time. Bathrooms „ Check out the less-imposing but soaked and pressed until it mats together). are shared but clean, with steaming showers. more-intact ‘new Arg’ at picturesque If you have someone to translate for you, Mr Hajirahimi is the manager and speaks Rayen ( p321 ) the herbs are pretty interesting, too. Den- enough English to answer most questions. tally challenged Salma prescribed us herbs The three meals are prepared by vil- to treat diabetes and headache, and told us lage women and often involve ingredients

SOUTHEASTERN IRAN their medicinal use has been understood grown locally. SOUTHEASTERN IRAN ask, forexample,the town. Itisbesttotake and aprivate taxi vidual buscompaniesare spread allover Abbas.Shiraz orBandar take adirect bustoorfromKerman, Yazd, back, mostfrequently before about2pm,or little more comfort. Tourist Inn Tourist town. Alternatively, themidrange Mellat Melli, andBank isinthecentre of themainbranches oflane between Bank baste or rare savari and unlessyouget very luckywithahitch 356 3442)canhelptoorganise these. tween Persiatween andtheIndian subcontinent pointforpeople passingbe- astaging been tradingcity ofThe desert Kerman haslong x KERMAN Kasra Firuz Fire Temple some ancientcalligraphy,andthe the wanttosee youmight but ifyoudostay point enroute toMeymand. are Sights few, Abbasman toBandar orShiraz, orastaging placetobreaka useful ajourneyfromKer- isnotreally worthadetour,butit’s Sirjan x SIRJAN about 1pmand2pm;savaris 4½hours) at6.30amand7.30am,returning dayforYazd every e Babak (IR20,000, to Shahr-e leave Twobuses Babak. Shahr- To get toMeymand youfirst have toget &Away There Getting 312 Savaris and Kerman –check timesinadvance. leaveor twobuses dayfromShiraz every hours) leave fromAbuzar SqinYazd. One Kerman –MrHajirahimi (contact IR300,000 toIR350,000fromYazd, Shiraz or dar baste [email protected]; Khayyam St;dUS$25; [email protected]; Khayyam also pass through. also passthrough. Abbas Bandar Trains between andTehran Yazdtween Abbas andBandar stophere. (or wherever youwanttogo).Trainsbe- There isnobusterminal, andtheindi- Savaris runtoKerman (IR30,000)and Meymand is35kmfromShahr-e Babak For accommodation,thebasic 0341 / pop 508,000 / elev 1754m 0341 /pop508,000 /elev 1730m 0345 /elev SOUTHEASTERN IRAN••Sirjan SOUTHEASTERN Mir-e Zobairmausoleum Mir-e ( (IR35,000). x

from Kerman costIR40,000, orataxi (closed door)should costabout (closed 422 5172;s/twIR70,000/80,000)

(Mehmansara Jahangardi; Jahangardi; (Mehmansara , you’llhave tohire ataxi . , which contains , which contains

terminal-e Yazd

(IR35,000, three pa x 322 7878;sir- , downa ) ﺳﻴﺮﺟﺎﻥ x offers a a offers ﮐﺮﻣﺎﻥ Hotel-e Hotel-e Sirjan 0913 0913 dar

important today. important production of carpets,atradethatremains century, soKerman relied more onthe As trademoved more inthe16th tothesea aroundthebazaar.the manycaravanserais of in the evidence which canstillbeseen 19th century. central government inTehran duringthe Kerman underthe onlygainedsecurity cession of invaders andregional despots. until theQajar dynastybyafurthersuc- TurkmenandMongols,then Seljuks, was ruledinturnbytheArabs,Buyids, of peace. Fromthe7th centuryKerman and plunder,butnotthatmuch intheway ofdynasty, itshistoryisatale prosperity by ArdashirI,founderof theSassanian foundedintheearly-3rd-centuryADbeen trans-Asian tohave traderoutes. Believed centre animportant has alwaysbeen onthe Kerman isoneof Iran’soldestcitiesand History the boxed text, p260 ). qanats gives itsname–are dependenton highly and thecity–province towhich it for adayortwo. There are tokeep you othersights enough ofzaar, which anyvisit. isthehighlight inthehistoricandvery livelyevident ba- see (for details p315 ). Thismixingismost wayofsubcontinental life of theBaluchis ing pot,blendingPersians withthemore in winter. Thecityissomethingof amelt- weather relatively mildinsummer,butcold makenorth, itspositionandelevation the Lut bythebarren Payeh tothe Mountains country. Sheltered fromthevastDasht-e which toexplore southeastern region of the and todayitremains thebestplacefrom along Dr Beheshti St. along Dr Beheshti tion tothe rest of particularly thetraffic, hurtleinthe which buses fic hazard,thecontraflow buslanealong onthelookoutforthatIranian traf- Sq. Be two squares, Shohada orinthebazaarnear theseare totheroadbetween onorclose offices andsightsthe east.Mostimportant Azadi SqtothewestandShohada Sqto The twomainsquares inKerman are Orientation Kerman’s continuitywasitscommerce, Kerman’s environsare extremely dry (underground water channels; see opposite lonelyplanet.com direc- Alpha Cafe Net Alpha Cafe AzadiandValiasrcafés) between Sqs. Just west of Azadi Sq;it’sbelowgroundlevel. Just westofAzadi per hrIR10,000; IR10,000; The bestintown. Adalat St…fivesignatures, 30minutes. lonelyplanet.com Ali Khan Courtyard. Ali Khan stored attheeastendof Ganj An information officeisplannedforare- TOURIST INFORMATION Telephone office TELEPHONE Post office POST Exchange Shop Branch Central Bank Melli changes lowerrates. moneyatslightly Hoteloptions don’twork,Akhavan ( p318 ) Changing moneyinKerman isn’tfun.Ifthese MONEY NetRaap Café There are other several ACCESSINTERNET ShohadaHospital Seyed Police headquarters 24-Hour Pharmacy EMERGENCY Information place tochangemoney. St,easilythebestandquickest the cornerofDrShariati webcams, micsanddiscburningavailable. 85% ofallEurope’s opiates passthroughIranenroute fromAfghanistan andPakistan. after-hours motorcyclists)andstationed30,000menontheAfghan border,butstillanestimated with heavilyarmedsmugglers. Iranhaserected ditches(todissuade fences, electric dugdesert war ondrugscannotaccountforevery wanderingcamelinthedesert. into theirhumpsandthey’re lefttowander‘home’.Even thegovernment’s US$400millionannual destination. Whentheyknowwhere ofopiates they’re are going,kilograms surgically inserted ess isrepeated, withthecamelsbeingfed eachtimetheyarrive tobuildanattachmentthe thusavoidingthemostconcentratedbeyond Kerman, policeandmilitarysurveillance. The proc- is. They are forseveral walked daysfromsomewhere nearthebordertoapredetermined place ofsoutheastIran. have beentrainedtoshipdrugsacrossthedeserts desert the do…sounds like descriptionfor perfect undercover Andsoitisthattheseshipsofthe work. Camels. They’re seemsto care unassuming, abitthickandno-one where theygoorwhat DRUG-RUNNING DROMEDARIES It’s awarthat’sbeenrunningforalmost30yearsandseenmore than3300soldiersdieinbattles ahomingpigeon,butlotslower,thecamelsareLike trainedtoknowwhere theirhome h (Adalat St) 8am-10pm, closed Fri) Thebestoption,with 8am-10pm, closedFri) h ( ( x (Qods St)Oneoftwosmallshopsnear x (Tohid Sq; (Tohid 8.30am-10pm Sat-Thu &4-10pmFri) ( 244 4917; Jomhuri-ye EslamiBlvd; 244 4917;Jomhuri-ye x 226 7270;Valiasr Sq;perhr ( x 245 760;ImamJamehSt) ( 110, 2113068;AdalatSt) x h (Adalat St)Nightmare on coffeenets 252 6280;EsteghlalSt) 7am-10pm) (internet too faroutoftown. Helpfulstaffhavebrochures etc,butit’s 2pm, closedFri) EslamiBlvd&AlQadirSt; cnr Jomhuri-ye and bus tickets. Reliable. and bustickets. staffsellair,train SaduqiSt)English-speaking Ayatollah depends on the transport you choose. depends onthetransport tosleepinthe‘millionstarhotel’. Cost into theKaluts nomad encampments,cameltreks andhisspeciality,trips to incapacitated, buthe’sgoodfunandcanarrangetrips St)HosseinVatani’s seemspermanently Khan ancientJeep Ali Ganj 7591 09133435265;[email protected]; closed Fri) The office is efficient enough but usually only The officeisefficientenough butusuallyonly closed Fri) 5798; Police BldNo14, Abbas PourSt; and isbetterorganised,butnotasfunas,HosseinVatani. Guesthouse ( p317 andEnglish ), hasacar,speaksGerman Jalal,whoalsoownsJalal [email protected]) Management of Foreigners Affairs Office Office Affairs ofForeigners Management VISA EXTENSIONS Agency Travel Raya Owj Parse TRAVEL AGENCIES Agency Tours&Travel Vatan Caravan Mehdizadeh Jalal the desert. incampor whether youwanttosleep they’re notperfect. trips,specify Fordesert have hadmainlypositive feedback, though BothchargeRayen. similarpricesand areas, includingtheKaluts, Mahan and within Kerman andtothesurrounding twooperators canarrangeThese tours TOURS informationoffice Tourist SOUTHEASTERN IRAN •• Kerman IRAN••Kerman SOUTHEASTERN ( x 244 6002/3; [email protected]; 7 244 6002/3;[email protected]; ( x ( x 271 0185,09131423174; 247 2214;Ferdosi St) ( x 245 5151,2228115; h h 7am-1.30pm, 7am-1.30pm, ( x 7.30am- ( x /fax 223

272 272 313 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN SOUTHEASTERN ὈὈ

SOUTHEASTERN IRAN Kerman 314 4 6 (3km); Airport(4km) Information Office Hotel (1.5km);Tourist Pars International Inn (800m);Kerman To KermanTourist 1 3 Bandar Abbas(498km) Yazd (386km); Sirjan (183km); To TrainStation(6km); 2 5 KERMAN

Some MinorStreets NotDepicted Jomhuri-ye Eslami Blvd

Ayatollah Saduqi St IRAN••Kerman SOUTHEASTERN

SIGHTS &ACTIVITIES INFORMATION Jameh Mosque...... Imam Mosque...... Hamam-e GanjAliKhan...... Hamam-e EbrahimKhan...... Grand Bazaar(Bazar-eSartasari)...... Gold Bazaar...... Bazar-e MesgariShomali...... TravelAgency...... Telephone Office...... Seyed ShohadaHospital...... Raya TravelAgency...... Post Office...... Police Headquarters...... Parse Owj...... AffairsOffice...... Café NetRaap...... Bank Melli(CentralBranch)...... Alpha CafeNet...... 24-Hour Pharmacy...... Vatan CaravanTours& Management ofForeigners C4 Exchange Shop...... 29 Bahmanyar St Bahmanyar 1 Ὀ AC

31 27 Dr Mofatteh St Mofatteh Dr 48 7 45 Khaju-ye Kermani St 36 4

Azadi

47 Raja'i Shahid Kheyabun-e

Sq 11 St Esteghlal Namju St 40 46

Ὀ ὈὈ ὈὈ Malek-e Ashtar St Ashtar Malek-e

Dr Beheshti St 37 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 41 D5 D6 C6 C6 D6 C6 C6 C6 C6 B5 B4 C5 C5 A5 B3 A5 C5 C4 A5 30 Hafez St

