Yazd – 500 km further south

Rattattattrattattattrattatatt. Seven hours we sit or lie in the first class of the Iranian Railway. At the beginning it feels like 35°C in the wagon, but the train attendant turns off the heating soon and we enjoy the scenery passing by in our 4-berth compartment. Barren, dry steppe and desert landscape… and, and, and, and, and Dromedaries next to the railway line! I’m so happy because I really like these animals. In between we lie down every once in a while (yes, I’m wearing a headscarf, also nice and warm, help!) and then we’re so excited again when we see mountains with snow emerging from the desert, that we stand in the isle and fill the SD card and shoot mini movies.

The next few days we will be walking through the streets of Yazd, one of the oldest cities in the world. Incredibly clever inventions have been made here in this desert region to cool houses and supply water. The old town of Yazd is like a huge labyrinth of clay and bricks. Every corner you turn around opens a new corridor. Turn left again, then right and there’s the carpet shop. No? Why are we at the mosque again? Wait, again left, then straight ahead, now left, there’s the aerospace laboratory. They’re crazy, the Iranians. The city seems surreal, we are often alone in the narrow lanes, sometimes a motorcycle rattles through, and then it seems to be extinct again. Outside the old town, Yazd is “normal” with many people, even more mopeds, shops, shoe polishers, kebab shops and mosques. Well, normal except for the Zoroastrians. The who?!?! Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Thus spoke Zarathustra” ring a bell? No clue? 2001: A Space Odyssey? Initial soundtrack by Richard Strauss? Mr. Zarathustra (= Zoroaster) was a guy with a beard who founded the doctrine of Zoroastrianism here in Iran. Way before Islam. The religion still exists and you can visit burial places, fire temples and holy pilgrimage sites. Have fun with the pictures from Yazd and surroundings. See you soon from even further south.

Conny