Taxi Ride Through Iran

Troy Nahumko takes us on a wild taxi adventure through Northern Iran in his article, “No Translation Necessary: A Taxi Ride in Northern Iran.” He depicts his roller coaster ride through highways, towns, and mountains. This article follows a fun, unexpected voyage all by taxi.

The lingering smell of burnt rubber was an inauspicious end to an eye-opening journey through the beautiful though scarcely traveled northern tip of Iran. As the driver pitched us from one near-death experience to the next, vibrant green rice paddies melted past the window on the left while the Caspian's black sand beaches hemmed us in on the right.

The Talesh and Sabalan Mountains may be dwarfed the by towering Alborz Mountains that rise from the smog of northern Tehran, but as they run down the Caspian coast from the border with Azerbaijan, the hues of green found in this fertile area challenge the preconceived idea of Iran being nothing but a vast desert littered with beautiful blue tiled mosques.

Here perennial mists seem to slide off the Caspian and drape these ranges with a diaphanous light when temperatures in the more famous southern tourist sites might be hitting 110º under an unrelenting sun. Brahman cows wander along the roadsides while brightly dressed women tend the tea bushes of the plantations in the area.
Back to that happy reverie before the Brahman jolt. To a place west of the black market caviar dealers in steamy Rasht, where the roads wind through rice paddies and tea plantations that wouldn't be out of place in Southeast Asia.

Locals rent out rooms to travelers and it's impossible to walk through the village without being invited in for tea and the orange flavored tobacco that wafts from every terrace, no matter where you are from. The inevitable trinket shops cater to the mainly Iranian tourists looking to buy local delicacies and most of the handicrafts available are locally produced, but livelihoods here are still made on the side of the mountains.

Perhaps the most notable difference after traveling around traffic-crazy Iran, when coming to this green mountain village, is the silence. Due to the way the village is constructed, only the bravest of drivers dare work their way up the tangled paths. So amidst the mist you are treated to something that is indeed rare in this enormous country, a total lack of car noise.

They Let the Music Move them in the Desert of Iran

GoNOMAD's editor joined a group of about 120 travel industry representatives and traveled to Iran recently. It was an eye-opening journey, mostly because the people were so friendly in contrast with what we hear from the government. He had the most fun when he took a trip into the vast central desert called Dasht-E-Kavir, where people can finally feel free. Below is part of his story.

Rolling Down the Dunes

But Iran’s biggest desert had more gifts for us, as we found when we stopped next to high dunes. It was getting toward sunset, the light was sharp and perfect to frame the beautiful faces of Iran’s lovely people.

Scrambling up the steep sandy face of the hilly dunes, some of us folded hands on our chests and rolled all the way down. Others set out to walk far out to the tops of the highest dune peaks. The light was perfect, that soft glow of a late fall afternoon, and we were glad we had brought along jackets to ward off the chill after sundown.
After a break for tea and cakes, we made our way back to the town square of Aran, where in the shadow of a giant mosque, lit up in bright lime green, we switched back to the comfortable modern coach. After we set out, the red curtains were drawn, and our guides selected the funkiest Iranian dance beats on the coach’s stereo.

On the way home, we closed the curtains and danced to Iranian rock music on the bus.
To the blasting beat, one by one men and woman got up to dance, swaying seductively and smiling, defying the rules against such ungodly pleasures. No one could stop us as we rolled along in the desert, no one could see what fun we were having as we let the music move us.