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07. – 24.09.2012 Tehran & Isfahan
Tehran :
The capital of Iran can be described very well with only 2 adjectives: huge and chaotic. We didn't believe that there is an even bigger and crazier city than Istanbul, but in Tehran we were taught otherwise. We were very lucky to arrive in the city center by night bus already at 6 in the morning, when all around us everything was still fairly quiet and sleepy and the sun just started to rise. So we could cycle to our host very relaxed and didn't have to fight through the normally lethal city traffic, which is characterized by extreme honking, ruthless scramble and suffocating smog. Here are hardly any traffic lights. Right of way has, who successfully pushes into a gap while shouting insults at the competitors through the open window. Hardly anyone cares about one-way streets or marked lanes. Down to their whim drivers criss-cross, pass others on the right lane and make 4 out of 2 lanes. To buckle up is only mandatory in the front seats, but superfluous in the back seats, just like wearing helmets on motorcycles.
Public transport, especially gender segregation:
We moved around the city only by taxi, bus or metro. What really surprised us was the separation of the sexes in public transportation. Thus, the front half of the bus is reserved for men, while the rear is separated and allowed only for women. In the metro you find special compartments for women and the rest of them are mixed and you have to be as proficient in elbowing your way through as in traffic. To let other people get off the train before getting in is a completely unknown concept here. Instead, the passengers simultaneously move from the inside and from the outside against each other and with any luck you are pushed in the right direction. During the trip you are entertained by hawkers who carry their goods to and fro in the train and loudly advertise them. As a tourist, you are very exotic and extraordinary in the subway and everybody curiously stares at you. Sometimes very courageous people start talking to you in English and of course the conversation then is followed spellbound by the whole compartment. If you want to get around by taxi as a woman you can choose between mixed taxis or special ones for women with a female driver. Also very typical here are motorbike taxis scurrying about like ants and weaving back and forth through the rush hour. It gets even better when there sits a woman in a flowing black chador on the back of a moped.
Sightseeing & Mountaineering:
During our 2-week period of waiting for visas we explored the Bazaar of Tehran among other things. This is the world's largest indoor market in which you find one market stall next to the other for 10 km. Unfortunately, its size is about the only feature. Much more worth seeing are the bazaars of Tabriz and Isfahan. Interesting and beautiful are also the Green Palace (unfortunately it's forbidden to take photos there) and the Museum of the Omidvar Brothers. The latter particularly impressed and inspired us. The two Iranians started in the 50's on a 10 year world trip by motorcycle and car, with only $ 90 in their pockets.
In the north of Tehran there is a very impressive mountain range with the Damavand as the highest mountain in Iran. We didn't climb this one but we explored the Darabad for one day starting at 6 a.m., which gave us a multi-day soreness in the legs, because as cyclists we are absolutely not used to climbing.
Here a huge thank you to the people in Tehran, whom we had the pleasure to meet, who invited us and helped us and who were traveling with us. Especially the contact to the locals makes our trip so special for us :)
We chose once again the night bus to go for a little trip 450 km to the south to visit Isfahan, one of the most beautiful cities of Iran. Once again we arrived at the ideal time for Iran, which is 6 a.m., because dawn is just breaking, it's pleasantly cool still (otherwise there is 30°C during the day at the end of September), there is almost no one on the roads, and we therefore could enjoy everything in absolute silence. Unlike Tehran, Isfahan is an absolute tourist town and well worth seeing. One sight lines up at the next (central square, see pictures) and we were up late, all day on our feet. Thank you very much to the lovely people we were lucky to meet there :)
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