10 Crossroads St Pour Abbas Somayyeh B Motahhari EATING SLEEPING Restaurant GanjaliKhan...... Pepe NeroItalianFood...... Khayyam Restaurant...... Hamam-e VakilChaykhaneh...... Akhavan HotelRestaurant...... (see27) Reza Guesthouse...... Omid Inn...... Naz Hotel...... Jalal Guesthouse...... Guest HouseSaedi...... Guest HouseMilad...... (see27) Amin Hotel...... Akhavan Hotel...... ContemporaryArt...... Museum oftheHolyDefence...... Moshtari-ye MoshtaqAliShah...... Moayyedi IceStore...... Masjed-e GanjAliKhan...... Kerman NationalLibrary...... hl aa aii...... C6 Chelo KababRahimi...... Sanati Museumof Park

Qods St Shahid Qarani St Qarani Shahid 39 Ashura

Cinema Mahtab 6 Ferdosi St Ferdosi Sq

Pasdaran St

Ὀ Ὀ Ὀ Ὀ 26 Felestin St Felestin 23 12 0 0 Mo'allem St 21 Tohid 25 34 2 Sq

Valiasr Dr Shariati St Sq 38 Ali Khan 13

Bazar-e Ganj Ali Khan Basij Ganj

Sq

Sq Kargar St 8 St Felestin 0.5 miles 38 37 36 35 34 Abu Hamed St 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 14 Adalat 17 Qarani

5 1 km

9 Qods St Qods To Mashhad Sq Ὀ Ὀ C6 B5 A5 D6 C4 C5 A5 B3 A5 D4 A5 B4 C3 D4 B4 C6 B4

18 St (886km) 32 33

22

3 Grand Bazaar (Bazar-e Sartasari) St Shahab 15 Bazar-e Ekhtiari

Imam Khomeini St Tohid

TRANSPORT Shuttle TaxistoGrandBazaar& D6 Savaris toShahr-eBabak,Sirjan& Savaris toShahdad...... Minibus &SavaristoMahan Taavoni 15...... (see39) Taavoni 7...... Taavoni 4...... (see12) Shuttle TaxistoBusTerminal...... ShohadaSq...... Rafsanjan...... Minibuses toShahdad...... Joopar...... Mahan Air...... Iran Air...... Bus Terminal......

Sq

Dr Shariati St Dr To Mashhad Chamr

(886km) an St an

Dr Shariati St To Mahan 1km 0.5miles 0 0

16 (36km) St Shah Ali Fath

(Bazar-e Sartasari) Grand Bazaar 28 St Bahonar Shahid 35 Bazar-e Vakil

Modarres St Imam Khomeini St See Enlargement 19 Feda'iyan-e Eslam Sq lonelyplanet.com

Bazar-e Mosaffari Shohada D 42 Sq Rayen (111km); Mahan (38km); Jabaliye (3km) 20 Bam (204km) To Gonbad-e Farsh (500m) To Sarasiyab To Sheketeh

(Kermani) Sho Sq (5km); Paleonto 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 Museum Khaju ha -logical (300m)

Sq

24 44 da 43 Enqelab B5 B4 B6 A5 A5 B5 A5 D6 D5

St To lonelyplanet.com tasari east to Shohada Sq,Kerman’s Stretching for1200m fromTohid Sqnorth- GRAND BAZAAR (BAZAR-E SARTASARI) Sights information. consider findingafriend.See p325 formore nappers. Ifyou’re cyclingordrivingalone, has onrare targeted occasions been bykid- The roadfromKerman isbusybut toBam particularlyinpoorlylitparks.at night, extracare,taking especiallywalkingaround there are alotof drugaddictssoit’sworth Kerman isreasonably itself safe, though Dangers &Annoyances seetheboxed text, For more onvisaextensions, p395 . thesameday. earlyandyoushouldhavetheextension rive (eastern)sideoftheroad.Ar- guardhouse ontheright-hand ofAshuraSq;lookforthepale-green is about300mnorth CentralBranchtodeposityourcash.Theoffice the BankMelli andyouhavetotrek backto extensions, issues two-week riod, this courtyardishome towhatwas Square AliKhan Ganj Kerman), which soon opens ontothepretty (the governorcentury forGanj Ali Khan of the morning andlate afternoon. should keep youinterested, especiallyinthe tonavigateenough andhasavivacitythat easy the northandsouth.Itis,however, zaars, andafurther20orsobranch to off oughfare ismadeupof foursmallerba- trading centres inIran.Thismainthor- Starting atTohid is Sq,thefirstStarting section are widelydistrusted intherest ofthecountry. be very luckytofindone. similar tothatfoundinPakistan andIndia. Baluchisare famousforcamelraces,thoughyou’ll iar toanyonewhowastravelled inPakistan. The Baluchi’shandiworkandembroideryare also and menwearingthe attire withwomenchoosingmore colourful blackchadorsintheseparts, many all-enveloping and themajorityare SunniMuslims. and migratinginpursuitofseasonalpastures. They speakBaluchi, alanguagerelated toPashtu, where Quettaistheirregional capital.RoughlyhalfofallBaluchisare nomadic,livingintents tion whosetraditionallands deepintoAfghanistancross theBaluchestandesert andPakistan, Baluchis, orabout2%ofIran’spopulation.These Baluchisare amongamuchgreater popula- provincesSistan vaBaluchestanand,toalesserextent, Kerman are hometoabout1.5million BALUCHIS Bazar-e Ganj Ali Ganj Bazar-e

Given theylook,dress andworshipdifferently tomostIranians,it’sno surprisethatBaluchis Baluchis are anddistinctive clothing. easilyrecognisable skin fortheirdarker Youwon’tsee Edt- n Bazaar) End (End-to- . Builtin theSafavid pe-

Khan isoneof theoldest shalwar kameez, , builtinthe17th ﺳﺮﺗﺎﺳﺮﻱ Bazar-e Sar- Bazar-e a long loose shirt andbaggytrousersthatwillbefamil- alonglooseshirt

ﺑﺎﺯﺍﺭ summer) Sq;admissionIR5000; Khan h at theeastandwestendsof the disrobe together. Lookforthe‘timestones’ so menpractisingdifferent tradescouldall reception area, for example,wasdivided workings of The atraditionalbathhouse. the wallsandwaxdummiesillustrate the Wonderfulfrescoes adorn into amuseum. the once Kerman’s mostimportant hyhnh 38) eoe eoig the becoming before (p318) Chaykhaneh square theHamam-e andpasses Vakil around ifit’snot busy. welcoming manager showwomen might still berubbed,scrubbedandbeaten. The few where traditionalbathhouses men can Hamam-e Ebrahim Khan Khan Ebrahim Hamam-e Followthestepsmadraseh. downintothe leadingtoanold(and nowclosed) portal leads toasmallsquare withanattractive square, the we passed. nextdoorwasbeingrestoredserai when ishly decorated private mosque. Acaravan- IR2000; eastern end is andatthesquare’ssmith’s Bazaar), north- photogenic was outside. idea of it thetimeaccordingto howlight which bathersthrough couldget arough translucent, 10cm-thickalabaster doorways The From thenortheastern cornerof the On thenorthsideof thecourtyardis 7am-5pm, until7pmsummer) Hamam-e Ganj AliKhan Ganj Hamam-e h , nowrestored andtransformed SOUTHEASTERN IRAN •• Kerman IRAN••Kerman SOUTHEASTERN Bazar-e Ekhtiari Bazar-e 8am-sunset) Bazar-e Mesgari Shomali Mesgari Bazar-e Gold Bazaar Masjed-e Ganj Ali Khan AliKhan Ganj Masjed-e , Ganj Ali Khan’s lav-, GanjAliKhan’s h leadseastfrom the (admission aboutIR25,000; 8.30am-6pm, until7.30pm (Bazar-e Zargaran)

( x , oneof Iran’s 222 5577; Gang Ali 222 5577;Gang hammam; hammam (Copper- (admission 315

,

SOUTHEASTERN IRAN SOUTHEASTERN SOUTHEASTERN IRAN Shohada Sq). clock toweratopthemainentrance(off has nominaret. Instead there isasquat period andlater. Interestingly, thismosque extensively duringtheSafavid modernised mering bluetilesdate from1349butwere halls openingontoacourtyard)andshim- the bazaar. Itsfourlofty (Shohada Sq; The attractive MOSHTARI-YE MOSHTAQ ALISHAH Sq) The well-preserved MOSQUE JAMEH toShohadawalk through Sq. entered fromthisbazaar,andyoucanthen such antiquity.TheJameh Mosquecanbe fari and the700-year-old open-air After about600mthecovered bazaarends Vakil Bazar-e 316 late Qajar period. blue-and-white-tiled roofs, are fromthe including theprominentof whatyousee, was stonedintheJameh Mosque. Most the localreligious communitythathe felleventually sofaroutof favour with (which literally means‘three strings’).He for addingthefourthstringto instrument) and abilitywiththe AliShahtaq wasrenowned forhissinging Shah, andotherKerman Mosh- notables. Alimausoleum forSufimysticMoshtaq ‘Friday Mosque’. often refer Jamehas the totheMasjed-e Jameh alsomeans ‘Friday’ andWesterners studied theQuran for20yearsormore. ayatollah, he mightbean imam (prayerleader)butinbiggertowns preach. In small townshemaybeasimple they willlisten totheFriday prayerleader prayers atnoonevery Fridayandwhere Mosque. This iswhere mengatherfor Jameh,orCongregationalthe Masjed-e eral mosques, oneis the mostimportant Although every Iraniantownhassev- JAMEH MOSQUES is entered frombothShohada Sqand begins, though there of begins,though islittleevidence SOUTHEASTERN IRAN••Kerman SOUTHEASTERN areligious whomayhave expert h ; bothare about150years old. , andisapparently responsible 8am-noon &2pm-sunset) Moshtari-ye MoshtaqAliShah Moshtari-ye hojattol-Eslam Jameh Mosque setar ﺷﺎﻩ iwans

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h is thereal attraction. Builtin1929, thestyle columns supportingvaulted ceilings –that try’, butit’sthe architecture –aforest of est informaticresearch center inthecoun- This newlyrenovated SANATI MUSEUMOFCONTEMPORARY ART The expansive IMAM MOSQUE The LIBRARY NATIONAL KERMAN St) The Safavid-era MOAYEDI ICESTORE passed andwasn’topentothepublic. passed being transformedintoatheatre whenwe ice wouldbeslidintotheMoayedi. Itwas during winter, andwhenthewater frozethe gardens. Thegardenswouldfillwithwater was, andinsomepartstillis,surroundedby ture tostore thatwasused ice. Theicestore the rooms high abovethe roomshigh themain corner. Alsoworthfindingare thereliefs in lamic period,locked awayinthesouthwest todatemihrab believed fromtheearlyIs- let youtake alookattheremains of afine in charge (noguarantees here) theymight lenge. Ifyouget chatting withthearchitects trace of therecent work.It’squite achal- storing earlyinscriptionswhileleaving no with thetwinaimsof uncovering andre- restoration onBut thepainstaking goes minaret duringanearthquake inthe1970s. over theyears, notleastthedestructionof a mosque hassuffered considerabledamage Dating fromtheearlyIslamicperiod, in theprocessof rehabilitating oldbuild ings. is worthalookspecificallyifyou’re interested 9am-noon &3-8pmsummer) St;admissionIR20,000; Dr Shariati meet open-mindedyoungKermanis.meet Rodin. Notsurprisingly,it’sagoodplaceto abronzehandbyAugusteartists andeven It alsohasexhibitionsbyyounger Iranian artist SayyedAliAkbar Sanati(1916–2006). sculptures andstoneinlaysbyfamouslocal paintings, houses courtyard, themuseum Qajar-era aroundanattractive buildingset way frommodern cultural pursuits. Ina in atownthat feel alongcan otherwise is a well-preserved, conicaladobestruc- isawell-preserved, 7am-8pm) Kerman NationalLibrary Kerman modestly bills itself asthe‘great-modestly billsitself Imam Mosque ﻣﻌﺎﺻﺮ Moayedi IceHouse is a pleasant surprise surprise isapleasant

museum ﻫﻨﺮﻫﺎی ﮐﺮﻣﺎﻥ h lonelyplanet.com (Imam Khomeini St) (Imam Khomeini 9am-6pm Oct-May, 9am-6pm Oct-May, (Shahid QaraniSt; (Shahid ﻣﻌﺎﻳﺪﻱ

