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Tale
6 - Pakistan/Iran/Turkey - by Malik
Tehran, 3rd May 1997
From Qom I boarded a bus reaching Tehran in about three hours,
covering 125 km. The bus station was quite out of town. An Iranian
offered me a lift, in his private car, near to Ayub Bridge where
I had a friendly family from Pakistan. "Do you live there?"
I asked. "Yes, but I do it for money," he said curtly.
He quoted a small price. Later, when we drove, I noticed that
he was picking up passengers and dropping them off on the way
to Ayub Bridge. He safely delivered me to my friends. They had
a small but well furnished flat in a four-storey plaza. In the
evening, they took me to the rooftop. I was amazed to see a
snow-clad mountain, Alborz. It was a little hot on the rooftop
but quite cool inside the flat because of a desert cooler (it
draws dry air in and passes it through water to make it cooler).
Tehran, the capital, was a modern city but it had retained its
past. It had several good museums and historical buildings.
It was a large city, cool and shady. Its roads were overarched
by trees like chenars and walnut. The safety and security was
superb. I moved freely without any hassles. Many a times, I
got lost but not for long. I just asked for a bus to Emam Khomeini
Square. Once there, I could restart my sight-seeing. Buses were
cheap. Tickets could be purchased in bulk. All buses had the
same fare (just peel off a ticket and pass it to the conductor,
no questions asked). One day, I went up to Shaheed Motahari
Mosque with its eight towering minarets. It was a good place
to view the city. Albroz mountains were in the north and a tall
Telephone Office in the south, both being landmarks of Tehran.
Dome of Mohtari Mosque-Tehran
Of all the places I visited, I enjoyed an easy stroll in Tehran
Bazaar. An endless maze of alleys, a criss cross of narrow passages.
Light filtered down from the openings at the top. Everything
from fine carpets to silver wares to aromatic spices could be
found here. There was a separate section for each trade. Skilled
workers were busy in weaving capets or making copper work, a
la viva live display of craftsmanship. There were rows and rows
of art and antique dealers. They were offering, at throw-away
prices, pictures of Shah Abbas (the great king), of Leila and
Majnun (the great lovers) and of Rustom (the great hero).
The Mountain Train
Having spent more days in Tehran than expected, I wanted to
rush to Turkey. As the border was about 910 km away and the
nearest town was still ahead, this dampened my enthusiasm though.
I decided to have a break at Tabriz, about 650 km away. The
route was mountainous and winding. The Elborz Mountains rose
steeply, west of Tehran, along the Iraqi and Turkish borders.
Unless I sit on the front seat, I always get a headache, so
I decided to take a train even though it had a longer route
at 736 km, or 86 km more than by road. It was a lovely journey
and offered panoramic views of the terrain.
Tabriz, 10th May 1997
When
the train neared Tabriz, the landscape turned awesome with shady
roads, parks and lakes. One could see a large red cliff overlooking
the valley of the Tailkel river which ran through Tabriz. There
was an old village, Kandovan, with the houses dug into the rocks
at high altitude. The rocks looked like pyramids.
Since I had a small pack, I swiftly went out of the station.
As many as a dozen taxi drivers raided me. I submitted to one
of them and the rest started a brawl over loss of business.
The taxi took me to a private guesthouse which turned out to
be the best ever backpacker in Iran.
Tabriz was reputed as a centre of Oriental culture. It produced
high quality ceramics and carpets containing birds, floral and
hunting scenes. The population of Tabriz is rather mixed: Armenians,
Turkomans and Kurds. They were working on the roads side by
side wearing long leather boots, woollen headgear, and multi-coloured
fabrics. The Blue Mosque of Tabriz was a sight. The central
dome was 16 metres in diameter and decorated with the finest
mosaic with golden inscriptions. Pious Muslims in their turbans,
robes and Turkish Slippers moved in large numbers on the call
of each prayer.
Bazargaon, 11th May 1997
Another 260 km travel would take me out of Iran and into Turkey.
The roads passing through the mountains were quite hazardous.
At long last, I entered Turkey and found myself in a more friendly
atmosphere. Turkey and Pakistan have long historical ties and
are close allies in socio-economic and political fields.
Hafeez ur Rahman Malik, Karachi-Pakistan.
Submitted: 22
December 2002
Next: Tale 7 - Pakistan/Iran/Turkey
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Malik
- Pakistan
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