May 28 Twenty hours on the train from Mashhad to Isfahan.

Interesting trip! There was a group of 9 other Aussies on a similar trip to us so we all compared notes. 

We dashed passed lots of cultivated land standing in stark contrast to the dryness of the surrounding land and mountains.

A fascinating village with lush gardens and curious looking mounds behind. We never did discover what they were.

The countryside was an ever changing vista. Through wheat fields, grazing goats and sheep, barren stretches, ‘jump ups’ in the flat plains much like central Australia. Much of this was seen through a soft orange filter caused by rain clouds and dust. The effect was extraordinary! 

As the light faded the sky became the colour of the underside of young mushrooms with smudges of fading blue clouds. As the sky darkened to purple, the gibbous moon became a soft butter pink.

Our wonderful guide in Mashhad had made sure we got on the train alright and spoke to the steward about our sole use of the cabin, but seems another group decided they were sharing our cabin. Got sorted but not until after they’d eaten and drunk the treats the train steward had set out for us. In the end, the train was quite adequate. And fortunately we could charge our devices. 

Our introduction to Isfahan. Quite the modern metropolis.

A rough sleep broken by an early dawn and we were creeping ever closer to the ancient town of Isfahan the capital of Persia from the late C16 to C18th. 

[To see my pix of this please go to www.flickr.com/photos/hwheat8pix/  and go to Albums and find ‘Mashhad to Isfahan’. 

Or go to Facebook.com/heather.wheat.925]

May 26 Mashhad - first stop the Bathhouse Museum

What an amazing place!  Mahdi Quli Beq, a Turkish Amir (leader) of Khorasan in C11th bequeathed this bathhouse and other properties to the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza, where we’re heading next. 

We wandered through a small street bazaar to teach the Bathhouse. Quite intriguing.

The bathhouse is now a museum and is beautifully restored with well labeled exhibits including samovars, clothing, washing implements and cosmetics. It also houses a rather special photographic exhibition of traditional crafts and artisans at work. 

The walls and ceilings are painted with images depicting contemporary stories of those times. These are many layers thick as the humidity impacted the stucco and colours. 

Quite beautiful and lovingly maintained.

Frescos like this adorned walls and ceilings. These frescoes and mosaics were touched up as the humidity impacted over time. 

The building comprised many rooms with different uses including an open area containing a huge blue pool for the young women to play in when the men weren’t around - there were separate access times for the men and women. Under the floor at one end of the house was brick lined room called a Stockehold, basically the furnace room, which provided heating for the walls and various pools and baths via copper trays (Tians) throughout the building. A brilliant design. 

Then we headed next door to the Holy Shrine. 

This is the Stockehold a gigantic furnace which heated the whole bathhouse. The chimney and drafts are on the back wall. Ingenious design.

Some of the clothing and footwear which would have been worn to the Bathhouse. 

[To see my pix of this please go to www.flickr.com/photos/hwheat8pix/  and go to Albums and find ‘Bathhouse museum’. 

Or go to Facebook.com/heather.wheat.925 ]

May 26 Sacred places full of glitter and colour

Lindsay, our guide and the Shrine guide waiting for me to cover up. 

In case you’re wondering I didn’t buy one! Underneath I’m wearing all my clothes including long sleeved shirt and head scarf. It was rather warm!  

The women who helped we struggle into my garb were lovelynand we all giggled a lot at my clumsiness. 

The Holy Shrine of Imam Reza is a city within a city and covers a huge area; non-Moslem are allowed in the outside areas and some buildings. Women must wear a chador and didn’t I look fetching in my mauve print number. [Next time you complain about ‘hat hair’ think veil/headscarf hair!]. I have a chuckle when I see poking out below many of those modest black cloaks of invisibility, flashy shoes, maybe green patent leather platform soles with studs, and a glimpse of eyelash extensions fringing head scarves. Hmmmm! 

Acres of tiled courtyards which could hold a couple of million people. 

We weren’t allowed into the holy places. Here people are removing their shoes before entering to pray. 