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believed tobe530millionyearsbelieved old. cies. Theyincludeaperfectly petrifiedfish theoriginsofassess somepresent-day spe- and hisfindshave scientiststore- caused aroundKermanfossils fromthemountains Mohsen hascollected astunningarrayof Mohsenof Tajrobekar. localmountaineer worth a look. worth alook. recordedeffects fromtheactualwar. Well complete withbunkers, minefieldandsound of andmissile launchers, tanks isabattlefield famous battle. Outside,alongwithaline-up animated modelre-enacting theKarbala V,a letters and documents fromthewar,andan side isagalleryof gruesomephotos, artefacts, ous withoutanEnglish-speaking guide. In- much ofabounds, although itwon’tbeobvi- Iran–IraqWar.the eight-year Symbolism tains, ispicturesque.tains, Toget here, trytofind from theneighbouring armybase. only) becareful to pointyourcameraaway photos(outside ago, isbrick.When taking the double-layered dome,added150years stone ratherthantheusualbrick; though it isremarkable itisconstructed of because itwasatomb.Whatever itsfunction, say Others it mayhave anobservatory. been ars date ittothe2ndcenturyADandthink eastern partof Kerman’. Quite! Some schol- sums itupas‘Abig,strange domeinthe unknown –aKerman Tourism brochure itsage andoriginalfunctionremaincause ofseum oldgravestones. It’smysterious be- a mildlyinteresting andpoorlylabelled mu- been soblessed. been it, atextile factory!IfonlyManchester had builtas,waitfor design thatwaspurpose is aharmoniousvariationonlate-Qajar-era OBDE AAIE tagonal At theedge of townisthemysterious, oc- JABALIYE GONBAD-E 8pm mostdays) Museum tological about 500meastof Shohada Sq,the Located underground ingreen Park-e Sangi, PALAEONTOLOGICAL MUSEUM The MUSEUM OFTHEHOLY DEFENCE mission IR2000; IR3000; Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotels your stay Book The setting, at thefootofThe setting, thePayeh Moun- oftheHolyDefence Museum h Gonbad-e Jabaliye Gonbad-e 7am-12.30pm &3.30-6pm) h is thepassion and life’s work 8am-6pm Tue-Sun) (Park-e Sangi;admissionIR5000;

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commemorates commemorates (Felestin St;admission ﻣﻘﺪﺱ , which houses , which houses

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ﮔﻨﺒﺪ 4- rooms might be noisy. rooms might Western bathrooms andsoft beds.Front Amin haslarger-than-average roomswith located nearthebazaar, the long-running Saduqi St;s/tw/trIR70,000/110,000/140,000; friendly. Guests can use thekitchen. friendly. Guestscanuse and shared is bathroomsare cleanandstaff IR60,000/85,000/105,000) town. spoken. all bathroomsare shared. NoEnglish is Sq. Unadornedroomshave overhead fans; isideallylocated nearTohidguesthouse person €12; 11Gharbi3St,offAshuraSq;per [email protected]; Amin Hotel MIDRANGE &TOPEND of goodbudget options. Kerman withanabundance isnotblessed BUDGET thereof, keep pricesrelatively low. The rulesof supplyanddemand,oralack scattered inconveniently aroundtown. Kerman isn’tthatbigbut itshotels are Sleeping togo need youmight though fromShohadaa shuttletaxi Sq(IR2000), English and German. Bookahead. English andGerman. travellers. Breakfast isIR20,000.Jalal speaks andisagoodchoice forlonewomen TV, internet andmore than1000channels of venient littleluxurieslike washing machine, they opentoforeign travellers. Ithascon- and hiswife have tworoomsintheirhouse bazaar, localguideJalal Mehdizadeh ( p313 ) clean. and theshared bathroomandkitchen are and hiswife. Roomsare basicbutthey come fromtheEnglish-speakingmanager butprovidesOmid isspartan awarmwel- yard (which isidealforoverlanders), the ers are full. iftheoth- Friendly, functionalbutSpartan; Chamran St;s/tw/qUS$25/30/50; IR50,000/70,000/90,000; s/tw IR60,000/90,000; Jalal Guesthouse Guest HouseMilad nexttwoareThese alonger walkinto Omid Inn Guest HouseSaedi Reza Guesthouse Reza SOUTHEASTERN IRAN •• Kerman IRAN••Kerman SOUTHEASTERN pai

( x ( x 222 1954; [email protected]; Dr 222 1954;[email protected];

222 0571; Shahid QaraniSt;s/tw/tr 222 0571;Shahid a

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271 0185,09131423174;jala- This clean,simple 226 4012-13; Qods St; s/tw/tr 226 4012-13;QodsSt;s/tw/tr ) 245 0617; Ayatollah Saduqi St; Saduqi St; 245 0617;Ayatollah Set aroundacourt- Set ( x 252 0802; Ayatollah 252 0802;Ayatollah pai dar baste pa ) Well . 317

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SOUTHEASTERN IRAN SOUTHEASTERN SOUTHEASTERN IRAN Saduqi St; Try Akhavan first.Try Akhavan are OKbutthewholeplaceisabitsoulless. zaar, thesmall,recently renovated rooms There isnoEnglish sign. vourite. Youcanalsojustsitand drinktea. very reasonable pricesmakes italocalfa- Vakil but deliciousfoodat Chaykhaneh, not nearlyascharming astheHamam-e ground placenearthebazaarentrance is US$24/34; the Akhavan andcomparingiseasy. the Akhavan clean, very pinkandfairvalue. It’sopposite management. The28largish roomsare very rejuvenated Nazhasnew,English-speaking [email protected]; Ayatollah SaduqiSt; Ayatollah [email protected]; Highly recommended.Highly The restaurant ( right deliciousfood. ) serves hotel showers forUS$2perperson perday. is popularwithoverlanders, the whouse parking als andorganise daytrips.Secure renew-can helpwithinformationonvisa thrown init’sanabsolute bargain. They discountsof up toUS$10arelow-season very atthispriceandwhen comfortable van brothers isapleasure. Theirrooms are Good value. it’s very much anupmarket businesshotel. andthreegym, pool,sauna restaurants – from thefoyertofacilities–including man’s best.Roomsare quite luxuriousand behemoth ontheedge of towniseasilyKer- meals IR20,000-35,000; (thick meatystew withrice). its namethatalsooffers adecent h the squares. and DrShariati Sts,particularlyaround and apizzaplaceortwoonDrBeheshti shops) ice-cream and fruit-shake places, For cheap eats,there are Eating breakfast US$72/103; EslamiBlvd;s/dwith 32; www.parshotels.com; Jomhuri-ye 318 US$41/50/80; EslamiBlvd;s/d/ste5203-05; www.ittic.com; Jomhuri-ye e Vakil; admission IR5000incltea;meals IR40,000; e Vakil; Kerman Pars International Hotel Hotel Pars International Kerman o Naz Hotel Hamam-e Vakil Hamam-e Kerman Tourist Inn Tourist Kerman Restaurant Ganjali Khan Khan Ganjali Restaurant Rahimi Chelo Kabab 11am-3pm &5-9pm) Akhavan Hotel Hotel Akhavan SOUTHEASTERN IRAN••Kerman SOUTHEASTERN

pai tw withbreakfast IR290,000; pa

( x

Chaykhaneh Chaykhaneh 244 6786; fax 245 0498; Ayatollah 244 6786;fax2450498;Ayatollah pai ) )

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x 8am-10pm) (Hotel Jahangardi; (Hotel Jahangardi; (Tohid Sq;mealsIR25,000; (Tohid 244 1411-2;akhavan- ( x ) This200-room

( kababis x 222 7716;TohidSq;

s/d withbreakfast

This under- 222 5989;Bazar- pa ( x khoresht khoresht 211 9301- h (kabab x ) The 9am- 244 meals IR30,000-40,000; SaduqiSt;mealsIR30,000) tollah thefoodqualityisinconsistent.though venient totheAyatollahSaduqiSthotels, hedan (IR258,000,weekly). andZa- Kish (IR362,000,twiceweekly) also fliestoEsfahan (IR335,000,weekly), hran (onewayIR457,000)andMahan Air lasagne wehadwerelasagne surprisinglygood. anyMichelin and a wayoff stars, thepasta foreign flavours. Andwhileit’s ria) serving Kerman finallyhasarestaurant (notapizze- than 700years after Marco Poloswungby, designs thatisuniquetoKerman. square of clothwithintricate embroidered to lookforKermani reasonable prices.Thebazaarisalsotheplace bit youshouldbeabletofindgoodcarpetsat to shopforthemandifyouhuntarounda turies (see p64 ). The bazaar isagoodplace Kermani carpetshave famousforcen- been Shopping 7pm Sat-Thu, until7.30pmsummer,9am-2pmFri) where Taavoni 15 isthebestbetif youwant companies have atthebusterminal, offices onTohidoffice Sq.Alltheother mainbus onAzadi Sq, Taavonian office 4hasan Kerman butTaavoni 7(Volvos only)has The busterminal isinthesouthwestof BUS, MINIBUS&SAVARI ( Iran Air AIR &Away There Getting inyourroom. served fet dinner. Foralittlemore romanceget it try abitof fortheIR50,000buf- everything varied, plentifulandcheap Iranian food; is amplymadeupforwiththedelicious, atmosphere (itlookslike ward) ahospital band playsmostdays. it’snotbad.Atraditionalonly), though perb vaulted ceilingsthanitsfood(lunch better knownforitselegantarches andsu- atmospheric diningoptioninKerman. It’s builtin1820iseasilythemostteahouse architecturally magnificentsubterranean 11pm) Sq;mealsIR35,000-55,000; Saduqi St,offAzadi x Akhavan Hotel Restaurant Restaurant Hotel Akhavan Pepe NeroItalianFood Khayyam Restaurant Khayyam 245 0542;DrBeheshtiSt) This faux-traditionalplaceiscon-

( x 245 7770;DrMofattehSt) Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotels your stay Book h pate, noon-3pm &6-10pm)

( bothflydailytoTe- x ( x a brightly coloureda brightly Whatitlacksin 244 9716;DrBeheshtiSt;

