Iran

#11 - 30.04.2009, Mashhad, Iran:

From Teheran we cross the Alborz mountains back to the Caspian Sea. Three encounters with Iranian police cannot be considered the highlights of our stay in this country. In Qa’em Shar we are rewarded by the great and friendly hospitality of Shahram and his family. We catch a first glimpse of Turkmen culture in Aq Qala, where Rajab and his friends show us the colourful local Thursday morning market before offering us some camel milk. The lush green quickly gives way to the semi arid Iranian plateau and we finally reach Mashhad, Iran’s second largest and holiest city, our jumping point to Central Asia.
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#10 - 12.04.2009, Mount Damavand, Iran:

We head off into the mountains to Mt. Damavand (5.671m) together with Kathi’s father Erich, while Sandro’ parents and Kathi’s mother travel to the Caspian Sea region and into the mountains of northwestern Iran. On foot and on skis we make our way up to Barghah-e Sevvom (Camp 3, 4.200m). Twice we attempt to reach the top but we have to turn back at 5.000m because of sudden bad weather. From up high, we catch great views over the surrounding mountains and the bizarre volcanic landscape before skiing down the slopes of this majestic mountain.
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#09 - 05.04.2009, Iran round trip:

Both of our parents join us arriving from Austria by plane to Teheran. Together we travel to Iran’s most famous historical sights in Shiraz, Persepolis, Yazd, Esfahan and Kashan before returning to Teheran. We do so together with thousands of Iranians who are also travelling for their No Ruz holidays and who show a lot of interest in us Westerners everywhere we go. As we travel, we do not only see impressive monuments but skirt the large Iranian deserts affording us views of fantastic landscapes.
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#08 - 23.03.2009, Teheran, Iran:

After some more days on the rainy and green Caspian Sea coast we head into the Alborz mountains on the famous and spectacular Chalus-Karaj road that leads us towards Teheran. Starting at -28m, the road winds up through an adventurous and very tight gorge to the highest pass of our journey up to now: 2.668m. We live ‘New Year’ for the third time on our journey as Persian New Year ‘No Ruz’ starts on 21 March and Iranians enjoy holidays with their families and travel around their country. Before reaching Teheran we spend two relaxing days in the mountains with winterly and snowy weather.
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#07 - 15.03.2009, Rasht, Iran:

From the riches of Baku we emerge into the oil fields in the deserts south of the city. After crossing the central Azeri plains we are surprised by a TV team filming our tent spot and interviewing us in Russian. Iran welcomes us with friendly, interested and hospitable people that could not be more different than the wrong perception that many people in the West have of this country. The Gilan capital of Rasht serves as our first base to get to know Iran since we decide to stop here for five days - and it is home to the cyclist Mohammad and his family who proudly show and tell us about life in this city and in Iran in general.
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