However....... Within the complex of the Haram - a series of sacred precincts, we wondered through quite dazzling courtyards many still being built and covered in brilliantly coloured ceramic tiles. We also visited a couple of the museums housed within the complex - the carpet museum which was quite impressive and the collection of precious  gifts mainly from other countries. Overwhelmingly opulent!

The glitter in here was dazzling. It is the entrance to a huge mosque which we were allowed to walk through. It was pray time and I felt like I was imposing on precious time. The atmosphere was electrifying, overwhelming and humbling. 

There are many museums within the Shrine complex. We visited the multi level carpet museum and ogled at rich carpets dated back into antiquity. 

Lastly we walked through an underground area, glittering with gold and mirrored walls, columns and ceiling, in which people were praying. We had arrived at one of the appointed prayer times and it was a moving experience watching and listening to what seemed like a sea of people murmuring en mass; the women at the back a blanket of black quite touching. I feel a certain connection with the women; it comes through their looks and smile as I pass - ah, the sisterhood! They have it rather tough here. 

Our gentle guide took us through hill villages to give us a panoramic view over the valley that cradles Mashhad. 

Our day ended with a relaxing drive out into the countryside. The next day we were to board a train for Isfahan. 

[To see my pix of this please go to www.flickr.com/photos/hwheat8pix/  and go to Albums and find ‘Holy Shrine’. 

Or go to Facebook.com/heather.wheat.925 ]

May 26  Mashhad - first stop the bathhouse museum!

What an amazing place!  Mahdi Quli Beq, a Turkish Amir (leader) of Khorasan in C11th bequeathed this bathhouse and other properties to the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza, where we’re heading next. 

The bathhouse is now a museum and is beautifully restored with well labeled exhibits including samovars, clothing, washing implements and cosmetics. It also houses a rather special photographic exhibition of traditional crafts and artisans at work. 

The walls and ceilings are painted with images depicting contemporary stories of those times. These are many layers thick as the humidity impacted the stucco and colours. 

The building comprised many rooms with different uses including an open area containing a huge blue pool for the young women to play in when the men weren’t around - there were separate access times for the men and women. Under the floor at one end of the house was brick lined room called a Stockehold, basically the furnace room, which provided heating for the walls and various pools and baths via copper trays (Tians) throughout the building. A brilliant design. 

Then we headed next door to the Holy Shrine. 

[To see my pix of this please go to www.flickr.com/photos/hwheat8pix/  and go to Albums and find ‘Bathhouse museum’. 

Or go to Facebook.com/heather.wheat.925 ]

May 25. Mountains, vales and veils!

All too soon it was time to leave Turkmenistan and head for Iran, but I suspect that we’ll be back - there is so much more to see from the shores of the Caspian in the west to Afghanistan in the east, from Uzbekistan in the north to Iran in the south. Ruins, deserts, mountains, mud volcanoes and petroglyphs. But to the present  ....

The patterns and colours in the rocks were fascinating. Incidentally most of these pix were taken through the dirty window of our chaff-cutter car hammering along the road. 

More patterns. I could have spent hours taking pix and pondering the forces that created such wonderful patterns. 

The border region between Turkmenistan and Iran is mountainous and beautiful. Made all the more beautiful by recent rain which has put a green fuzz across the ranges softening rocky outcrops here and there. Apparently there are wolves, hyenas and jackals, goats, antelope and other small animals living in the Kopet-Dag mountain range. At one point a couple of antelope peered down from a high cliff watching us pass. Sadly we were not allowed to photograph here, but it is imprinted on our minds. Multiple check points didn’t spoil our enjoyment of the relatively short drive to the Turkmenistan-Iran border control - 40 odd km.

The border crossing went OK! Nobody likes border control - endless waits, seemingly pointless searches, etc so I won’t say another word on the subject - for now .... ! Soon we were through and driving further into these spectacular mountains with multi coloured, twisted strata, and monstrous shards of rock projected into the sky. Softened in many places by a fine green velvet fuzz. Magnificent and awesome! 

Some of the poppies were lined up in rows as if they had been planted, but no. These gorgeous things seem to like tilled or disturbed soil. That and the rain and they explode into glorious bloom. 

