Iran Map

 

 

 

     Middle East Map

latest picture: May 26, 2013

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131  Villages are compact and unobtrusive

and match the colors of the environment.

Surprisingly, we hardly see a minaret of a

mosque towering above the roofs. This hamlet

lies between Babaheydar and Chelgerd

132  4 miles before Babahezdar the

golden dome of the village mosque

of Filabad is attracting us. Men here

wear “Turkish trousers”, the outfit

of the Kurdish people

133  When we approach Chelgerd,

the first snow covered mountains of the

Zagros mountain range come into view –

altitude between 11’500 and 13’000 ft.

134  Chelgerd, a ski resort at 7’800 ft.

altitude in the Zagros range with a population

of about 3’000 and a 2’600 ft. long ski slope,

presents itself in its refreshing spring green

135  The snow white gleaming water

current in Chelgerd is called the "Koohrang

river". The water dammed up on the

opposite mountain side is channeled

through a ca. 2 miles long tunnel to this

side, thus joining the Zayandeh river to

slake the growing thirst of Esfahan

136  Nomads are leaving Chelgerd

with their pack mules

137  A few miles outside Chelgerd we

are greeted by a majestic snow mountain

panorama of the Zagros range, with the

highest peak being the 13’780 ft. high Zard-

Kuh (some talk of an altitude of 14’921 ft.)

138  A tent of the Bakhtiari nomads

who move around the Chelgerd/Zagros

area from April to November. There are

still about two millions people living

as nomads in Iran

139  The mountain road winds along

the base of the high mountain range.

Despite still freezing temperatures,

nomads have already pitched

up their tents

140  The herdsman follows his

sheep from sunrise to sunset

141  What a wonderful drive along the

dramatic Zagros range near Chelgerd

142  At the bottom of the mountain giants,

the bluish shining glacier water of the

Koohrang river channels its way through

white sand beds and grassy spots

143

The Zagros mountain range with the Koohrang river in the foreground

144  From the Zagros Hotel on Chogha

Hill in Borujerd the view is lovely in every

direction: On one side, the city is

spreading below us .....

145  ..... on the other side, at the

outskirts of town, the golden dome

of a mosque with metallic minarets

is towering towards the sky .....

146  ..... and at our place on the hill

the blue man-made lake of the

Chogha Park shines also with its

lovely water fountain in the middle

147  Green as far as the eye can

reach: Fields, fruit orchards and

small settlements at Borujerd valley

148  The “unfinished” mosque Imamzadeh

-ye Abdollah in Hamadan (pop. 530’000);

one of the four cities of the ancient

"Achaemenid Empire" (550-330 B.C.)

– e.g. Persepolis

149  At the descent from the 7’175 ft.

high pass from Hamadan to Sanandaj

a sweeping view over rolling hills and

the small mountain village of

Korkora opens up

Another treasure trove of wild flowers: It is astonishing how such delicate plants can come to life in such a stony environment

150  Onosma cassium

151  Pimpinella kotschyana

152  Euphorbia spec.

153  Also sweet strawberries are not

missing at the Gozar bazaar in Sanandaj

154  The bazaar of Gozar of Sanandaj

clusters around a high and slender minaret.

Sanandaj (<400'000 Einw.) lies on an

altitude of 5'050 ft. and is the “capital“

of Iranian Kurdistan

155  Different qualities and sizes of

dates are piled up at Sanandaj’s bazaar.

Dates are part of people’s staple diet

156  A lonely fortress sits on a hill

along the road from Sanandaj to

Kamyaran on the way to Palangan

157  Is the contrast not marvelous?

158  The earth colored stone houses

of the village of Palangan snuggle uphill.

Palangan in Kurdistan ranks at one of

Iran’s most picturesque villages

159  A family takes a break in the

shade of the stone steps that lead to

the village of Palangan

160  Iranians are known for their

legendary hospitality. In Palangan we

are served tea, a noodle dish, whipped

cream and fruits preserved in syrup

161  It is lunchtime. Girls in Palangan

are on their way home from school

162  It honks, we stop. The family asks

us for a picture in front of our LandCruiser.

Iranians are keen to meet

and invite foreigners

163  In the village of Negl along the

Sanandaj-Marivan road we discover

a picturesque wall painting depicting

a lovely mountain scene

164  ..... the houses of Negl stretch uphill.

Villages in Iran are always compact, there is

no urban sprawl. Negl lies roughly halfway

between Sanandaj and Marivan

165  Razaw, a typical earth colored

village with flat roofs, is embedded in

much greenery. It is about 5 miles before

Sarvabad on the route Sanandaj-Marivan

166  An aura of peace lies over the small,

3 miles long Kurdish Zarivar (Zeribar)

Lake near Marivan, the border town to

Kurdish province of Sulaymanyia in Iraq .....

