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Wednesday 20-2-08 IRAN
It
was 2:00 pm when the "master of the ship'
turned the vessel to dock. We were
happy; just drive out, with someone
help clearing
the customs and immigration,
perhaps we are on the move latest by 5 pm,
up North to Teheran.
The engines had
stopped, we walked with our luggage narrow
stairs down to the car deck. No one around.
Only the ship generator
was running,
providing electricity for instruments and
air-condition. The rear loading ramp
remained closed. "What is going on?" I
asked Harun. "Maybe they will come now". I
looked around. The car deck had openings at
the side which exposed a concrete wall.
Realizing how deep down we were I worried: "Harun
we are sinking, see the container up and out
there? That must be the pier."
I
held his arm.
"Come on, we do not sink in the port!" he calm me down. Now only I
realized. It was ebb tide which fluctuates
here 3 meters. Up to
the captain we went.
"Sir, we see you cannot offload, as the ship
is too low"." Very sorry we will offload at-
he looked at the tide table-
at 10:30
tonight, then is high water. We are in
another port as the regular one is under
repair"
Dinner we ate with the crew again, they
cared for us. On a plate rice and some
tinned beef. A meal for the hungry. No
shipper feeds
his seaman to his liking.
 .
see the blue
container? he stand on the port floor
In the crew lounge
At 11;00
pm the car was on Iranian soil, meaning
concrete and we were directed to a companies
warehouse to park and sleep there.
Watched over by two security guards that we
may not pinch a 100kg sack of chemicals
stored next by. And they had a washroom too.
Thursday 21-2-08
By 6:00 am next
morning, we looked for the security men. One
was sleeping in a chair next to the open
store entrance slide down to
be comfortable as much as possible. The shoes removed, neatly next
by, his hand radio in it. The volume was turned down. Out of
his sock looked the big toe. And with open
mouth he snored. "Salam! Psst! Sir!"
Nothing. " Psst! Salam! Sir!" Nothing. This
guard did
not wake up. His nature demanded
its share of rest. Pssst! Hallo!" Harun
shacked his shoulder. He grumbled but slept.
We got to get
out. Harun took the radio,
turned up the volume - a screaming,
commanding voice was heard now- and
held it to his ear.
At once he jumped up the eyes now open, the
mind still far away he was out of the
chair, and honorable reader, they must do
military training too, He stood straight,
Right hand up in salute .His big toe
looking out from the sock was checking the
situation. He
had, as many of us would,
for comfort his belt open too. the trouser
glided slowly down this pitiful figure
exposing his underwear and
we are not too
indiscrete , if we tell you it was a "self
knitted long john" which saw this very
morning light. His face was full of excuse.
It must have been the boss.
In the "sleep well" warehouse
The ferry we came with, and JAMBO in the
container port
After, he released us and we drove
back to the ship. She was there resting to
be loaded again for the return trip. We went
again
looking for the captain. "You cannot
see him he is still sleeping". I checked the
watch it was now 7:00 am.
One hour later he was up and called the ship
agent in town. You need to go to town to the
agent office, they give you a release
document then only you can go to customs."
"Can he not bring it?" We have no Iran money
as of now and besides what service is
this anyhow?. We pay US$ 700.- for the trip. We
will change your money." They did
it afterwards.
He call again and had some arguments. Then another number. "Now I
call his boss" he said, that fruited. The agent came by 10:00 am
with the requested document. we paid another
US$ 40.- for it.
The captain in the carro shirt, the purser
and the diesel man
25 liter diesel for free
"Will you please
help us through customs? We pay you." He
declined as he did not know anyone there"
and he left us. The captain
apologized now-
"Sorry I'm only 28 days with the company,
they do not know me yet, my words have not
much weight".
We have to get through our self. Where can
we get diesel? Not sooner we asked, a man
came with 25 liters and filled it in for
free.
Now dear reader is time to pity us!