Lots of people out there to photograph this beautiful display. I was intrigued by the variety of blooms at my feet when we stopped - poppies of course, but euphorbia, forget-me-nots, lupine, ‘Salvation Jane’ and more. The colours were just lovely. 

And then we were descending into a broad string of valleys with a brief stop on the way at an isolated village ‘hole in the wall’ for a glass of sheeps milk doogh, a traditional Persian yogurt drink - a slightly salty taste.

Here and there vivid red poppies nodded as we passed - so beautiful in their simplicity. In the distance I thought I saw a tinge of red in the valley spreading into the foothills. That tinged turned into a blanket of red!  The recent rain had stirred millions of poppies to bloom. Heavenly!   I kept thinking of the poem ‘In Flanders fields the poppies blow, between the crosses ....... ‘. Of course we stopped and took a mass of photos. And just like at home when the canola crops flower creating dense blankets of yellow, this splendid display brought the locals out to take selfies out in the fields. So beautiful!

Our first settlement in Iran in Khorasan, a province in the north east. And my first experience of their loos - always look for thevdusabled cubicles. Otherwise I might have ended up disabled - if you get my drift! Dangerous business! 

Oh, I forgot to mention that once in Iran, I had to don the veil and cover myself. A bit hot - phew! but what can you do?

On the streets, in the hotels, everywhere there are scurrying, billowing black figures. Some of the younger women wear shorter, coloured and patterned veils, but it is predominantly full length black - at least in Mashhad where the temperature was in the mid 30s. Of course the men were sensibly wearing short sleeve, open neck shirts! Hmm ... but as they say ‘when in Rome ‘. Heat exhaustion is just not an issue .. . how many days?? Oh dear ..... 

[To see my pix of this please go to www.flickr.com/photos/hwheat8pix/ and go to Albums and find ‘Iran to Mashhad’. 

Or go to Facebook.com/heather.wheat.925 ]

May 24 Darvaza and the Gate to Hell

Almost 300km north of Ashgabat through the Karakam desert, passed camels wandering haughtily along the road in pairs, alone or in small family groups completely oblivious to traffic, passed small flocks of multi coloured goats and long haired sheep, passed villages built on sand, dunes reminiscent of Australia. A shocker of a road followed by a bumpy 8 km drive through sand dunes and we came upon it. A huge burning crater! 

This is a big crater!

Truly awesome in the extreme! Billowing heat rising skyward in a wall of shimmering heat-haze searing, scorching from metres away. 

Near the top of the hill in the centre you might be able to make out some people. They are waiting for the sun to set.

A great gaping hole of fire and searing heat out there in the middle of nowhere. I got as close as I dared but when the wind changed direction slightly it was enough to singe your eyebrows.

This is a natural gas site that went wrong in 1964, the end result being a crater of continuously burning gas, flames licking and leaping out of rocks, rubble, earth and sand, blackening and scorching the sides of the crater. 

Cars came over the sand dune, as we had, and looked like they might just drive straight into the crater. You wouldn’t want your brakes to fail - there are NO safety barriers out there!

A desolate place but rather magical in the particular way that vastness and isolation can conjure. Silence but for the sound of wind rushing passed your ears or the roar of fire close to the crater where jagged edges draw you hypnotically closer to peer into the fires of Hell. It generates that shuddering feeling of fear and riveting fascination simultaneously. And do you know they found life down there in the hellish centre! Have a look on YouTube National Geographic channel, search for Crater of Hell or Darvaza or Turkmenistan (I don’t have access at the moment). 

A simple BBQ but with million dollar views over the desert .....

A great place for a bbq! We did just that or should I say our guide and driver prepared one for us while we wandered in the desert. Lindsay followed pippets fluttering and bobbing along the ground while I scrounged around looking at desert vegetation - small tufts of feathered grass, a desert herb with pretty creamy- green flowers, desert ‘dog’ or rat burrows and other stuff which grabbed me. 

We had plenty of time because we wanted to see the crater after sunset. 

As the sky darkened the glow intensified. Absolutely awesome and terrifying - magnificent!

Of course that meant that we got back to town after midnight rather shattered because of the hour but also the bone-jarring roads which we are accustomed to of course but ....... 