( 245 1417; Ayatollah 245 1417;Ayatollah x and 244 1411-2;Aya- Mahan Air Mahan h More This noon- hrz I2,0/500 7-9hr IR23,000/55,000 IR21,000/55,000 Zahedan 6-8hr 7-9hr Yazd IR15,000/35,000 IR17,000 IR90,000 4½-6hr Shiraz Babak Shahr-e IR35,000/55,000 IR85,000 Mashhad IR26,000/55,000 Esfahan (Volvo) Bandar Abbas 10-12hr Bam IR12,000/20,000 14-16hr (Volvo) Duration Destination Fare 3-4hr 14-16hr for a lonelyplanet.com shuttle taxi along Jomhuri-ye Eslami Blvd shuttle taxi There isno airport bus.Youcantake a TO/FROM THEAIRPORT Around Getting the tripto Owj ( p313 ) orotheragencies, saving you bus travel. which make break apleasant fromallthe Yazd (IR16,000, five tosixhours, 1pm), (IR10,000, abouttwohours, 7.30am)and There are alsodaily2nd-classtrainstoBam Yazd, Kashan andQom,butnotEsfahan. 15 hours) leaves at4.45pmandstops daily traintoTehran (1stclassIR63,150; run allthewayintoPakistan by2009.The andshould extended toBam cently been The 1106kmlinefromTehran hasre- TRAIN man, orenroute to/fromBam. Shahzde as adaytripfromKer-and Bagh-e p313 Mahan Rayen, tosee ) itmakes sense (IR5500) leave fromKhaju (Kermani) Sq. Azadi SqforIR30,000.Savaris toMahan of5km east from Khaju Sq),andtoSirjan (IR15,000) leave fromSarasiyabSq(about just southof Shohada Sq. St, savari (IR15,000)fromImamKhomeini as well.ForShahdad, take aminibusor it’s worthaskingaroundnearShohada Sq from aroundKhaju (Kermani) Sq,though toMahanfirst. Minibuses (IR1000)leave Abbas, forBandar Babak; Taavoni see 7 Taavoni toShahr-e 4hasmostservices dar baste leave orgo fromAzadiSqfor thestation, southwest of town.Shuttle (IR2000) taxis mahmooly Train tickets fromParse canbebought Tours,If youhire orguide(see ataxi Savaris (IR25,000)andRayen toBam mahmooly forIR10,000. bus. The following services are bus.Thefollowingservices /Volvo buses. train

station (mahmooly)

( x 211 0762) 4-5hr , 8km SOUTHEASTERN IRAN •• Around Kerman IRAN••AroundKerman SOUTHEASTERN produced opium.Notanymore. also knownforthequalityof thelocally springs, before the1979revolution itwas dervish, who is said tohave whoissaid inthis stayed dervish, the small, tranquilprayer roomwhere a its stunningblue-tiled domes.Butwelike the building,some inlaidwithivory,and Indian doors throughouttiles, theseven tury. Themausoleumisrenowned forits of Shah Abbas Iandduringthe18thcen- ing complexwere builtduringthereign other religious buildingsinthesurround- Vali’s teachings. manyof However, the who wasanadherent of Shah Ne’matollah century, whenitwasbuiltbyanIndian king The mausoleumdates fromtheearly15th most recognisable images of eastern Iran. isoneof the a well-knownSufidervish, h Ne’matollah Vali Ne’matollah The splendiddomeover the ARAMGAH-E SHAH NE’MATOLLAH VALI Fed by Vali Shahzde shrine gardens. andBagh-e tions, theAramgah-eShah Ne’matollah the wealthy,andforitstwomainattrac- famousasasummerretreatlong been for picturesque andlow-key townthathas Mahan, 35kmsoutheastof Kerman, isa x Mahan the timeof writing. chargemight bythekilometre –IR1000at cost aboutIR120,000/220,000.Somedrivers far yougo,canexpectahalf/fulldayto hire fortheday.Dependingonhow ataxi the Kaluts. Sometravellers take atouror are less frequent andnothingatallrunsto toShahdad public transport,butservices areMahan easilyreached andRayen by AROUND KERMAN least IR25,000perhour. to mostdestinationsaroundtownandat (IR1000). Taxis costIR10,000 alltoyourself nal (IR1500),Bazar-e Vakil andShohada Sq From AzadiSq,theyruntothebustermi- AzadiandShohadaShuttle use taxis Sqs. TAXI IR15,000, dependingontraffic. from AzadiSq,orataxi 8am-5pm, to8pmsummer) 0342 qanats (admission tomuseum&roofIR25,000; andsurroundingnatural ﻭﻟﯽ

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319 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN SOUTHEASTERN SOUTHEASTERN IRAN most atmospheric –andgood value–places old caravanserai should becomeoneof the ( vanserai… opening, inlate 2007,of cara- thatsame since. tochange Butthatisset withthe caretaker, noforeigners have there stayed Shah Ne’matollahVali. According tothe adjoiningtheAramgah-e the caravanserai in 1934,hestoppedMahan in andstayed When RobertByrontravelled Iran through SLEEPING &EATING (admission IR4000; Arriving atthehandsome SHAHZDE BAGH-E into asmall paying, buttheentranceticket allowsyou pattern –asknicelytobeletin. wheel walls andceilingwithcalligraphyinspiral room onhisregular visits,haspainted the 320 natively, it’seasytoget aprivate taxi. issignpostedthe turn-off inEnglish.Alter- han’s mainroadfromthemausoleum,and are heldinthe grounds. Occasionalmusicfestivalswonderful sight. andpalacearefountains floodlit,which isa visited this time. As thesundisappears, the itwasbeingrenovatedthough whenwe a restaurant (openforlunch anddinner), bathhouse. is awell-preserved Qajar .Totheleftof thepalacethere Hamid ,oneof thelastprincesof the palace thatwasoncetheresidence of Abdul leadingtoadilapidated fountains split-level of aseries grounds, builtin1873,contain greentall trees. Thebeautifullymaintained the nextit’sallflowing you’reOne second inthearidsemidesert, like beingbeamedontoadifferent planet. decent minarets, which canbeclimbed.There isa (and dented) Safavid-era cupolaandQajar tographers willberather assuming therepair workisfinished, pho- roof. Theviewsfromhere are superband, you straight toit. you straight and savaris (IR5500)fromKerman willtake middle of Mahan, (IR1000) andminibuses x Aramgah-e Shah Ne’matollah Vali Caravanserai Ne’matollah Shah Aramgah-e mostof thecomplexwithout You cansee The gardensare a5km-longwalkupMa- converted hasbeen into The palaceitself The mausoleumissmackbanginthe SOUTHEASTERN IRAN••AroundKerman SOUTHEASTERN 0913 3409375;rabout IR70,000) bookshop museum h inthecourtyard. 9am-6pm, 8am-11pmsummer) andthenuptothe excited bythevast qanat The170-year- Bagh-e Shahzde Shahzde Bagh-e water and ﺷﺎﺯﺩﻩ

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of theLittle People) unknown. There’s not much to see. a localLilliputian legend butitsoriginis ittic.com; GharaniSq;d/trUS$18/22; the mausoleum. Ne’matollahi SqinMahan, infrontof right Khajutween (Kermani) Sq inKerman and (IR1000)travelminibuses the35kmbe- About hour,savaris every (IR5500)and THERE&AWAYGETTING soleum, tobookandcheck theprices. Hamed AzadPour,whoworksatthemau- likebeen years ago. English-speaking Call a genuine taste of whattravel musthave bathrooms are shared, butitaddsupto faithfullyrestored,been which meansall intheregion.to stay Thesmallroomshave 1km furtherthe village about 5000years settled ago;and ye Kohne prehistoric archaeological sites: the mausoleum and,totheeastof town,two favid-era are sights of-spare-time limited totheSa- It’sonly-if-I’ve-got-plenty- to thedesert. Shahdad is mainlyof interest asagateway best inIran. inOctober)are reputedly(harvested the is fiercelyhotinsummer,butitsoranges of theDasht-eLut tothesouthandvastemptiness tains lages wedged thePayeh between Moun- Takhab area, agroupof about30oasisvil- Sleepy Shahdad is thelargest towninthe &Around Shahdad be ifit’sproperlyrestored –asistheplan. around andthinkof howwonderfulitcould in aterrible butit’sfuntowander state, asahometoQajar periodVIPs.served It’s which wasbuiltabout200years agoand Neck), home calledShotor Galou(Camel of thislane(about 200m)isaonce-grand ontheleftside.den teahouse, Attheend leads tothisattractive andatmosphericgar- the entrancetomausoleum,aquietlane from Kerman takes youpastthehotel. west of themausoleumandpublic transport hotel isat a roundabout, acoupleof blocks friendly andtherestaurant isdecent.The tidy roomshere is are goodvalue,staff Mahan Inn Mahan About 75minutes northeastof Kerman, Sultan-e Shabha Sultan-e , thearchaeological remains of a Imamzadeh-ye Mohammed Ebn-e Zeid Imamzadeh-ye MohammedEbn-e

(Hotel Jahangardi; (Hotel Jahangardi; Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotels your stay Book

Shahrak-e Kotuluha Shahrak-e ( h to thenorth.Shahdad – 10am-11pm) the namerefers to x pa 622 3555;mahan@ Opposite ) Thebig, Tappeh- (City ﺷﻬﺪﺍﺩ

Shahdad. your passportasthere isacheckpoint in put yourself inthecare of thelocals.Take did, justgobyminibustoShahdad and (return), or, asoneenterprising traveller and backtoKerman forabout IR120,000 charter yoursavari totake you totheKaluts lic transporttoKaluts. Youcan,however, Shohada SqinKerman, butthere isnopub- St,justsouthofdad andImamKhomeini travel Shah-(IR15,000 perseat) between imaginable 65°Cinsummer. midday temperatures toanalmostun- rise Vatania tourwithHossein ( p313 ). Note that ing, which canbearranged (inadvance)on rather lessappealingthanreal camp- desert andpaved lights but thebright spaces are of theKaluts. Thisiswhere mostpeoplestay, upattheedge set camphasbeen but adesert shimmering canvasof goldandbrown. andshadowspainta whenlight and sunset especiallyatdawn ity issimplyspectacular, thereal-own theory.Whatever thecause, 30°38’34.63”, E58°0’58.48”)andmake your (N leaving thisgraze–lookatGoogleEarth the ideathatagiantmeteorite glancedhere, (but whyjustthisnorth-southstretch?) to Theories ranged fromsimplewinderosion we metwasquite sure howitwasformed. landscape isuniqueonearthandno-one 10-storey castles’.Thisstunning ‘sand high dominated bylonglinesofdesert five- to 145km-long and80km-widestretch of headsnorthintothe to Birjand sual arched corridor. ern wallwhere roomsare linked byanunu- and check outthelodgingsalongnorth- grand gatehouse andthenorthwesttower, restored and it’spossibletoclimbabove the partially hasbeen fromtheSeljuk-era, these, Themostprominentofbling . tres northof crum- Shahdad, several boasts AE the therebirth of hasbeen The demise Bam of x RAYEN the town, theArg’s hotchpotch of archi- 111km from Kerman. Onahilloverlooking oftown sittinginthe lee MtHezar (4420m) in an ancientadobe ‘citadel’ asmall Rayen, Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotels your stay Book Semi-regular minibuses andsavaris minibuses Semi-regular There are lodgingsinShahdad, noofficial theTakhabLeaving behind,theroad ShafiAbad 0342 Arg-e Rayen Arg-e , anoasisvillage afew kilome-

