Riding my Motorcycle into Central Iran
Update 68 (August 2024)
Tehran to Esfahan, Iran
I just spent one night in Tehran. It was fine, but large cities do not hold much appeal these days, I much prefer a more calm pace. My hotel was charging me a premium price also, and it was not that good compared to others so far.
After breakfast and a chat with some taxi drivers outside the hotel I took on the Tehran peak hour traffic. Fairly quickly I found a highway and rode south. Google Maps was saying it was a toll road, but it appears the tolls were long gone. There were also some signs on the highway that motorcycles were not allowed. Locals can’t have a motorcycle greater than 250cc, maybe they are too slow for highways. I decided to ignore the signs for now. I had the impression things might have relaxed. I did pass a couple of police cars, but they did not react. That day I also passed two police radars at the correct speed and both police officers gave me a friendly wave and smile.
I was certainly a novelty with my motorcycle. I would regularly be riding along the highway and sense a car pull alongside. I’d glance across and see all the occupants smiling, waving and often filming me, which I was cool about. Others would give me a toot and wave as they went past. It is probably way back as far as Argentina since I have had such enthusiastic support from the local people, although Central Asia was close.
Social media is as popular in Iran as any other country, from what I could see. The government blocks the sites, but people just use a VPN when they need to skirt around it. Quite a few hotels asked if they could take a photo of the bike and I outside their hotel and post it on Instagram. I don’t bother with social media but it was fine, I’m always happy to support small businesses.
Out of the city district of Tehran and heading south through central Iran.
This is part of the small village of Khafr in Karkas Rural District.
The village of Khafr.
I decided to leave the main road and take some backroads. It was quiet and much more relaxing. After a while I came across this village and Tarqrud Castle. The fortress dates back to the Parthian Empire (247 B.C. to 224 A.D.) and was primarily used for protection when invading enemy arrived.
There was some restoration happening, hopefully fast enough.
The other side of Tarqrud Castle.
Riding through the hot desert towards the city of Eṣfahān.
Upon arriving in Eṣfahān, I was lucky and found a room at the first hotel I tried. It was Isfahan Traditional Hotel and right next to the bazaar and walking distance to Naqsh-e Jahan Square.
My room in the corner.
I spent much of my time exploring the Grand Bazaar.
The bazaar in Eṣfahān dates back to the 11th century but it seems the current version is from the 17th century.
The bazaar is fairly quiet during the heat of the day but after about 6pm it comes to life. It covers a huge area and the goods range from cheap made in China stuff to exotic gold jewellery and traditional handicrafts.
There were plenty of traditional drinks available. This is a sweet drink called Sharbate Khakshir and made with the seeds of the Descurainia Sophia plant.
Dinner at Isfahan Traditional Hotel was a baked dish with rice, chicken, yoghurt and spices. I think it was called Tachin Joojeh.
I think this was a sweet sharbat with a mix of cucumber and rose. The manager of the restaurant had explained all of this but I lost the notes on my phone.
This is a local sweet side dish that can also be eaten as a desert. I think it is called Khoresht mast. It is not one for the vegetarians as one of the ingredients is lamb neck. Lots of saffron as usual. It has a unique stringy texture, maybe from the meat?
By now I was feeling pretty comfortable in Iran. In fact at one point I reflected that I had not smiled and laughed so much for quite a while. People here are very upbeat and have a good sense of humour.
Local people would regularly ask me where I was from and react with surprise and awe when I said the motorcycle and I were from Australia. Many young ones said they wanted to go to Australia, but it was very difficult for them.
Each evening that I was in Eṣfahān I would walk through the bazaar to Naqsh-e Jahan Square. It is a World Heritage Site and built between 1598 and 1629. It was just a fun place to come. The locals would come after the sun went down, to socialise and shop in the surrounding bazaar. People would often just come up to me and chat. It certainly felt like I was the only foreign tourist. In fact the only foreign tourists I met or noticed on my whole visit to Iran was a Russian couple.
Looking across at Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Esfahan.
Kids flying kites and cooling off in the fountain.
Naqsh-e Jahan Square.
There is an amazing array of foods available.
This is inside a cafe that was recommended to me. I sat and had a nice Turkish coffee amongst the antiques.
My hotel also suggested I see the Pahlevani and zoorkhaneh rituals. I found the location but there was nothing happening at the time. I did not get to really understand but I gather it is a traditional form of exercise and martial arts that was used to train warriors in the past.