Incidentally we stopped at two other places on the way there - one a flooded mine crater with gas still fizzing to the surface and the other a crater of plopping mud and fire. The wonders of this part of the world - just amazing!! 

The first of the craters. A small one flooded but still hissing and fizzing with gas.

This abandoned gas crater still burns but also had plopping mud as the gas worked its way up through the wet earth.

Water in the desert! This is part of the drainage system from further south. They dig drainage channels around their fields so that irrigation water drains off rather than raising the water table. The slightly salty water is then piped north to the desert against a future need.

Central Asia and the Caspian region represent the most concentrated mass of untapped wealth in the world. It’s worth a visit! As a matter of interest we have managed to do this trip thanks to our wonderful travel agent, Bev Edwards, working with Sundowners Overland and the local agent in Turkmenistan, Ayan Travel - if you come you should ask for Ata as your guide. He us a walking encyclopaedia and a delightful attentive ambassador. 

Next stop Mashhad, Iran ....... but first a break to collect my wits and absorb it all. 

[To see my pix of this please go to www.flickr.com/photos/hwheat8pix/  and go to Albums and find ‘Darvaza Karakum Desert’. 

Or go to Facebook.com/heather.wheat.925 ]

May 24 The Parthian Fortresses of Nisa

Dating back to around 250 BC and reputed to be the royal necropolis of the Parthian Kings, today the archeological site of Old Nisa is UNESCO World Heritage listed. It was the capital of the Parthians several centuries BC and once part of the empire of Alexander the Great who referred to it as Antiocia. Thanks to the local travel agency, we were very fortunate to have a private tour with one of the local archaeologists who took us through most of what had been excavated. Wow and double wow!!

After walking up a lot of steps we cake out onto this. My initial reaction was ‘oh no not more walking. I’ll never make it there and back’. But I did! In the foreground are depressions used as water catchment reserves. 

Our archaeologist guide, his skin burnt to a rich chestnut after being out in the blazing sun for decades on this dig, had marvellous stories to tell (our guide translated)

All the treasures have been taken to the museum for safe keeping but we found piles of mostly terracotta shards. I would have loved to scrounge but ..... Most of the structures are built of mud brick but the columns tended to be made of baked brick for obvious reasons. 

The mud bricks used to rebuild some of the structures are made from the surrounding earth washed down by rain over the years from the walls of Nisa. 

Incidental finds were wild flowers including poppies and a flowering wild caper plant identical to what we found in Hamlin Pool last year in WA. 

We did a double take as part of a ditch moved - it was a little tortoise about 20 cm across stumbling along. Seems it is tortoise season as we found others wandering across the road oblivious to the danger they were in. 

The fortress city was surrounded by walls now in ruins and inside those walls were large depressions which were used for water catchment. The whole structure is  nestled at the base of that great dividing range which we drove through the following day. Staggering!

An amazing day topped off by a visit north to a wild and astonishing place ....

[To see a few more pix of this please go to www.flickr.com/photos/hwheat8pix/  and go to Albums and find ‘Old Nisa’. ]

May 24 Ashgabat - amazing!

For the curious!

It would take volumes to describe what we saw and learned in Turkmenistan. So just briefly - me, brief? Yeah well, I’ll try. Ashgabat, the capital. We did a tour of this quite stunning city which was leveled and the population decimated by an earthquake in 1948. Now rebuilt, it is a city of shimmering white and gold - all the buildings are either built of or clad with white ‘stone’. The monuments are stupendous, all shining and sparkling new. Turkmenistan gained independence in 1991 and then status as a Neutral country from the UN in 1995. And of course there’s a towering arched Neutrality monument of white and gold reaching over 100m into the sky against a  stunning backdrop of towering Kopet Dag mountains which mark the border with Iran. These mountains were born of tectonic activity eons ago. 

The Neutrality monument was shifted from the centre of the city some time ago. Since then the once rotating statue at the top which followed the sun is stationary.

We ascended the tower for a magnificent panoramic view. The landscaping is quite stunning in its geometric symmetry albeit still in relative infancy. It is said that Ashgabat has the highest concentration of white marble buildings.