The container port has four gates moves 7000
containers a day, as it also cater for
countries
without sea access like
Turkmenistan too. Trailers, 40 ft
containers, cranes and forklifts, everyone
driving where there is space. no left
or
right direction exists. Somehow we drove
with all loaded trailers and found an exit
gate. "Please where is custom?" No
one
understood.
Harun went into
a building where 5 dozen clearing agent were
around a U shape front desk. Looking how to
start clearing procedures
of papers of which
we do not understand one word.
An officer spoke English: "we want to clear
customs here is the carnet, please where to
go?" He was a gentleman. The first of many
we are going to meet.
Calling an unshaved man he directed him with
some words, asked for the passports and we
drove now to another gate a mile away.
The
main gate. Outside is the customs office.
The man went with all our documents and was
no more seen for 2 hours.. .. "Did he just
take our passport, carnet and car papers not
to be seen again? "Under no circumstance
surrender documents to a foreigner" is
law of
travelers. If not for the trustworthy
looking custom officer, we would not let him
go alone. The waiting became more
worrisome by the
passing minute. Just when Harun decided to look after him, he came in
a car three officials with him. Custom. Open
the car check the
chassis number, close the
bonnet, gone they were. "Do you believe
this? they came form their office to
verify the carnet. They could
easily ask us
to drive to them. 1/2 hour later, our
man appeared smiling and jumped into our
car. "OK" he said.
The jacket man
is the boss, our helper in the
dark shirt
port traffic, we in-between
We drove back to
the other gate between trailers forklifts
and cranes. One paper was missing the
official complained. Our man called
his
friend wit a car, both drove back to the
custom office. We were waiting painful
minutes! "He came the first time, he comes
again"
I thought.
Yes, there he was, pacing back to us in his
friends car. Into the custom office
together, papers over the desk to the
officer, He
checked, and palaver. Our man
indicated Harun to follow and we drove back
to the warehouse. Another release paper was
required
which we got after a phone call
from the official to his superior.
Back to the custom office, all was complete
we could go! It was 1:45 PM. We wanted to
pay for the service. Suddenly another
Iranian
appeared and said in perfect
English: The helper works for me you have
nothing to pay, you are our guest, welcome
in Iran."
"Mercy" we said. 'thousand thanks." and
drove now looking relieved through the gate.
A kilometer down the road final police
check.
STOP!
The policeman compared the
Registration number, Problem! Was the only
word he said. Our registration number did
not correspond
with the release document,
but the name was correct. While we still
show carnet and were ready to return and
correct the mistake,
another officer came
out of his post and waved. Go, Go! He had
meanwhile contacted already the superior and
got the go ahead.
I think they pity us too.
Iran has a long recorded history. 2600
years ago Cyrus the Great emerged as the
first ruler. His successors expanded the
empire all
the way to India and the Aegean sea. There Xerxes was defeated by
the Greeks at Marathon (see our Greece web
page) and thus
become the end of the Achaemenian Empire. Later Alexander the Great
invaded Persia. Then came the Sassanians,
then Islam took
hold.
In recent times, around the second WW Iran was too friendly with
the Axis powers which were the losers and
the Shah fled to South Africa.
His son Mohammed Reza assumed absolute power. The country was
rapidly modernizing. Women were emancipated,
Illiteracy
reduced, land holdings redistributed. After 1974 American
"merchants of death", the arms dealer, persuaded him to squander the
nations vast wealth in huge arsenals of useless weaponry.
Sycophants and courtiers (commission men)
grew rich beyond their wildest
dreams.
The petrodollar ended in the pockets of a few, while galloping
inflation made the Iranians worst off than
ever before.
Despite the US support (again these guys), the regime became
desperate and brutal. Finally the Shah fled the
country and was
harried from one to another, to die in Cairo in 1980.
His holiness grand Ayatolliah Haji Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomenei
returned to Iran on 1 February to be greeted
by adoring millions.
He reflected the need and dreams of most people, when he declared
the Islamic Republic.
His main opponent was the "Great Satan" the USA, with their godless
culture (in Iranian eyes).