167  ..... a swarm of ducklings

is bustling in the water

168  The Zarivar lakeside promenade

2 miles northwest of Marivan is popular for

time off. There are pedalos, shishas

(water pipes) and food and drinks. A

man starts setting up his tea kitchen .....

169  ..... two "Shisha" (water pipe)

vendors are passing their time

with a domino game .....

170  ..... at another corner a man

fans the charcoal for his “shisha”

and for grilling his corncobs

171  Along the Marivan-Sanandaj road

a lonely herdsman follows his sheep

deeper into the rolling hills –

a typical Kurdish landscape

172  Not a whisper of wind is blurring

the mirror-like surface of the Vahdat Reser-

voir, 9 miles north of Sanandaj along the

Sanandaj-Bukan highway .....

173  ..... and no house interrupts

the view to the Kurdish mountains

174

175

176

A lovely scene depicting a Kurdish wedding with its guests is set up at a little restaurant at the village of

Qarah Bolagh about 12 miles southeast of the big city of Mahabad. The costumes and the music are so unique authentic

177  A flower carpet of white daisies

(marguerites), dotted with red

poppies – a combination that

quite often enjoys our eyes

178  About 45 miles before Orumiyeh

is the little Lake Hasanloo. The snow

mountains in the background are more

or less situated along the Kurdish

Iraq-Iran border near Piranshahr

179  Lake Orumiyeh (2’000 sq.mi.)

bordering Turkey (Southeast Anatolia)

and Iraq (Kurdish province of Erbil), is

as salty as the Dead Sea (Jordan/Israel).

After the diversion of the Zariné Rud

river to slake Tabriz’s growing thirst,

it is shrinking by the year

180  Our LandCruiser needs

an oil change in Orumiyeh

181  Liliana is preparing lunch at the

“Flamingo Chi Chest Coastal Village”

at Golmankhaneh, ca. 10 miles

east of Orumiyeh .....

182  ..... a student comes along with

his mother and his aunt. They offer us

watermelon and stay for a chat –

again typical hospitality in Iran

 

More websites from Iran:

Iran - part 1: Ferry Port Bandar Abbas-Shiraz-Persepolis-Pasargad (between Persepolis and Yazd) – May 2013

Iran - part 2: Pasargad (excl.)-Yazd-Esfahan – May 2013

Iran - part 4: Ferry Port Bandar Abbas-Kerman-Mashhad-Bajgiran – April/May 2016

 

More websites from the Middle East:

Welcome to Kuwait on March 3rd, 1996

Yemen car trip (from Oman to Saudi Arabia) - from May 16th, to June 15th, 1996

Sandstorm in Saudi Arabia on February 4th, 1999

Trip to Dubai in January and February 1999

Oman 1999 - from mid-March to mid-April 1999

Oman 2013 – Part 1 - February 2013: Musandam Peninsula

Oman 2013 – Part 2 - February 2013: Sohar - Muscat - Rustaq - Nizwa

Oman 2013 – Part 3 - March 2013: Sur - East Coast - Island of Masirah - Dhofar

Oman 2013 – Part 4 - March 2013: Salalah & Surroundings (Dhofar) - Nizwa

Oman 2013 – Part 5 - March 2013: Western Hajar Mountains

Fairytale Wedding in Dubai - United Arab Emirates - with our car from February 7th, to May 20th, 1999

Sharjah + Dubai: United Arab Emirates - without our vehicle from February 19th, to 27th, 2011

Sharjah/Dubai/1st Traveler's Festival/Emirates National Auto Museum - UAE with car Nov. 2012 to Jan. 2013 - part 1

Western UAE - Liwa - United Arab Emirates  with car in January 2013 - part 2

Al Ain, Eastcoast & Ras al Khaima - United Arab Emirates with our car in April 2013 - part 3

Turkey – Eastern Anatatolia - June 2013

Socotra - without our car from February 9th, to 19th, 2011:

Part 1: Socotra trip in Yemen (East) – Hadibo - Dihamri - Arher Beach

Part 2: Socotra trip in Yemen (South) – Homhil - Aomak Beach - Wadi Daerhu - Dicksam Plateau

Part 3: Socotra trip in Yemen (West) – Qalansiya - Shouab Beach - Qadama Beach - Momi Plateau - Wadi Ayhaft

Saudi Arabia 2016: Transit from Sudan to the United Arab Emirates