This is a modern new-built city whose currency is natural gas and white gold (cotton, introduced by the Soviets into Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan a practice which almost drained the Aral Sea). 

A new 5 star hotel in the shakpe of a flame. Everything is symbolic. The design of Government buildings reflects their purpose. For example the Department of Medicine is in the shape of a cobra. The gas and fuel building is in the shape of a cigarette lighter - even though smoking is banned!

This is the wedding building with multiple halls seating up to 1000 - they have very big families here! The ceremonies take place in the glass orb at the top.

Most roundabouts have rather stunning artwork in their centres.

While its capital is a modern metropolis, Turkmenistan has emerged from a complex and very ancient history. From Parthians, Sogdianas, Aryans, Zoroastrians and many epochs of domination including Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan and Timur. It is a real melting pot and this is reflected in the people who have as their ancestors Persians, Greek, Arabs, Mongols and course Turkmen. Their language is based on Turkic, a language which forms the basis of many languages across much of the area including Turkey (which also had a finger in the pie at some point). 

I can’t leave Ashgabat without telling you about Nisa ..... read on

[To see more pix of this please go to www.flickr.com/photos/hwheat8pix/  and go to Albums and find ‘Ashgabat’. 

Or go to Facebook.com/heather.wheat.925 ]

May 23 And westward-ho to Ashgabat

After our sunset wanderings around the ruins of ancient Merv, we made it to our very lavish hotel in Mary for an extremely late dinner. The name Mary derived from Margoush which means green and lush - and it is. 

We passed many vineyards and other richly cultivated fields as we followed a range of mountains looming to our south; these are part of the massive Kopet Dag Mountain range that form the border with Iran. They lie in huge folds, creased and jagged with slanting strata pointing skyward - evidence of great compression eons ago, and they are still growing. 

Lots of camels along the road as we travelled. Mostly we saw dromedaries. Bactrian cameos are rare and protected.

The mountains were awe inspiring. We didn’t get close until we drove through a pass into Iran - and then we weren’t allowed to take photos.

Along the road we passed many motorbike ‘trucks’ carting all manner of things including huge loads of cut reeds (there are many irrigation channels and swampy ground around here). We even passed a few bicycles almost invisible under mountains of cut reeds. Stock feed we reckoned but we also saw them used as thatching and as temporary fencing. 

Our driver, Ibrahim, was leaving us at Ashgabat and so before we got there we had a little break under some trees by a vineyard and he took some selfies with us.  In the trees where we rested were large bunches of a dried herb. It is used to protect against the evil eye.

Ibrahim was a very nice kind man. It seems that unless you have Ashgabat or surrounds licence plates on your car you can’t drive in Ashgabat. So we said goodbye to Ibrahim from Mary and hello to our next driver, Ashyr from Ashgabat. 

Ibrahim didn’t speak English and we had no Turkmen at all. He probably spoke fluent Russian but I could only speak a few. But it’s amazing how you can get by. Like many in Russia and central Asian, Ibrahim had gold teeth. Lovely man. 

The relatively short drive from Mary to Ashgabat had been really pleasant, but we were ready for a bit of a rest. But before we put our feet up we hopped in a taxi bound for the Russian Bazaar to try to buy a new mouse (for the travel computer - Lindsay uses that a lot). 

This market emerged way back when near the location where the Russians built a garrison. Local producers etc set up shop to provide food etc for the soldiers. It was typical of all markets, lots of hustle and bustle, food and loads of other items. We did a ‘select and point’ type lunch - didn’t know what it was till we bit into it. Tasty fortunately!!

We found what we were looking for and then tried out the local way of getting a ride. Just stand on the side of the road and hail a car, any car! Tell them where you want to go and if it’s on their way, just hop in. Trusty souls that we were, we had a go and got back to the hotel for half the price that the wily cab driver had charged us (no metres .... hmmm). That night we wandered 100m up the road from the hotel and found a delightful place - Turman Pub. It was setup with comfy chairs, deep warm red walls, shelves piled high with books. There was quite a collection of classics - unfortunately all in Russian. AND sports playing on the large screen telly. Interesting contrasts! It was a terrific atmosphere to sip on rich dark Georgian wine - just love that wine.