(admission IR5000; h 7am-sunset) Kaluts Kaluts ﺭﺍﻳﻦ , a , IR60,000/80,000; simple workshop just insidethemaingate. call him.He isalsoaswordmaker andhasa the Arg andifyoufindthedoors closed, 16 are yourbestbet. Savaris (IR15,000) are terminal hourorso;Taavonis every 3and (IR5000) leaveman. Buses Kerman bus road, theturn-off being88kmfromKer- is23kmsouthof theKerman–BamRayen &away there Getting Options are limited. Sleeping &Eating families. would have hometoseveral been some of which stoodthree storeys and high lic houses door ontheleftleadstoremains of to the andyou’llcome ing backdown,turnright to the gatehouse youcanclimbanarrowstaircase ontothe leads straight most of theArg’s 15towers. Theentrance and1mthickatthetopsupporting the base made of mud,with before restoration beganin1996. abandoned forabout150yearsIt hadbeen years itsexactage old,though isunknown. tectural stylessuggests itiswellover 1000 e p52). see small therestway through of theArg, lookforthe beyond. Covered for viewsover theArg andthemountains for each straw render, reflecting different earthused subtly different shadesof themudand governor andhisfamilyenjoyed;note the belled) andreflect therelative luxurythe herehouses have restored been (andla- Thefourseparate square, isthehighlight. on the right –lookforthe greenon theright façade. the roundaboutandit’sabout 300malong let. As (west)at youenter town,turnright eachtaurant, withbathroomandsquattoi- nine compactbutcleanroomsabove ares- from theArg, opposite apark. large portions.It’sabout 50mdownthehill 35,000) Rayen Arg Tourist Hotel Tourist Arg Rayen Hamid Reza The The structure isastoryof itself muscles Restaurant Arg Arg Restaurant zurkhaneh The tasty foodhereThe tasty comes intypically ‘main walkway’ ramparts governor’s complex governor’s SOUTHEASTERN IRAN •• Rayen IRAN••Rayen SOUTHEASTERN (the sign says ‘kommonpeople’), (the signsays khan

a ( x (home).Climbtotheroof for spectacular views.Com- forspectacular (literally ‘house of (literally ‘house strength’; ) Thissmall,newhotel has 662 3644) kuches ( x . About halfwayalonga outer walls outer 662 3931;mealsIR25,000- bazaar (lanes)weave their , entered fromthe isthecaretaker of

( x and fromthe 662 3578;s/tw 3m thickat

pub- 321 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN SOUTHEASTERN SOUTHEASTERN IRAN with agreen andred façade,the IR14,000; cash 10amto12.30pmonly,withIR17,000commission. thorntree) before youarrive. the Thorn Tree (www.lonelyplanet.com/ est situationwith othertravellers and on 2007(see September p325 ). Checkthelat- the street bydrugsmugglers in inBam A Japanese traveller wasabducted from Dangers &Annoyances Telephone office Post office Coffeenet Shahr Jonub-e Bank Sepah Headquarters BamReconstruction Arg-e Information 14km eastof Bam. as before. it’s unlikely tohave atmosphere thesame rive, inearthquake-proof though concrete should befinished bythetimeyouar- Sq.Thenewbazaaris ImamKhomeini 2km northof thecentre of town,which remains of theancientArg-e isabout Bam make much insummer. more sense What taxis towalkaround,though easy enough any of is thelodgings.Onceintown,Bam toget ataxi youto you’llneed ing light city nearArg Sqandunlessyou’re pack- busterminal isinthesouthofBam’s the Orientation is stillworththetrip. oasisfeel. Ifyouhave desert thetime,Bam of date palmsremain andwiththemthe thousands Bam’s was. Forallthis,however, placethanitonce obviously alessevocative ing. Themainattraction,theArg-e is Bam, two-storey buildingsthatare safe butbor- homes have replaced been bysteel-framed city hasundoubtedly changed. Mud-brick much of therebuilding iscomplete, butthe attraction itoncewas.Afew years later earthquake in2003, isnotthetourist Bam Having allbutflattened byamassive been x BAM also return toKerman. about 1kmfromtheArg, fromwhere they asiyab Sqandstoppingatasquare inRayen more frequent, leaving fromKerman’s Sar- 322 The Arg-e Jadid free-trade zoneisabout 0344 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN••Bam SOUTHEASTERN h (Shahid Sadoqi St) (Shahid 8am-2pm &4-9pm)Lookoutforabuilding (Shahid SadoqiSt)Bankmanagerchanges (Shahid

(Shahid Sadoqi St) (Shahid (Pasdaran St;internet perhr coffeenet isonthefirstfloor. (ArgSt) ﺑﻢ Ὀ (admission free; –the citadel walls andfairy-tale awestruck bythecity’s38towers, huge mud other. Visitors, includingMarco Polo,were end andthePersian GulfandEuropeatthe IndiaandPakistanroutes between atone postonthetrade wasastaging bricks. Bam were first mud- builtusingSassanian-style earthquake analysishasrevealed thewalls occupied foralmost2000years andpost- in Iran’stourismcrown.Thesite hasbeen 2003 earthquake, itwasoneof thejewels est adobestructure onearthand,untilthe The ancientmudcityof isthelarg- Bam Bam Arg-e Bam ing project Teams onearth. of Iranianand 10 Bahman 11 Bisto-do Kerman (200km) Bam (2.8km); To HotelAzadi Park-e 4 9 1 3 2

Modarres St BAM 4 Today theArg isthelargest adobe build-

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Bu Alì Sinnar St Sinnar Alì Bu Shahid Bahonnar Blvd Bahonnar Shahid

Mahdab Mastafa Khomeini St Khomeini Mastafa Arg Sq 7 8 Zahedan (321km); Mirjaveh (405km) A 5 Stadium

Jadid (14km); h (8km); Arg-e Shahrivar Bam Imam Khomeini St 2 To Airport Khomeini 17 Sq Imam 24) Sq

Imam Khomeini St . Eisha St Tabatabaei Alami

6

Pasdaran St Pasdaran Sayyeh Jamal od-Din St od-Din Jamal Sayyeh St Arg 3 Telephone Office...... Post Office...... Jonub-e ShahrCoffeenet... Bank Sepah...... Headquarters...... Arg-e BamReconstruction INFORMATION Jiroft...... Buses toKerman...... Bus Terminal...... Soot-e Delan...... Hezar-o YekShab...... Savaris toKerman,Mahan& A3 Akbar TouristGuestHouse.. TRANSPORT TEAHOUSES &CAFÉS EATING SLEEPING bad 0 0 (Ring

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Eishabad Sq St Sajadi lonelyplanet.com Arg-e Bam 1 Zeid Sq B

Arg-e Bam Arg-e

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Hafez Abad Mohlavi St Mohlavi 0.5 miles

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5 4 3 2 1 9 8 7 6

1 km Kargar St Kargar A2 A2 B2 A2 B2 A4 A4 A4 A4 A3

the laboratory opposite the collapsed gatethe laboratoryopposite thecollapsed theywereto those originallybuiltwith.’In aspossible building usingmaterials asclose ent materials. Wemusttrytorebuild each ferent, builtatdifferent timesusingdiffer- structure,’ hetoldus.‘Every buildingisdif- a dauntinglycomplexjob. As team leaderNimaNaderiexplained,it’s rebuild itusingmainlytraditionalmethods. and whentheArg wasbuilt,andthento neers are workingtofirst understand how foreign archaeologists, architects andengi- lonelyplanet.com ‘We cannotlookattheArg asasingle A TOWNBORNOFDUSTISREBORN and asthey seeusrebuilding it brickbybrick,we are alsorebuilding theirpride.’ a psychological workshopforthepeopleofBam.For them, theArg isthesymboloftheirtown ‘What wehave here isnotjustanindustrialworkshop,re-creating bricksand buildings. This is being attended to. As Bamreconstruction theheadofArg-e NimaNaderi,toldme: project, economy andthelossofArg onthelocalidentity. Buteven hashadanimpact thatisslowly The onthelocal lossoftourismhashadanimpact have oftrack. their lives backonsomesort serious problem. hasbecomea busoutoftown,solacehascomethroughan opiumpipeandaddiction next begin tocometerms withit.FormanyBamis,whodon’thave theluxuryofgettingon lost allbut11ofher96-memberextended family,Icouldn’teven imagine such aloss,letalone constants have beenthedate palms. two-storey andheavilyengineered concrete andbrickhotel. As intherest ofBam,theonly weeks after todemountablebuildingsand,as money hasbecomeavailable,anew, thequake, buthasrebuilt bitbybit.Fromthetentdie intheearthquake, onthestreet Istayedinafew Manager Panjalizadeh Akbarsawhisbusinessflattened andhisson’sbestfriendtwoguests cally, atleast. but several yearslater Bamcontinuestoemerge fromthedustanddeathdepression. Physi- have beenbarely imaginable before happened.Progress itactually hasbeenfrustratinglyslow, done, thegrievingbeganamidfreezing nightsspentunderRedCrescent canvas. their homeshadcollapsedatopthemat5.30amthatbitterly coldmorning. Withtheburying ing anyonealive. That Bamburiedmostofthe31,000peoplewhodiedwhen day,andthenext, thedead–even concrete thenfew toextract through broken heldouthopeoffind- inaneffort out oftheboot. image. Fourlarge mensatcryinginawhite Pridewhiletwobodiesandshovels Kia hung lock ofpeopletryingdesperately toescapethecarnage,horrorwassummedupinasingle tothecemetery.onto apinksuburbanbus,tobetaken As Ifollowedthebusthroughagrid- without anyinjury.But15or16membersofmy[extended] familyare dead.’ man toldme,pointingtoapileofrubblethatwasoncehishome,‘five peoplewere dugout had reduced thisancientcityofmud-brickhomestodust and rubble. Deathwaseverywhere. steppingthe city,itwaslike intoascenefromhell.The measuring 6.8ontheRichter scale, quake, thathadjustdevastatedWhen Iarrived ontheearthquake inBamon27December2003toreport Bam is far from perfect, butmostpeoplehave hadtheirhomesrebuiltBam isfarfromperfect, insomefashionand agrandmotherwhohadThe longertoheal.WhenIinterviewed emotionalscarswilltake Bam’s progress canbesummedupintheprogress oftheAkbarTouristGuestHouse( p324 ). During several visitssincethenI’ve seenBamdealwith anevent whosemagnitudewould The scenewasrepeated acrossBam.Womenwailingandbeatingthemselves; menscrambling A few andloaded metres pastinablanket away,awomanwailedasanotherbodywascarted wereThose ‘After Bamiswhohadsurvived inastate of shock. thishousecollapsed,’oneold Andrew Burke has no deadline’ seems morehas nodeadline’seems realistic. required, Nima’sstatement that‘theproject made each day,andcountlessmillionsbeing years. Butwithlessthan1000bricksbeing and itsreconstruction isscheduled totake 15 which isthestrongest andmostflexible. mud, strawandpalmmulch todetermine perimenting withdifferent compositionsof timetheyarebuildings. Atthesame ex- intheoriginal ing sizesanddensitiesused range of mudbricksinlinewiththediffer- aretower, engineers a workingtodevelop About 150peopleare workingontheArg SOUTHEASTERN IRAN••Bam SOUTHEASTERN

