Globe Trekker - Iran

Globe Trekker

Ian Wright starts his journey in Tehran, Iran’s busy and polluted capital city which has a population of 12 million. He pays a visit to the Shrine of the Ayatollah, last resting-place of Ayatollah Khomeini and Iran’s holiest site of worship. He also visits the Martyrs graveyard where soldiers from the Iran/Iraq war are buried. After taking part in the ‘House of Strength’, an ancient Iranian sport, Ian checks out the local night life and the next morning treats himself to a local dish of sheep’s brains. Ian goes skiing in Dizin, a mountain resort just two hours from Tehran. Like the beaches on the Caspian Sea, the ski slopes are very accessible from Tehran, and it doesn’t cost much to get there. From Dizin Ian travels 300 miles to Bandare-E Torkaman on the Caspian coast, where he stays with a local family. He goes sturgeon fishing and catches a 50-pound fish, from which will come 15 pounds of caviar. The caviar processing plant is on stilts in the middle of the sea, and Ian samples some of the days catch. Ian witnesses a Turkman wrestling bout, where he is challenged by local wrestlers, descendants of Genghis Khan’s Mongolian invaders. He then catches a train for the 22-hour journey to Esfahan (via Tehran). Esfahan is Iran’s most popular tourist destination, mainly because of its magnificent blue Mosque with its incredible echo effect. Ian also visits the historic Shah Abbas’ palace,constructed around a huge polo court. Ian takes a flight to Shiraz to see the Islamic festival of Ashura. Thousands of devout Shiite Muslims flagellate themselves in the streets all day to mourn an ancient prophet. From Shiraz, Ian trucks out to find the Qashqai Nomads in the south of Iran. At one time Nomads made up much of Southern Iran’s population. Ian helps out with sheep herding and witnesses a baby goat being born. Next, Ian hitch-hikes to Persepolis, the ancient city built by Darius the Great 2,500 years ago at the height of the Persian Empire. The ruins were also the scene of the hugely controversial party thrown by the last Shah of Iran in 1972, costing millions of dollars. It was one of the events that sparked the dissent that would eventually culminate in revolution in 1980. Finally, Ian hitches south east to visit the remote but magnificent Citadel at Bam. Although most of this fortress is medieval, some of it was built almost 2000 years ago. The Citadel was prone to many attacks in the past, but amazingly none were successful, despite the fact that it is constructed entirely out of mud and straw.