Pity I don’t read Russian!

Home to bed ready for a huge day the following day ........

[there are a few more pix on www.flickr.com/photos/hwheat8pix/  and go to Albums and find ‘Mary to Ashgabat’. 

Bukhara a short stop! 

[Talk about getting out of sync sorry - I think I need to eat!]

Samarkand is surrounded by mountains but Bukhara is surrounded by desert, the Kyzylkum desert.  Such contrasts! 

A number of things were on our list to see - an old medressa with woodcarving displays, a photographic gallery as well as other things. I opted to stay at the hotel to rest my foot which was sore and swollen from walking a little too much. So Lindsay had the guide all to himself and enjoyed the sights for both of us. 

The hotel we are staying in - Lyabi House - is very quaint and features a pretty albeit small dining room. There was a large group of French and German people staying there and we piggybacked on their set menu dinner. It was OK but the next night we went looking and found something a bit surprising. The food was fine - lots of bbq, salads etc but we were entertained by a very talented violinist playing an electric violin. He was superb!  It’s Ramadan and evening meals etc are a bit special hence the entertainment perhaps. 

Off to the border and Turkmenistan .... 

May 22 to 23 Dusk and with it the haunting sound of the azaan!

The sun has set and the call to prayer has just echoed eerily across the city and people can start eating. Where are/were we? Mashhad, Iran and it’s Ramadan! Of course.  But where was I? I think driving across Uzbekistan and loving it - in spite of roads being of Gibb River Road ‘texture’. 

Bukhara, our final stop in Uzbekistan came and went. Lots of places to see in this Central Asia’s supposed holiest City, but I spent it with my foot up leaving Lindsay to do it alone. An interesting snippet - in the C19th it was ‘famous’ for plagues. They didn’t change the water in the city’s watering holes often enough and as a result life expectancy was 32!  I didn’t drink the water just to be on the safe side!!

This was rather sumptuous at least on the outside. 

This is one of 114 pools from which the plague stretched deadly fingers into the populace. 

From there we headed to Turkmenistan and a very lengthy processing time through two sets of Border controls. I might tell you about that another time suffice it to say it entailed a few hours and almost 2 km walking with our luggage in 35+C midday sun through no mans land. One interesting spot was on the Uzbek side where we were part of what we think was the making of a promo or training video - we were the only ‘clients’ there. Lots of smiles and we sailed through. The grind was yet to come!

All that was worth it in the end as our guide in Turkmenistan was a walking talking Mr Google. You can imagine my delight - me, who never stops asking questions!  He was a real gem. 

Ata was brilliant. An astonishing walking encyclopaedia. He was kept busy!

This is the Karakum River. A man made canal linking a couple of big rivers to bring life giving water to the desert. Irrigation on a grand scale. Water is used wisely here. Drainage run off from the irrigated fields is collected and piped to the desert against times of drought. It is salty but water nonetheless. 

Reeds are collected for stock fodder and roofing and other uses. 

On our way to Ashgabat the capital, we paid a visit to ancient Merv built around C6th BC, it’s a major archaeological site in Central Asia and once contained several walled cities. We wandered almost totally alone among ruins in this 14 hectare site. Ruins, grand and other-worldly, became increasingly silhouetted against a fading lavender and chartreuse sky. We ended with a visit to a C12th tomb outside of which on an old dead tree was the evidence of a not so distant Zoroastrian past. 

One of the very early palaces. Mud that is washed down from the walls, dissolved mud bricks, is collected and used in the restoration process. 



Another of the many palaces in this huge site.  

This is the remains of a Zoroastrian past - but not so passed as devotees still come here at particular times of year and tie their wishes to this ‘tree’. 

It was a highly romantic way to end a rather challenging day and a perfect introduction to Turkmenistan. 

A C12th mausoleum. Even though it was very late, the kind watchman let us in for a good look. 

[To see more pix of this please go to www.flickr.com/photos/hwheat8pix/  and go to Albums and find ‘Bukhara to Merv’. ]