They are backers
of the Zionists with cash and and even shoot down an unarmed Iranian airliner over the
Persian gulf.
In the Iraq /Iran war the US,(
D. Rumsfeld, yes, the very former defense secretary
who organized and directing the attacks on
Iraq)
visited Sadam twice and supplied him with gas and guns. (said
British politician Galloway before a Senate hearing in the US).
In Oct. 79 students seized the US embassy the "den of spies" in
Tehran, took 52 hostages which were held over
one year.
Frantically the US/CIA employees destroyed secret documents in shredders, which
afterwards were painstakingly but together
by the
Iranians again. One could buy them it is said.
The former US embassy in Tehran where the hostage
drama unfolded, the banner says:" "the only
way to defy the wild
wolf of
Zionism and the aggression of the great
Satan the USA , is.....,. the supreme leader "
Iran is strange. There are little effort in Tourism. But when
western visitors arrive they return with
stories of overwhelming hospitality
from Iranians, and of a magnificent culture legacy. The people are
open minded, therefore for us it will be a rewarding
country yet to be
discovered by Tourism. We are lucky to be among the first.
In Bandar Abbas town we stopped to eat
lunch. Asking an Iranian for a
restaurant, he came with us - and paid for
our food, behind our
back. 'You are our
guest" nothing we could do to convince him
otherwise. Truly strange and very kind.
Soon after we were on the road towards
north.
Splendid landscapes along the route.
Colors and forms as from outer space.
Driving into the night until we stopped at 1:00 am at a station.
refueling. For 115 liter we paid B$ 3.70.
Diesel is cheaper than water. A short nap in "Hotel de la JAMBO
exquisite" refreshed us a bit. It was
very cold outside
around 0 degree.
Friday 22-2-08
By 4:00 am we continued and drove
into the day. We wanted to reach Teheran
first and on the way back to look at the
historical
legacy, so praised in travel books. The road change to 3 lane highway and
going was easy. Iranians are very fond of
us.
travel through barren, beautiful lands
towards Teheran
an old
mud brick estate
maybe it was a caravanserai on the silk
route
It
was Friday the holyday of the week and
families just drive to picnic some were out
of town. While on the highway, there
was the
saloon car, a Renault, which drove to our left side up and remained
parallel. Papa on the steering Mama next to
him, behind the kids.
He was explaining, the others looked at us. Falling back, they went behind our JAMBO for
a while. We have route stickers there too.
Then he came alongside on our
right, as we were on the second lane. We saw him talking."
What is he doing?" I wondered, getting
worried by this behavior. This man is giving his kids geography lessons" Harun
said.
He explains them where we travel." .
They remained for a while waving. When we waved back, the all were happy.
Maybe Papa said to them: " You see these are world travelers
out of Africa! They fight crocodiles as big
as a trailer, giant
snakes and lions and many other creatures on their way. (Naturally
dear reader all in his imagination only).
It was surely the talk all the way home.
Excitement again and again
Friendly and open minded the Iranians
At
2:00 pm we saw the sign long awaited after
1400km. Tehran.
A taxi driver lead us through heavy traffic to a hotel. Call the
Teheran driver folks brothers of the
Egyptians. They drive the same style
as in Cairo.
But without bang or push we reached the hotel. And E-mailed the
embassy as well as update the web page as we
know, you dear
reader like to see the news. By evening we got a call. The Embassy.
"Welcome, We can lend you a SIM card for
Iran". Many thanks
now we can call and send SMS to Brunei.
Saturday 23-2-08
We were brought to the guest house of
TOTAL the new kid in Brunei's Oil business.
In all earnesty dear reader, this French
multinational show spirit. They sponsor us
now on the second leg with about 25% of our cost in cash, because
our travel is
extraordinary and exceptional.
They are not Bruneian! With the exemption of
SCB which waved the credit card fraud from
back in Namibia to a great extend, and
RBA,
then in the beginning the freight forwarders
and the president of the 4w/d club, now Tel Bru and CFK,
little else
happen on the "donation front". We pay out of our pocket.
