Tuesday 23rd – Wednesday 24th April, 2019
We altered our original plan and decided to fly to Sirjan rather than driving (would have taken at least 2 days). We arrived in the evening and were greeted at the airport by our friend Ellie and her mother. We spent the following day relaxing and went cycling in the evening on the shore of a salt lake on the outskirts of the town.
Thursday 25th – Friday 26th April, 2019
Left in the morning to drive to the Lut Desert with Ellie and her family. It took almost 4h to get to Shahdad where Ellie had booked an overnight stay and arranged for a 4×4 car and guide to go and see the Kalut ( 20km away). It turned out that the reserved car had broken down and after some delay to source a replacement, we were on our way to go and see the sunset in the desert. We got there only just in time….( this is after we had a flat tyre on the way and had to wait for someone to bring a spare).
The next morning, since we did not have the time to see the sand dunes the previous day, our guide agreed to takes us for sunrise. This meant a 5 am start…. but worth it. It was quite windy and the sand appeared grey at first. It turned yellow when the sun came out, creating shadows and bringing a warmer glow to the sand. It was quite windy too and you could see the sand flying off the side of the dunes. Our tracks were rapidly disappearing, covered by the sand.
After breakfast at the guest house, we went for a short walk in the village. I had seen some intriguing towers from a distance and wanted to investigate… it was part of an old fort:
The old fort 
Interesting brickwork… 
old mud houses 
In the courtyard of the guest house 
On the way back to Sirjan, we stopped at Mahan for lunch and enjoyed some time in the park near the Shah Nematollah Vali Shrine. We played some badminton and attracted the attention of a group of street kids. Paul taught them to count to five, creating much amusement when they mispronounced number 4, meaning something totally different in farsi!( swear word)
Young girl, Mahan, Iran
Saturday 27th April, 2019
We drove to te site of an old zoroastrian fire temple on top of a hill outside Sirjan, then in the afternoon sat in the park near 2 old ice houses. These were the ancestor to the refrigerator ! The wall joining the 2 towers is pierced with a series of holes, allowing the wind to circulate up to each ice house and keep things inside cool. The cone shape overground is only 30% of the whole structure which goes deep underground.
The fire temple 
View from the top over distant pistachio tree plantations 
The ice house, with stair access at the base
In the evening, we were invited for dinner at one of Ellie’s best friends who had just moved into a new appartment. The building was designed by her husband and the flat was nice and modern.
As customary, we had tea and a selection of fresh fruit and dry nuts before sitting for dinner. We had one of the staples of iranian cuisine: Fasenjen (chicken stew cooked in walnut paste and pomeganate molasses, giving it a slighly sweet taste) and also neck of lamb cooked to perfection: the meat was really tender and falling of the bones, served with rice of course !
This was a fine way to spend our last evening in Sirjan.
