After a few days in the big smoke, we were ready to get out. Our plan was to head up to the ski fields three hours north of Tehran. A lot of people don't realise that these ski fields exist, but they have the best ski fields in Central Asia (not sure how many ski fields there are in Central Asia) but it is one of the highest ski fields in the world.
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| Having coffee at Gol-e Rezaieh one of Tehrans oldest cafes (75 years) |
We had to catch a bus north towards the Caspian Sea, and get off at the Dizin turnoff, however no one spoke any english on the bus and we weren't sure anyone would tell us. As we were going through the mountains it started to snow heavily, and as more and more time went by the more it looked like we'd be kicked out on the side of the road. Sure enough at around 8pm in the dark, the bus barely stopped and we were dropped on the side of the road in the snow.
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| In the taxi to Dizin before we skidded off the road |
There wasnt much around, and all we could see was the light of a tv flickering in a shed by the side of the road, while the weather got worse and worse. Thankfully when we knocked on the door the man that answered was a taxi driver, and after a bit of charades we all knew where we were going. Unfortunately it wasn't that simple; the taxi was front wheel drive and as soon as we hit the hills we lost control and ended up in a ditch facing the other way. We tried to put the chains on the normal way, but the car kept skidding, so the driver ended up jacking up the car, and putting them on that way. We collapsed in the hotel around 10pm.
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| Dad trying to help with the chains |
It was all worth it when we got up in the morning. It had been snowing all night so we had around four inches of fresh dry powder snow. We got a shuttle up the mountain after breakfast, hired skis, got our lift passes and we were away. Best days skiing I've ever had, clear blue skies & fresh snow; perfect skiing conditions. As I always overestimate how good i am at skiing, I took the chairlift as high as it could go. I couldnt read any of the signs because they were in Persian, so I just picked the one with the least people and hoped for the best. Turns out powder snow is really soft, thankfully, because I could only pizza & french fries my skis so much before tumbling down the mountain.
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| Outside our ski hotel |
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| The Alborz Mountain Range from the top of the ski field |
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| Getting myself mentally prepared |
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| Quick selfie at the top |
That night we made our way back down south passed Tehran to Kashan. Kashan is an oasis city on the edge of the desert. The city is full of historic 19th century buildings, from bathhouses, to grand palaces but it is also a very religious place. In Tehran the hijab (veil) sits about halfway on the womans head showing off their hairdos, but in Kashan it is right up on the forehead.
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| Khan-e Ameriha, the largest & most impressive of the town's mansions, built in the 18th century. |
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| Poster regarding the hijab (islamic veil) |
All the grand palaces in Kashan are cut into the desert and sit about 5 to 10 metres below street level, in combination with this they have wind towers which act like a net and catch wind and bring it into the rooms of the palace, like a manual form of air-con. This makes a huge difference when the temperature in summer hits around 40-45 degrees C.
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| The historic bathhouses, Hamman-e Sultan Mir Ahmad |
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| Roof of the bathhouses |
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| My New Year's Day party with non-alcoholic beer & sheesha. Hanging with Bryan from Australia & Assya from The Netherlands. |
Our next stop on the way to Esfahan (Iran's number 1 tourist destination), was Abyaneh. The village was built at least 1500 years ago and is situated at the foot of Mt Karkas. It is a warren of steep, twisting lanes and crumbling red mud-brick houses.
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| Red mud-brick houses of the ancient village of Abyaneh |
Next stop is Esfahan
All the best
Nick + Tony
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