Our giant corporates had deaf ears,
when we knocked humble their doors
repeatedly. That included banks! Have
they lost the
meaning of patriotism? Or
maybe they have planned the sponsorship for
some other noble cause.
TOTAL the French giant took care of us here
in Tehran. We stay in their guesthouse,
served by staff, a Jacuzzi pool in our
apartment,
computer room, fax is free and
use their telephone. "When do you like to
have dinner madam?" We are treated like
their own corporate presidents. They
invested billions here, they are well
known and their Lubricants are of superb
quality. We now
only use TOTAL. The engine runs
like Swiss clockwork. "Thank you very much TOTAL, we wish you business success in
Brunei."
"What a French spirit!"
arriving at their guesthouse in Tehran
Up in the fifth floor for 3 nights!
 
TOTAL is every where
Here our TOTAL carwash for free
It is Saturday and today is our National
Day, I was reflecting our nation, my
deep love for it.
I share an E- mail we got,
with you dear reader:
"This expedition is the best present for our
Nation, we ever had" (Sungguh
berbangga dengan pencapaian abis
kita. Hadiah yang terbaik untuk Hari Kebangsaan kitani tahun ani. Tahniah..
setinggi-tingginya.
from Le_Han
Thank you, dear unknown friend. In our small
way we try to give what our Nation deserves.
I long deeply for our Brunei
Darussalam,
it is a honor to give. It is our home, our
Fatherland.
Standing at the window on on this 23rd February, a cold
spring time morning in Teheran and after 38,000 km overland,
I said
to myself:
"Brunei Darussalam, out of my heart I
love you."
His Excellency the Ambassador consented to invite us for
the National day celebration in a hotel.
It was rather unexpected for us.
There must have been over 150 dignitaries from countries, all over the planet. Even
Ministers. It was a well organized event
which
included the Deputy Foreign Minister Pehin Lim who was on the way to Oman with a Group of
advisors.
The
entrance
The Foreign Minister of Brunei Pehin Lim
Jock Seng
Harun was uneasy
as his outfit should have been a suite. Sitting
there he was philosophical.
" Look here. he said: At this festivity
there are men and a few women. All carry a
heavy load on the shoulders. Based on their
recommendation or even decisions, the faith
of millions of people lay upon."
I had chance to greet a Director of the
Foreign Affairs of Iran, Hossein Aminian,
and told him about our journey. Again one
finds this
hospitality. "Here is my card; Should you need help in Iran, call me".
And His
Excellent Pg Hj Sahari Pg Hj Salleh, his
wife Mdm Hjh Hamidah Haris
His
Excellency, his wife and our Embassy Staff
Malai Hjh Zulrizman,
a little bit shy, smiles charming Wei Wei
and wife Hjh Norsinahwaty.
She deserves a few words.
The
assumption out of Hollywood, that beauty and
charm must be coupled with an intelligence
below the 90th quotient is as wrong as
it would be to plant pineapple in the
Antarctic ice, awaiting their grow. The view
words we could change show a brilliant
mind before
any hut (topi) must be lifted in
respect. She is much more than a trained
lawyer. The future will proof our assumption. Corporate
executives watch out sitting with her on a
table fighting for contract advantages.
Should she ever run out of arguments, she will smile at
you. And if you are not a man over 70 and
dry in heart and elsewhere, you
surely give in
and put the signature under the contract
which is not necessary in your favor. What a
great woman she is!
Soon we left
after a meal, almost as good as the Jeddah
Soto, of long ago.
Sunday 24-2-08
The day belong to JAMBO's
service
and sightseeing. We went to the carpet
museum where finest craftsmanship is
exhibited.
carpets woven so fine they are like
paintings
What would be
the price of this one?
often one finds portraits of dignitaries
beautiful
women
and gruesome scenes
the philosopher
and a king ridding through fire
The handmade carpet themes revolve around kings, wars and women.
Unfortunately we were unable to read the
stories written in Farsi,
the Iranian language.