323 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN SOUTHEASTERN SOUTHEASTERN IRAN morning orlate afternoon. majesty. toimagineits mean it’snottoodifficult ing ramparts,arches andsupportingwalls scaleofthe sheer theArg andtheremain- afterwalk, buteven the It’sahaunting the footof itself. thecitadel dusty brownlanefromtheentranceto of thisbook. A restaurant isanticipated duringthelife good placetojusthangoutandrecharge. keep peoplelonger thantheyexpect.It’sa localesoften andmountain to nearbydesert attraction, whilelaundry,phoneandtours able. Theeasy,socialambienceisthemain with andwithoutbathroomwillbeavail- open in2008.Dormsandarange of rooms earthquake-proof isdueto 15-roomaffair buildings followingtheearthquake, anew, years of in tents struggle andprefabricated heading toorfromPakistan. Andafter four placeforoverlanders themeeting long been and restaurants andfew have rebuilt. been The earthquake claimedmostof hotels Bam’s Sleeping &Eating 324 & 4-10.30pm) cream) isfamous. juicy chicken kabab, andit’s ence. Thefoodisexcellent,especiallythe the rear gardenisafavourite experi- Bami eating onthe 10pm) best intown. breakfast, lunch anddinner)isoneof the (mealsIR40,000toIR70,000;open taurant fromKerman.main roadintoBam Theres- togoanywhere.a taxi the left of It’s off the about 6kmfromtheArg meansyou’llneed that are ifthelocationof fairvalue,even rooms find spacious,cleanandcomfortable The earthquake damage isfixed andyou’ll yahoo.com; Jahad Blvd;s/d/ste€40/50/70; Jahad yahoo.com; €5, rwith/withoutbathroom€15/10; SayyehJamalod-DinSt;dm 4843; [email protected]; in apark isnotgreat forsolowomen. the young menof The locationdeep Bam. over isafunplaceto sitandsocialise (teahouse) o There isnoshade available, sogoearly For thevisitor,it’spossibletowalka Hotel Azadi Bam Azadi Hotel Soot-e Delan Soot-e Hezar-o YekHezar-o Shab Akbar Tourist GuestHouse Akbar Tourist SOUTHEASTERN IRAN••BamtoMinab SOUTHEASTERN The name means ‘1001 nights’, and Thenamemeans‘1001nights’, chay (tea) andqalyan(water pipe)with This indoor/outdoor takhts (Park-e Bisto-do Bahman; Bahman; (Park-e Bisto-do (meals IR15,000-40,000; ( (daybed-style tables) in (daybed-styletables) x 221 0095;argbam.2005@ zelzele a (earthquake) ) bastani chaykhaneh Akbar’s has h

pai 9am-noon ( x h (ice 231 4- )

Halil St;admissionIR2000; two hours) or Bandar Abbastwo hours) orBandar viaRudan. hour) then change for Minab (IR30,000, (minibus/savari southeast of town. Yougofirst toKhanuj Terminal) (Khanuj Khanuj about 2.5km leavesouth, savaris andminibuses theEskaa costIR15,000.Heading toBam quent buses block southof Hotel Jaam-e Jam. Less-fre- utes) stopatthecentralFarmondari Sq,one place witharestaurant inthelobby. the now it’snotreally worththetrip.Instead, shaped moundsare 28kmfromJiroft butfor this little-understood period.Theziggurat- from outtoBritain) facts (manysmuggled ered in2002 have given of upthousands arte- andtwoarchaeological sites discov-4000 BC, Halil sinceatleast settled hasbeen RudBasin of themostfertile landinIran.Thenearby way is of Minab ( p308 ). Themajor stopalongthe orKermanBam andthePersian Gulftown of travellers are theroadbetween taking To avoid backtracking,agrowingnumber TO MINAB BAM when theyfill. Jiroft (IR25,000,90minutes) leave Arg Sq hours), Mahan (IR30,000,1¼hours) and ( Tourist GuestHouse left ) forschedules. including onesoonafter 6am–askatAkbar passintermittently, four hours, 321km)buses (IR16,000/25,000, at 3.30pm.ForZahedan and Tehran (IR100,000,21hours, 1258km) han (IR70,000,11hours, 703km)at2.30pm includeEsfa- fromBam few regular services three hours, 204km)leave frequently. The Kerman ( to Buses stop enroute toorfromZahedan. Sq butArg iswhere Sqitself mostservices smallairporteastofBam’s town. Iran Aseman Tehran fliesdailybetween and &Away There Getting a ( (Halil St;perpersonIR40,000; seum. Onthemainstreet,seum. the budget optionabout100meastof themu- the findsandhasinteresting explanations. the northbankof of theriver, several houses x Savaris (IR25,000, 90min- to/fromBam Savaris forKerman (IR30,000,two busterminal isjustsouthofBam’s Arg If you stay inJiroft,If youstay the ) Jiroft Archaeological Museum Museum Archaeological Jiroft isamore midrange-style comfortable, 0348-221 0340; Dowlat St, near Setat Sq; r IR180,000; Sq;rIR180,000; 0348-221 0340;DowlatSt,nearSetat Jiroft mahmooly , which issurroundedbysome Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotels your stay Book

IR6000/20,000, 1½/one /Volvo IR12,000/18,000, /Volvo IR12,000/18,000, h a 9am-noon &4-6pm) Mosaferkhaneh Valiasr Mosaferkhaneh ) is the very simple is thevery simple Hotel Jaam-e Jam Jam Jaam-e Hotel ( x 0348-221 7553; 0348-221 7553; , on

lonelyplanet.com comfort tothosewhohave beenheld.comfort east. The dangeristempered notouristshave bythefact yetbeenharmed,thoughthat is little leverage have addeda large degree ofannoyanceandsomedangertotravelling inthesouth- Sunni extremists operatingfromPakistan touriststouseas anddrugsmugglerswhokidnap EXTREMISTS &DRUGSMUGGLERS: TRAVEL ANNOYANCES by writing about your trip on the Middle Eastbranch oftheThorn Tree.by writing aboutyourtripon theMiddle abducted bysmugglershave eventually beenreleased unharmed.Finally, helpothertravellers intheknowledgethat,so faratleast,allthetravellers somecomfort and ithappenstoyou, take alowprofile.to keep tryplan totravel If you’re inyourownvehicle onpublictransport, beyondBam, getanescort. alowprofile.sane 120km/h.Ifyou’re thebusandkeep take travelling bypublictransport, the savaridriver convoy,which hadtheaddedbenefitofkeeping downtoarelativelyescorted oursavaritravelled On ourreturn inan fromZaboltoZahedan you’ll getanarmedescort. Akbar’s (seeAkbarTouristGuestHouse, opposite ) istheplacetomeetotheroverlanders. driving, youmightwanttolinkupwithothervehicles ordefinitely inKerman, inBam,where forupdates,ferry-to-iran-oman-uae-21170-2 andaskagainateachstopasyouheadeast.Ifyou’re tree) andthemessageboard(it’scalledHUBB)ofwww.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/middle-east/ trouble. The best planistodoyourresearch. ReadtheThorn Tree (www.lonelyplanet.com/thorn to orfromPakistan. Clearlyit’snotcompletely safe, butpeoplecontinuetodoit,usuallywithout andPakistanThe isunavoidableifyouwanttotravel toBam,Zahedan roadfrom Kerman overland What todo? reportedly ingoodhealth. wasstillbeingheldseveralwe wenttopress monthslater, Satoshi Nakamura thoughhewas abducted aJapanesetraveller fromastreet inBam.They againdemandedtheson’srelease. As to becautiousandtravel ingroups. Butheurgedstandard, sleepingopenaironhardrocksandwithoneblanket.’ othertravellers finally beingreleased. Stefaan toldusbyemailhewastreated relatively ‘well,accordingtotheir days buttheman,Stefaan Boeve, washeldfor34daysinIran,Pakistan andAfghanistan before whose leaderdemandedtherelease ofhisimprisonedson.The womanwasreleased after four were The notextremists, kidnappers butawell-organisedZahedan. groupofdrugsmugglers In August 2007aBelgian coupledrivingoverland were abducted ontheroadbetweenBamand The DrugSmugglers (Some of) does justifysomeoftheirparanoia. The police,however, weren’tescort. happywhentheyfoundout.Though thethreat ofkidnap we weren’t goingtoofarfromthehotel, andeven managedtosneakupZabolwithoutan leave thehotel. Anarmedpoliceshadowisannoying. Wewere allowedoutunaccompaniedif staying incheaphotels and,aswefound,are whenever supposedtohave they apoliceescort has tightened foreigners securityinallareas are InZahedan eastofKerman. forbiddenfrom withatleast11peoplekilled. a RepublicanGuardbuswasblownupinZahedan, Zabol. Then toBamroad.Andin2007 in asimilaroperationontheKerman 12peoplewere killed andand several hostageafter taken thegroupstoppedtrafficonroadbetweenZahedan in thefollowingyearscarriedoutseveral majorterror attacks. First 22Iranianswere shotdead groupofSunniextremists emergedIn 2005theJundollah inSistanvaBaluchestanprovince and The Extremists Getting kidnapped can ruin your holiday (understatement alert), butifyoudoget very can ruinyourholiday(understatement unlucky alert), Getting kidnapped it’sbesttoplayitsafe.Until there hasbeenaprolongedperiodwithoutkidnapping, Ifyou You couldalsogetyourhotel toinformthepoliceand,assumingthingsare stilldangerous, While Stefaan wasreleased, thesmuggler’s sonwasnot,andthree weekslater thesmuggler So far,theextremists have nottargeted tourists,butthegovernment isworriedtheywilland SOUTHEASTERN IRAN •• Bam to Minab IRAN••BamtoMinab SOUTHEASTERN

325 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN SOUTHEASTERN SOUTHEASTERN IRAN

non-Iranians; willsendyoutoTehran. h Pakistani Consulate Consulate Pakistani Indian Consulate CONSULATES Information Ruz isbestconsidered thecentre of town. marketplace withnoparticularfocus,Bazar-e tobeonehuge seems the wholeof Zahedan hotel andback,which iseasytodo. Although from theairportorbusterminal totheir Most visitors willonlyworryabout getting isaflat,dusty,featureless town. Zahedan Orientation activityusuallyheldinsummer.Baluchi sabagheh-ye shotor-e davani), beintownfora you might Kuh-e Khajeh ( p331 ). Ifyou’re very lucky ( toZabol worthy daytrips,notably p329 ) and fewer reasons tohangaround(see p325 ). theremeant thatwhenwepassed were even lers long,andrestrictive don’tstay security most overlanders willstophere. Mosttravel- IranandPakistaning pointbetween means but itsproximity totheonlylegalcross- has few attractionsof itsown(very few), province. vaBaluchestan lawless Sistan It of iscapital thedesolate andnear-Zahedan x ZAHEDAN 326 to fivedayswithaletterfromyourembassy. h Zahedan St Taftun 1 2 ZAHEDAN

Outside Zahedan there areOutside Zahedan acoupleof Tabataba'i St Tabataba'i issuesvisasto 9.30am-2.30pm Sat-Wed)No-longer 0541 /pop534,000 9am-1.30pm &2.30-5pmSun-Thu) Visasissuedinfour SOUTHEASTERN IRAN••Zahedan SOUTHEASTERN (2km) Terminal To Bus Garazh 12 Bahonar St Taleqani ABCD

Mashhad (937km) Kerman (525km); To Bam(321km); Sq Shahid Raja'i St Raja'i Shahid ( Imam Khomeini St x (

x

322 2337; off Imam Khomeini St; 322 2337;offImamKhomeini Farhad St Farhad

322 3389; Pahlavani St; 322 3389;Pahlavani

Balal St Balal Sistan St Sistan

Ὀ Hirmand St Hirmand camel race

a traditional 15 Khordad Sayyed Ghotb St Ghotb Sayyed Square

὇὇὇ ὇὇὇ ὇὇὇ ὇὇὇ ﺯﺍﻫﺪﺍﻥ Metri-ye Mahduyeh St Mahduyeh Metri-ye 10 10 40 Metri-e Kamarbandi St

(mo-

Modar Mõlavi St Mõlavi

Mostafa Khomeini St

VISA EXTENSIONS Travel Zahedan Khaterat TRAVEL AGENCIES ( in Kerman p313 ). postoffice Main office telephone International POST &TELEPHONE Bank Saderat Branch Central Bank Melli Pakistani currency. side of theborderoffers thebestrates for cies. TheTaftan terminal onthePakistani can alsobuyPakistani curren- andAfghan After hours headtothebazaar,where you MONEY Café Internet GrandHotel Esteghlal Diba Coffeenet ACCESSINTERNET Police headquarters Hospital Khatam EMERGENCY do not here withrecently expired but transitvisas, Some travellers have reported getting help off Taleqani Sq; and euroschangedonlybetween8am1.30pm. IR10,000; St) ChangesUSdollarsandeuroswithoutmuchfuss. Sq;perhrIR15,000)Openonrequest, maybe. near Azadi for details onextending visas. for details

r

es St es

Shirazi St Shirazi Abd-ol-Aziz Beheshti St Beheshti rely onthis theboxed. See text, p395 Bazar-e h

