Yazz And The Plastic Population Say Hi From Yazd
Trip Start
Mar 13, 2010
1
8
13
Trip End
Apr 10, 2010
Yazd, Iran
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Arrived in Yazd on Sun 28 Mar after a 5 hour bus jaunt from Esefahan. My plan to have a last cuppa from the roof of the Quarishay Tea Shop overlooking Imam Square fell foul 'cos the place was closed, but I did have a very pleasant wander round I.S. for the last time. Truly Esefahan has so far been the highlight of the trip, a great place with many wonderful sights in a relatively cosmopolitan setting.
I'd used my loaf and reserved a single room at the Silk Road Hotel in Yazd, and all I can say is that I'm glad I did, 'cos quite simply this is by far the nicest place I've stayed in. It's got a great garden courtyard with comfy bedsized ottomans to sprawl in, a complimentary welcome cuppa, inclusive of breakkie, full restaurant serving a variety of cuisines other than kebabs and plus my room was ensuite - i know i'm getting soft in my old age. Plus, despite not being even half full, I got to meet more travellers in my two nights in Yazd here at Silk Road Hotel than in the previous two weeks.
Over pizza on my first night there I met ; Justin the Aussie and Chris the Dane both of whom are on Middle Eastern epics for about 4 months, and some truly inspiring or maschositc (not sure yet) long distance cyclists - incl. Adrian an Aussie who cycled from eastern China to Kathmandu, then flew to Dubai and took the ferry to Iran, and a few others too with pedalometer readings to make my daily 25min cycle to work seem infintesimeal. Then there was an Austrian , Lucas who was also on a bike, but this one had a bit more horsepower, and him and his Enfield were slogging it out from Delhi to Vienna. Hats off to you guys. No doubt.
So with the one full day in Yazd I hit the old city to see the sights.
Yazd is famous for its badgers - sorry bagidirs - it's not a sanctuary for zebra striped oversized rodents, aka windtowers. Plus most of its old city is made from adobe mud brick. It's got some nifty sights including the Zurkaheh - Iranian show of strength which Justin, Chris and I visited. Pre-Islam and with strong Zoostranism roots, the Zurkaheh is a uniquely Iraninan show of strength with 12 chaps in a pit doing a workout with plenty of whirling dervishish style movemnets and lifting of big wooden mallets all to the rhyme of a drummer who also belts out some poetry. Very curious indeed.
Had an Indian curry that night in the courtyard, then relaxed and took it easy the next morning before heading up to teh bus terminal to make the 2pm departure to Shiraz. Just got on by the skin of my teeth, despite it being full - the driver found a spot for me - driving the bus - ah no, at the back there was one seat left over. Lucky. V. lucky.
Ok, that's Yazd.
Wadi.