Monday 25-2-08
We left our guesthouse early and were on the way through
"Cairo traffic" to the Brunei Embassy. All
was prepared. After a lunch with
his Excellency the Ambassador it was soon 2 :30, Press and Tours
people arrived. The presentation was lively,
the questions serious
and many. It needs RBA Region Chef Mr.Latif here and some firm decisions.
Like getting a few delegates on a sponsor
ticket into Brunei, or the first group on reduced rates. All have to work together for the
benefit
of Brunei's Tourism. Once back we will
present a program. We discussed the visa question, not only for Brunei, which as we
understand is waved now for 7 days, but also
for Philippines. We offered educational English crash courses, useful (some are only out
for
money) seminars on the latest Information
technology,
Eco tourism, side trips to Manila, Lankawi, Singapore and driving
to KK using all facilities like Manukan
Island resort.
The Secretary of the tourism association awaits now some concepts
which we plan to discuss with the Tourism
Board back in
Brunei and by yearend, the first Iranians, should arrive by daily
flights out of Dubai with our RBA
Now
dear reader we please you with some pictures
of a successful press conference in the
Embassy of Brunei Darussalam.
Editors of two monthly magazines
Newsmen and tourist agencies
The Ambassador, the translator and me
"This is our colorful magazine, the story
will be in"
Harun with Ms Tirandaz, she will come, she
promised... and Hajah
Hamidah with fine Acar and Sambal
They stayed almost two hours showing real
interest to activate tourism. After all here
are 70 million Iranians.
Surely there must be a ten thousand with the desire and means
to travel. We just open the Tourism door.
The following pictures are and indication of an atmosphere
without stiff formalities.
" Our princess; the flag
and JAMBO" a fairytale...
Harun II the adventurer, and two journalists
Journalists,
Tourism agents, Ambassador and staff, one
family
From Tehran on, we drive...
The Embassy staff in Tehran
Proud to be Bruneian
"JAMBO hakuna matata" meaning "HELLO, no
problem"
This is how a departure becomes very
difficult for us
Honorable reader, just look at the farewell picture and you know
how our visit was, friendly, warm and kind.
What a great people are
the Bruneians, foremost Pengiran Hj Sahari, his wife Hjh Hamidah,
Hj Malai, his wife Hjh Norsinawaty and in
fact all Iranians working
for the Embassy.
One more time it is the moment of "Good By", one more
time our heart is painful, leaving such
great people behind. We will miss
you all. Thank you for your kindness towards us and perhaps one day
we see you again. In Brunei, or even here.
Tuesday 26-2-08
By
10:00am we were out of dusty Tehran on our
route to Esfahan und further to Shiraz. In
Esfahan we were keen to see the shaking
minarets mentioned in travel books .It took not long there was the
signboard." minartes e jumba"
What do you dear reader understand by shaken, you only know.
But we speculated to see some high minaret,
shaken by strong wind
or standing on unstable soil, vibrating. We were keen and put even
a new film into the video camera, thinking
already how to keep it
extra quiet, just to get any movement on record. On the way we were
alerted it could be the earth is
trembling. The must a strong
reason for Minarets to shake! Finally, there behind pine trees
there it was. We rush to the gate, it was
closed. Then there is this
signboard, you can read it yourself. "The minarets are shaken each
hour". Moment! Shaking each hour precise? How
do they know..?
Then it click! What? "People climb up and rattle on the minarets?
We looked at them. Yes! see the crossed
sticks? For some one to
stand on it inside and shake the whole thing.
That is the tourist attraction? What is this? Never heard of something similar.
We were out fast, as if chased by
the corrupt African police.
Naturally there is much more to see in Esfahan like the bazaar, but time was not on
our side. And we liked to escape the masters in
bargaining and trickery. It is said they sell you a yellow painted cucumber as a banana...
The mosque is very small, two
minarets each only about 8 meter high. see the sign?
Rather frustrated we drove further south and
at a roadside restaurant we slept in our
"Hotel de la Jambo".