Ruz

14

Momnin St Momnin 18 St Taleqani 8am-2.30pm &3-9pm)Notdesperatelyfast. h Ὀ Ὀ Ὀ (Motahhari Blvd, near Azadi Sq)USdollars Blvd,nearAzadi (Motahhari Chabahar

10

(Motahhari Blvd, near Azadi Sq;perhr Blvd,nearAzadi (Motahhari Dr Shariati St Shariati Dr 17 To St Azadi (EmdadSt)Bettertousethepostoffice 7.30am-9.30pm) Under the Abuzar Hotel. 7.30am-9.30pm) UndertheAbuzarHotel. ( x 11 Shohada Square 1 19 3 (

6

x 4 322 0501; Motahhari Blvd) 322 0501;Motahhari 2 St Baqerii 13

110) Nearthebazaar. Square St Kaf'ami Azadi ( (Bank Melli Markazi; Azadi Azadi Markazi; (Bank Melli x (Metri-e Kamarbandi St, St, Kamarbandi (Metri-e 322 9113; Azadi St) 322 9113;Azadi

15

Moqaddam St ὈὈ Moqaddam ὈὈ

lonelyplanet.com Pahlavani St Pahlavani (Motahhari Blvd, (Motahhari

Mostafa Khomeini St Imam Khomeini St Motahhari Blvd Motahhari Molavi Hossein Bor St 8 Farrokhi Alley Hafez Alley 7

Emdad St Station Train

ὈὈὈ ὈὈὈ Police Department of Alien Affairs ofAlienAffairs Police Department Azadi Sq. youroverpriceddoes, optionsare allnear foreigners, change. butthismight Untilit p325 ); thefirst three placeswouldn’ttake cheap theboxed hotels (see Zahedan’s text, foreignstayed, guestswere bannedfrom orPakistan. Bam, pleasant Whenwe tomuch-more- through head straight If you’re and onabudget, forget Zahedan Sleeping colour alone. fortheirnot knownastheBlackMountains tains, unaccompaniedoronfoot–they’re looking area knownastheBlackMoun- venture inthejagged- westof Zahedan secure placetoleave itovernight. Donot a problemsoifyouhave avehicle finda are pretty theftis lonelyafter dark.Car and awayfromthemainsquares thestreets any timeitcanbealittleunsafe atnight, theboxedlice escort(see text, p325 ). At almost everywhere wewentrequired apo- visited itwasdefinitely annoyingbecause canbedangerous andwhenwe Zahedan Dangers &Annoyances Branch on Azadi St. Branch onAzadi Central Youmustdeposityourfee attheBankMelli next. the sameday,orthe shouldbesorted tion, andextensions Themiddleofficewillprocessyourapplica- cratic event. has movedonandthisofficeisbacktobeingabureau- officerof yearspast theurbaneEnglish-speaking airport, h Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotels your stay Book Chamran Stadium Ὀ Ὀ St 7am-2pm, closed Fri) Justoutsidetheentranceto 7am-2pm, closedFri) 5 FGH G EF Forudgah Square Montazeri St 16 20

Motahhari Blvd To Mirjaveh (84km) 9 (Motahhari Blvd; (Motahhari Post Office...... Police Headquarters...... Police DepartmentofAlienAffairs...... Pakistani Consulate...... Main PostOffice...... Khatam Hospital...... International PhoneOffice...... (see12) Indian Consulate...... Café...... (see13) Esteghlal GrandHotelInternet Diba Coffeenet...... Bank Saderat...... Bank Melli(CentralBranch)...... INFORMATION Khaterat ZahedanTravel...... To Airport (500m) 4898; Montazeri St, off Forudgah Sq;rUS$47; St,offForudgah 4898; Montazeri downstairs. shared bathroomsandadecentrestaurant in thewestof town,hascleanroomsand managed cheapie neartheGarazharea, with breakfast; Sq;s/d/steIR693,000/988,000/1,386,000 teghlal.ir; Azadi St, offTaleqani Sq;rIR90,000; s/tw IR45,000/60,000; Imam Khomeini streets, andafewImam Khomeini places aroundthecornerof DrShariati and There are goodbarbecue chicken several Eating overlander lookingforlock-upparking. too clean,avoid theKavir unlessyou’re an to thepointof beingwornout, andnone Blvd; s/dIR170,000/250,000; behind acoloured glassdoor. edge of thebazaarandit’sabout 80malong St;take thefirstImam Khomeini leftatthe along DrShariati Stfromthecornerwith plumbing isn’tgreat. Tofindit,headnorth this ultrabasic placeisfriendlybutthe a goodsizeandclean. route toorfrom Pakistan, roomshere are Away fromtownbuthandyifyou’re en TV, fridge andspotlessbathroom. TV, three-star roomswithsatellite nice-enough has mile,thebigEsteghlal town byadesert Some MinorRoads NotDepicted Kavir Hotel &Restaurant Hotel Kavir Hotel Momtzahirmand Hotel Zahedan Tourist Inn Tourist Zahedan Abuzar Hotel Abuzar Hotel Esteghlal GrandHotel Esteghlal 11 10 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN •• Zahedan IRAN••Zahedan SOUTHEASTERN 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 C1 C1 C1 F2 D2 D2 C1 E2 C1 C2 C2 Savaris toMirjaveh...... Iran Air...... Esteghlal GrandHotelRestaurant...(see13) Barbeque ChickenShops...... Zahedan TouristInn...... Kavir Hotel&Restaurant...... Hotel Momtzahirmand...... Esteghlal GrandHotel...... Abuzar Hotel...... TRANSPORT EATING SLEEPING Esteghlal Restaurant...... pai

( x a 451 2132; 40 Metri-e Kamarbandi Kamarbandi 451 2132;40Metri-e ) 1km 0.5miles 0 0 Right inthebazaar, Right

pa ) (

(Hotel Jahangardi; (Hotel Jahangardi; Thebestplacein x ( x

pa ( x 323 8068;www.hoteles 322 2313; Bazar-e Ruz; 322 2313;Bazar-e 326 0137; Motahhari 326 0137;Motahhari ) Wornalmost ) Thiswell- 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 kababis pa E2 C2 C1 C1 E2 D2 C1 C2 A1 x 327 322 1 2

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SOUTHEASTERN IRAN SOUTHEASTERN SOUTHEASTERN IRAN in arelaxing Thebestintown. setting. fare unsurprisingbuttasty out backserves of itwith… town.Don’tconfuse decent range of cheap inthecentre staples ( p407). facelengthystops atcheckpoints Zahedan ( p331 from ) bysavari. Note thatallbuses ( trips toZabol opposite ) andKuh-eKhajeh scenery.Moredesert manageable are day usually travelling overnight soyoumiss the headnorthallthewaytoMashhad,Buses BUS &SAVARI journeys toMashhad. travel. It’salsoagoodideafornorthward good alternative tolonghours of overland isolation,flyingmakes a Given Zahedan’s AIR &Away There Getting rants, withpricesreflecting roomrates. Other thanthat,allthehotels have restau- 328 meals IR60,000) are available fromtravel agencies. Tickets onlyinternational flight. Zahedan’s toDubaifor which onFridaysgoes polev, to board aTu- need youmight though or twicedaily). andTehrantimes weekly) (IR599,000,once Friday only),Mashhad (IR436,000,four (IR512,000, Fridayonly),Kerman (IR258,000, Esfahan har (IR284,000,sixtimesweekly), toChaba- Azadi Sq,fliesfromZahedan meini St;mealsIR15,000) Bam. Andthesefigures camestraightfromthegovernment inTehran. blamed forstealing asmany90,000IranianRedCrescent tents fortheneedyof earmarked pik-ups (see earthquake p323 ). Nosoonerdidtruckloadsofaidarrive thanmuchofitdisappeared on ascetic-looking menlivingthere.ascetic-looking inanodofrecognition tothemoreto Zahedan ofstragglybearded, conspicuouscollection town appeared nomore fullofthieves thanitsneighbours. At oncehehadthenamechanged ‘stole’ thewater. Passing wasastonishedthat,despite itsname,the throughoneday,RezaShah more romanticversion straightthroughthesoil,thereby hasitthatrainsoaked theground two isthatthevillageofDozda firstdeveloped asaplacewhere banditscametorest. The The localsoffer several(Thieves). explanationsfortheoriginal name. The more obviousofthe (meaning‘Ascetics’) wentunderthefar-less-invitingNot solongagoZahedan nameof Dozda &BACKFROM ‘THIEVES’TO‘ASCETICS’… Esteghlal GrandHotel Esteghlal Iran Air Restaurant Esteghlal Mahan Airfliesregularly toTehran, SOUTHEASTERN IRAN••Zahedan SOUTHEASTERN However, Zahedan’s badreputationHowever, seemedfullyjustifiedinthedaysfollowingBam Zahedan’s (utilities with canvas covers) going east. Rightly or wrongly, the Baluchis of Zahedan were (utilitieswithcanvascovers) orwrongly,theBaluchisofZahedan goingeast.Rightly

( x Theindoor/outdoorrestaurant 322 0813/4; Motahhari Blvd) 322 0813/4;Motahhari Less thannofrills,buta Less (

x ( x 322 2250;ImamKho- 323 8088; Azadi Sq; 323 8088;Azadi , near To/From Pakistan 15-18hr Zabol IR12,000 3-4hr Yazd IR65,000 14hr Tehran IR120,000 Shiraz IR90,000 19-23hr IR50,000 IR85,000 Mashhad 15-18hr 13-16hr 6-8hr IR45,000 Kerman IR90,000 Esfahan 15-19hr Bandar Abbas Bam IR20,000 4-6hr hours) (IR7500,1½totwo hours) andminibuses There are frequent (IR6000, 1½ buses ijvhTfa, p330. Mirjaveh/Taftan, alsoCrossing thePakistan Border atSee vehicle isgoingtothevillage orborder. of Mirjaveh village, soclarify whetheryour your hardest. much asUS$20forthetrip,butbargain the fareastof town.Drivers willaskforas (IR20,000, onehour)fromForudgah Sqin istogetThe easiestway,however, asavari leaveMost buses from thebusterminal. etnto ae Duration Destination Fare destinations. a Mercedes runtomost willeventually you’re prepared toaskaround–andwait lar (priceshere are if for Volvos),though are daysmostbuses Volvoorsimi- These afternoon foramorningarrival. orevening, tinations; longer tripsusuallyleave inthe times a dayforthefollowingdes- several chaotic leave inanorganised fashion.Buses is,like somanyothers inIran, Zahedan The sprawlingterminal The Iran-Pakistan borderis15km east

from Zahedan toMirjaveh (96km). from Zahedan

in thewestof lonelyplanet.com two daysismore likely: as reader Michael vonKuelmerreported, The tripisscheduled totake 30hours, but 4142) andBam). Zahedan andFahraj maximum), Zahedan (between repairs. Petrol isavailable inMirjaveh (20L waitfor a potentially longandunpleasant sure your vehicle isingoodorderorrisk facilities. Take plentyof water andmake hedan andKerman isgood,butshort on once onthePakistan side. a riskof bandits;considerdrivinginconvoy is barren andlonely,withfew facilitiesand totheIranianborder The roadfromQuetta astheworst legofdesert, theirjourney. acrossthevastBaluchestan and Quetta, often Zahedan describethetripbetween Drivers travelling Turkey between andIndia CAR &MOTORCYCLE lonelyplanet.com in Zahedan’s attractive in Zahedan’s the not-exactly-overworked stationmaster God willsit) Western calendar at8.30am, the 3rdand17thof monthbythe every toleavethen thetrainissupposed on TotheOrientByTrain, (see p404 ), until isfinished whenthelinetoBam Quetta and cross-border Zahedan trainsbetween enjoy it.Ifnot,take thebus. ers) and hasplentyof time,you’llprobably are andnosleep- simple withwoodenseats byhardship (carriagespeople, isn’tfussed die. Ifyou’re someone whoenjoysmeeting anteed tobeastoryyou’lltell untilyou inPakistan, andQuetta, isguar-Zahedan and often traintripbetween uncomfortable The long,remote, dusty,sometimescold To/From Pakistan Trains (www.rajatrains.com) forupdates. hedan should openby2009.CheckRaja andZa- The newtrainlinelinkingBam TRAIN Armed guards accompany youonthe ping in Taftan blankets). (webought der. thattimeforshop- Youcanuse including aboutfive hours atthebor- c 47hoursneeded forthewholetrip, pictures.for viewingandtaking We is20to30km/h, great‘The speed The clearlysignposted Za- roadbetween Iran andPakistan have planstoincrease to double-check; morningsare best. . It usually does, butdocall It usuallydoes, train station insh’Allah