Wednesday 27-2-08
It was a fine, relaxed night.. The morning sun shoe through the curtains, yet
it had only around 0 degree, Norhayati was
deep in the
sleeping bag.
We have been asked many times what about
going to the toilet in the night. Now we
explain.
We never
go at night. By afternoon around 3 pm we stop drinking. Then before sleep around 8-9 pm the last time to
toilet,
wherever that might be, the
liquid has meanwhile passed through the
body system. We drain it before we retire. That guarantees a
sound sleep until morning.
A bit of
history. Only 3 km from our place is
Pasargadae the tomb of Cyrus the Great
the founder of the Iranian Empire. Here
was his
capital. A few ruins remind us of his greatness and how fast and short
time actually is. Today his tomb was under renovation.
There is
a hill extended on one side with a high stonewall. it is called the
castle of Solomon's mother, We were not able
to find more out about
this mysterious construction. It is largely unexcavated. One would
ask what is the mother of Jewish king
Solomon doing here?
 .
a splendid view from the castle
of Solomon's mother
another view of the castle. Note the fascia stones
Details of the other
wall. Large blocks set in place
2500 years after Cyrus, JAMBO stands on his
palace
One block is 7 m x 0.6m x 1 m wide. That is
approximately 6000 kg. How did they
got it up the hill and in position?
Cyrus tomb
ands part of his palace
50 km before Shiraz are the remains of Persepolis. It was still morning
when we curved in. These monuments have been
build 2500
years ago during the time
of the Achaemenid dynasty which founded the
Persian Empire. It begun with Cyrus the
Great.
He created an empire from the
Mediterranean to the Oxus. Dying in 530 B.C.
his son added Egypt, Libya and Part of
Ethiopia.
But unfortunately these fighters by spirit , the conquerors, left behind wicked men in charge
of the household, which, the sooner
the
king left town were reaching out
for the throne. While town after town fell
to the Persian army, someone else jumped
onto
the chair of
supremacy and declared himself King. Poor Cyrus, he should have
packed the throne on a horse and take it
with him.
The
true king, enduring the battlefield, wine, woman and weaponry in the name of greater Persia,
should be nothing more
than a
soldier now?
He hurried home, (what worries he must have
had, every horse too slow, every day too
short) and - died on the way in Syria.
Rebellions devastated the Empire. Then the
helm was taken by his cousin, Darius. He
was a strong ruler and active man. Dug
channels, build bridges and roads, made laws, levied taxes and
created a script for his language, the old Persian. His son
Xerxes
continued the tradition. During his
and reign of the following years, palaces
were build, all with magnificent sculptures.
the palace of Darius
The royal tomb of Artraxerxes
When the Greek and Athenians plundered the western
territories, Darius son and successor Xerxes
invaded Greece, which turned out
to be a
serious mistake. It was at Marathon (see
Greece in our website) were he was defeated.
Then, one man knocked the doors of
the
empire, not too gentle. We met him several
times on our travel. It was this young
Macedonian, "Alexander the Great."
With him came the destruction of the Persian
Empire. The splendid foundation was replaced
by his shaky one. Alexander's creation
went
down, as soon as he himself collapsed under
the effect of heavy drinking. (say the books
here). Fact is that he destroyed
Persepolis, although the bibliotheca was
first translated into Greek. Four hundred
years of building a Persian Empire sunk now
into the
dust of history. We understand that the Persians do
not like him. According to
one ancient source, the historian Diodorus Siculus,"
Alexander's soldiers killed all men,
plundered residences, and the enormous palaces
famed throughout the civilized world,
fell
victim to utter destruction". We are
realists and say: "Maybe he was dead
drunk when he gave the order....."
The king greeting Norhayati ( he is
actually pointing to the holy fire)
Entrance to his tomb
The custom was, that at a kings
coronation a fire was lit and kept burning
until his death. Here he holds a bow, the
national weapon
of the Iranians the other is
extended towards the holy flame.
The ancient
Iranians believe that fire, water, earth
were the holy creation of the god AHURAMAZDA
and must therefore not be polluted.
(we recommend this belief the the US, the
worlds biggest polluter with one quarter of
all dirt produced). Therefore the corpses
were
placed on hilltops or remote areas. Within hours the bones were
cleaned and now the purified remains were
stored in clay or
rock cut.
Kings were mummified and placed in a rock
tomb.
his tomb is flanked by guards, even one from
Brunei
and a mansion detail of the tomb entrance
The hundred column hall and at the rear the Apadana, the Audience hall
The
translations says: "The great Ahuramazda,
who created the world, who created yonder
sky, who created mankind, who created
happiness for man, who made Xerxes the king,
one king of many, one lord of many. I am
Xerxes, the great king of kings, king of
countries containing all kinds of man......
May AHURAMAZDA protect me, and my Kingdom."
The gate of all Lands
Two sided eagle How
big they are
Xerxes enter the main hall
he slays a monster (note the scorpion tail)
The royal glory
footwear
do we not use those today?
Presents for the king relief's on the stairway up
a
young Persian of today
Our flag in Persepolis
There is
so much more to write and show, but a web
page has its limits and we do not like to
strain your patients too much honorable
reader.
From Persepolis we drove straight to Shiraz. There is one tomb and mosque
on our plan which is famous throughout Iran.
First, it is the the tomb of Boghe-ye Sha-e Cheragh, the
King of the lights". Here rest the remains of Sayyed
Mir Ahmad.
It is an important pilgrimage site for Shiites.
In the courtyard who
get space, wish to be buried
next to his tomb. However visitors walk right over
them
tomb
seen from the entrance
and from the side
The interior is made of small
mirrors like a giant jewel box. Lamps
provide the greenish light. Women come to
beg, kiss in devotion the
brass bars. Other study the Holy Koran, men pray. We
have never seen anything like this.
What we know of
him is, when he was beheaded, he took his
head and walked still a few meters.
That is what an inscription say's.
Our last visit
in Shiraz belong to the Nasir-al-Molk Mosque
build in the 19th century. The tile work and
ceilings are among the
masterpieces of Islamic Iranian architecture. The surface on
many parts outside and the entire inside is laid out with colored glazed
tiles. Hopefully, the pictures
offer you some of the atmosphere.
The courtyard
colored glass add to the splendid glazed
tiles
in between, the alley of Kiblat
pillars in sandstone
The young
woman; she prays for help, facing Mecca
Walking in the mosque taking
these pictures, there was behind a column a
young woman, closed eyes,
obviously in
distress. She came, as we all do, in heir despair to Allah
for help . Silently I shot these photos she kneeling before Kiblat
" And
now while you read, dear Musliman, add the prayer:
"May Allah in his wisdom grant her relive
from the burden whatever it
might be. It is too much for her narrow shoulders."
Thursday 28-2-08
We
left Shiraz for a 580 km drive towards the
east. Semi desert, mountains on both side.
The road was fine large sections, dual lane.
Barren land, the road towards Baluchistan
The "sack high riser"
Every 50 km is a police check, but they do not bother the
tourist, we are generally waved through .Not
one wanted to see a
documents. Until, after 2,700 Iranian kilometer the First grade school
class lesson
begun.
"Say, I will driiiive sloooowly in Baluchistan." What officer? " I
driiiiive slooooowly in Baluchistan" Harun
now: "I drive always slowly in
Iran " No.No
say: "I driiiiive slooooowly in
Baluchistan"
"OK. I drive slowly in Beluchistan"
The rather short
policeman standing on the weighbridge ramp
looked down with serious face onto Harun. An
uniform guy had stopped
us calling is boss
out and said to him we are driving too
fast. " You have dangerous right hand
steering", Yes officer, very true
officer,
thank you officer" and in German to me: 'We hope he will not ask us to write 100 times
"I never drive fast in Iran" and deliver it at the
next station. Like back
in days of school.