( x 322 (if and get onthetraininTaftan. you couldget acrosstheborder yourself fromTaftanrupees Alternatively, toQuetta. You payinrialtoTaftan (IR12,000),andin when they feel like it). Amin Hotel. Hours are flexible (ieitopens in 1899,eastof the bazaarandopposite the intheold British consulate,housed built a smalldisplayof archaeological finds.It’s newly opened of great historicalinterest a left,though theShahnameh.epic poem There’s little of themythicalheroof Rostam, Ferdosi’s nia andisknowninIranasthebirthplace of sections stall. behind curtained-off pungent opiumsmokesee waftingout from andthere’sfor sale agoodchance you’ll There are allmannerof goods smuggled it becomesclearthisisnoordinarytown. opium. As thebazaar youwanderthrough ever-present suggestion of drugs, especially illicit goods,big-bearded andthe Afghans from Tehran –thatit’sfullof smugglers, away border–and farenough ghanistan totheAf- close tier townthat’ssufficiently North of Zahedan, isadustyfron- Zabol x ZABOL cost aboutIR20,000anhour. for aboutIR1500atrip.Aroundtowntaxis aretle taxis available alongthemainroads to theterminal expecttopayIR7000.Shut- less thanaboutIR5000,andfromthebazaar hard. will costabout IR15,000, ifyoubargain theairportandtown between A private taxi Around Getting in ahurry!’ a-day delay.It’sholiday–youare not train isleaving late; ours leftwithhalf- iftheas well!Anddon’tbeputoff journey food anddrinkit’sapleasant get butwithwarmclothesandenough people there. It’sarideyouwon’tfor- nice unbelievably opportunity tomeet lages ontheway,which gives youthe driver included!Thetrainstopsinvil- very friendly,handshakingwiththe thanpassengers) was train (more staff Pakistani of the side. Thewholestaff The town has been inhabited formillen- The townhasbeen You’ll beluckytoget for aprivate taxi 0542 /pop128,000 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN••Zabol SOUTHEASTERN museum (Ferdosi St; h Sat-Thu)

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329 has SOUTHEASTERN IRAN SOUTHEASTERN SOUTHEASTERN IRAN 125,000; a weapon –asmileattheready. out.Keepyou’ll probablystand yourbest manyforeignersthey don’tsee outhere, so boxed text, p325 ). Whatever thesituation, the situationatthetime(see on thesecurity How much companyyou’llhave depends makes agooddaytripfromZahedan. Zabol Sokhta ( opposite ), andperhapsabriefstopat missable octagonal green-glass octagonal missable façade. fridge togowithitspinkinterior andun- and the terminal hassquatbathrooms,TV Hotel Amin Hotel Sleeping &Eating 330 yellow sign. yellow sign. street –lookforthegreen frontandasmall St,onthenorthernsideofKhomeini the thekitchen. It’sabout400meastofuse Imam ishappytohelpandyoucan sign) butstaff English isn’tspoken (andthere’s noEnglish ba zaar, isagoodbudget option. sleeping both sidesoftheborder. Ifyoudon’tknowtheexchangerates you itinerary. People withvehicles have reported similarlysmoothcrossings. than anhour. Americantravellers mighthave toundergo abouttheir abriefbutpolite interview time (about7am). sometimes earlier(1½hoursbefore sundown).The borderusuallyopensaroundsunrise Iranian tutes daylight-saving insummer),meaningtheborderclosesat4.30pm(Iraniantime)winter, be aware thatPakistan ofIran(ormaybe is90minutes ahead just 30minutes ifIranreinsti- orMirjaveh is simple, but isthetriptoQuetta. GettingtotheborderfromZahedan painful part Crossing theborderbetweenIranandPakistan atTaftan isarelatively painlessprocess–the CROSSING THEPAKISTAN BORDERAT MIRJAVEH/TAFTAN of thebordercompound, fromwhere you waitfora between2pmand6pm. 4000 rupees,or1000rupeesaseat.From Quetta,mostbusesdepart attheborder itself.than thoseparked thesametripin12to15hoursfor AToyotataximakes the middleofnight.Readerssuggest thebuseswaitingaroundsquare inTaftan are better from 11to16hours,sothelater evening busesare bestifyoudon’twanttoarrive inQuetta 3pm and6pm),orwhenever theyfilltoburstingpoint.Ifallgoesaccordingplanthe bustakes (350 rupees,617km)leave inthemorning(usuallybefore 10am)and afternoon (between about everywhere andyoudon’tneedapoliceescort yougo.no worsethanZahedan BusesforQuetta them before youarrive orasksomeonecrossingintheotherdirection. charges about600rupees anight,andanother hotel costs150 rupees. foraboutIR40,000perseatinasavari toZahedan. You’llbeasked Mirjaveh orZahedan. Combined with a trip to Kuh-e Khajeh Combined withatriptoKuh-eKhajeh Hotel Aram Hotel ) SOUTHEASTERN IRAN••Zabol SOUTHEASTERN Formore luxury,thishotel outside To changemoneyyouwillprobablyhave todealwithoneofthesharkswhocirclearound Travellers getpreferential treatment onbothsidessothewholeprocessrarely longer takes Coming intoIran,oncethepaperwork isfinishedafree shuttlebuswilldropyou attheedge Taftan especiallyinsummer. hasbeendescribed,notunfairly,ashellonearth, Ontheupside,it’s If yougetstuckatthe border,stayinginTaftan ispreferable toMirjaveh. Taftan’s TouristHotel (the Burnt City, 56km south of Zabol), (the BurntCity,56kmsouthof Zabol), p ) ( The family-runAmir,nearthe x

( x 222 2823;Ferdosi St;s/twIR85,000/ 229 5400;RostamSq;rIR310,000; Shahr-e Shahr-e sandwich joints. sandwich tarian tarian the wholeway. a goodchance you’llhave apoliceescort port thedriver won’ttake you.Andthere’s your passport;ifyoudon’tbringpass- istic approach todriving.Youmustbring the drivers tend totake adisturbinglyfatal- Abuzar Hotel ( p327 ), andinourexperience orsofrom50mwestof the half-hour every to bebackinaday. (IR25,000, twohours, 216km)ifyouwant hedan, you’re asavari farbetter taking off of otherplaces,includingTehran. FromZa- (IR60,000, 12to15hours) andallmanner leave Buses here forMashhadRakhsh). of onhistrustysteed giant statue Rostam Sq(lookforthe bus terminal, Rostam off three tofive hours) you’llstopatthenew on TuesdaysandFridays. andTehranMahan Zabol Airfliesbetween &Away There Getting For food,there’s theusualrange of utili- Savaris leave from Zahedan for Zabol forZabol Savaris leave fromZahedan bybus(IR10,000, Arriving fromZahedan pik-up kababis, /minibus/savari to fill andleave for pizza,barbequechicken and Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotels your stay Book will berippedoff,socheck Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotels your stay Book at theedge of town.You’re unlikely tobe roadthatturnsintoacauseway flat, straight and you’llhave towalkthelast4kmalonga it willprobably stopin Kuh-eKhajeh village all thewaytoKuh-eKhajeh. Atothertimes don’ttake anyphotos. and aradarstation; more ancientbuildings,panoramicviews top of where themountain, there are several have avehicle, roadrunsuptothe arough like Ifyou topicnicnearby. when Zabolis bealone,unlessit’saFriday almost certainly thearches andsquaresdering through you’ll times.Wan- todate fromSassanid thought during theParthian era,butwhatremains is Thetownwasoriginallybuilt the mountain. dwellings stepping uptothetopof steeply an ancienttown,thecrumblingmud-brick species oncefoundhere. the200orsomigratorybird consequence for‘stealing’ theirwater, ghanistan andby opium productionoperationsupriver inAf- lake hadfilled.Localsblamewater-intensive when welastvisited onlyafractionof the become theattractive Hamun, Lake though the HirmandRiver feeds intothelake bedto spring andsummer. It’sthenthatwater from is desolate inwinter butswathedingreen in outof ofrises that awide,flatexpanse Sistan thatis The flat-toppedmountain KUH-E KHAJEH lonelyplanet.com the above - ‘Do the right thingwithourcontent.’ the above -‘Dotheright theterms and conditionsonoursiteforalonger wayofsaying youknow,orresell it.See everyone site,mass emailitto only. Inotherwords, pleasedon’tuploadthischapterto apeer-to-peer Inreturn, wethinkit’sfair toaskyouuseitforpersonal,non-commercial purposes restricted. © LonelyPlanetPublications. iteasier foryoutouse,accessthischapterisnotdigitally Tomake On Fridays, the minibus from Zabol runs On Fridays,theminibusfromZabol The mainattractionistheremains of ﺧﻮﺍﺟﻪ Kuh-e Khajeh Kuh-e

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almost every majoralmost every cityinIran. two hours, 96km),fromwhere goto buses hedan (bus/minibusIR6000/7500,1½to thing about togo totheborderorZa- gated yardforIR40,000. be welcome. canparkupinthe Overlanders and youwillbedesperate, sotheroomwill hotel’, itwassoquiet.Butischeap,ghost described byonereader aslooking‘like a The ITTO-run The ITTO-run barelythough here. anyoneactuallystays Thereright. isahotel ifyou’re desperate, anything tointerest travellers. Andthey’re ests theminMirjaveh, sothere won’tbe Locals assure usthere islittlethatinter- Mirjaveh. bylandwillpassthrough stan Anyone travelling IranandPaki- between x MIRJAVEH the savari ask stop.Ifyoudon’tfancyZabol, Zahedan and abitsouthof where thesavaris from of thejunctionwithKargar Blvd–opposite and leaves St,justsouth fromMirHosseini 45 minutes orso,takes about40minutes Theminibusrunsevery troubled bytraffic. a bridge. justbeforeleft about6kmsouthof Zabol, –it’sonthe toKuh-eKhajeh the turn-off x SOUTHEASTERN IRAN •• Kuh-e Khajeh Khajeh IRAN••Kuh-e SOUTHEASTERN From Mirjaveh, there isalwayssome- 0543 322 2486;s/twIR50,000/90,000;

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331 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN SOUTHEASTERN