We stopped at Bam where an earthquake in 2003 killed estimated
50.000 people, flattened houses, the citadel
and the hospital. It was
tragic to see a new town emerging, knowing the reason. The
Government build with public funding
earthquake-proof structures.
The Building skeleton is made of steel. In-between they
put as insulation Styrofoam boards. Must be a
cheap way to build.
We
reached Kerman town a 600 km east of Shiraz
by evening and had a good sleep in one
of the hotels. Nothing much happen.
difficult to find Al Qaeda in these rugged
mountains
Sand dunes of Baluchistan
A
condemned village near Bam due to
an Earthquake a few years back
see how they build the dome with mud bricks
Norhayati noted this prompt on her CF King
laptop.
a fine
sturdy computer for the desert ruins
of the medieval castle Adersudh from
the 17th century
Are we in the
Austrian alps??? No on a high pass in east
Iran
Almonds by the 100 kilos
This roadside nut station in a small agriculture belt in a Wadi,
between stony desert and rocky mountains,
provides some income for
the farmers. From almonds to dry figs to pistachios to
walnuts, to dates, you name it. Prices only
bit cheaper than in towns. But we
stuffed our car with several kilos, and met this family which as
always like to now more about our journey
and my beloved Brunei
Darussalam.
with the
"keen to know" Iranian ladies
want to be the best taxi driver of the world
On
a junction while we asked for direction a
grey haired man, "I'm Hamed". He pushed his head
almost into the window and asked at
once: "How can I be the best taxi driver in he world?' "Well, you do not
make accidents you are punctual.." How
will they know that
I'm the best taxi driver" Ah; for hat you must see the newspaper"
"How can I be the best family man in the
world?" Well take care of
them, send children to school and....." he interrupted as something else
came in to is mind" How can I be the best
taxi driver?"
"We just said, you have to..." Again he interrupted: How can
I be the best family man?" Oh no Hamed,
it seems there is something
lose up there. We waved by by, while he still was talking.
Friday 29 -2-8
Early up and on we went as in the evening we
liked to reach Zehdan only 80 km from the
Pakistani border. The books tell, it is a
smugglers
paradise. Opium and Heroin coming in from
Afghanistan as the "open" border is less
than 100 km away finds its way to
world markets. It is a rough climate. Police is everywhere and very
concerned with tourists.
No step outside the hotel without police and army boys. Distinguished
reader who waited for our news update, we
tried to go to the
internet, driving in a police vehicle around searching for an open café. But all was
shut. They close at 7:00 pm. .
Why? It is he least stable province. Unemployment is five times
higher than in Iran. Every third girl you
see, goes to school. With
no income, young men become smugglers. Of fuel to Pakistan or more
worst, Opium and Heroin out of Afghanistan.
The local community who lives also in Pakistan over the border
consist of numerous tribes such as the
Baluch, Rigi,Nurui, Kahrazahi
and so forth. They profess Sunni Islam in contract to Iran's Shia.
Here rose Jundollah, the "Army of God" to fight Iran's security
forces. The leader claimed he is fighting
discrimination, injustice and
corruption. How? With killing and bombing. And he finds
supporters. A internet site call him "the
angel of freedom." ( kill captives and
you are an angel?)
Western outlets suspect - so we read- that these army has the
backing of the US seeking to destabilize
Iran. (journalist Amir Hosein)
This is the proof. unsuccessful return
Saturday 1-3-08
By
8:00 am the police came to escort us out of
town. After the first 50 km we had changing escorts,
usually two army boys with
Kalashnikovs and two police officers pistols in the belts, and as
such we were at noon on the Iranian border
ready to enter Pakistan.
Actually it is Baluchistan, stretching on this and the other side of the border
until Quetta town, only 625 or so kilometer
away. The
road runs along the Afghan border never farther than 100 km.
Chopping though all controls we had reached Pakistan by 1:30 pm. on
our journey home to Brunei.
This is getting
interesting dear reader, do not give up. Better click Pakistan
where our journey continues.
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