Storm Over Ararat (Ania Maciag)

Preconceptions often shroud our first experiences of something new. We allow our prejudice and inexperienced opinion to influence how we approach and receive a new place, person or situation. For me Iran was definitely was one of these situations. I had obviously heard many stories of how renowned the Iranians for their hospitality and generousity. I had also heard about a country full of fanatical Muslims who want to wipe the West from the map and create an Islamic Republic in every country. I now know which one is more close to the truth, and how influential both media and government are in controlling both a society and opinion.

I had long battled with the idea of visiting Iran. It was country that didn’t really want me to visit. For starters the visa took many weeks and pounds to organise before I even arrived at the border. With the current rhetoric coming from both the West and the Iranian camps, escalation looks like the only road forward. Both want to prove a point and won’t give an inch. The prospect of being in a country which was basically an enemy of mine was a bit daunting. However, the chance of visiting Iran is diminishing with weeks. As the Green Movement become more powerful and the Mullahs grasp begins to slip I believe Iran will slip into a period of civil unrest and social conflict much like the last 200 years.

So as we cycled along the Azari border on the Aras river towards Tehran I my preconceptions began to diminish and the real picture of Iran began to appear. People were not aggressive like in Turkey, or boastful in their property like Syria, they were merely relaxed and comfortable but welcoming to a fault. I believe I have been greeted with extra friendliness to ensure there is no mistake, I am definitely welcome here. On our first night we pitched the tents in a field with the permission of the farmer at 8pm as a storm began to roll in. He came to us, ”please sleep in my house, I am leaving now to get you dinner but please sleep”. Once we managed to explained we had alredy eaten he insisted on bringing us breakfast, which we had to refuse, in the end we settle with a bottle of milk and of course at 8am on the dot we saw a motorcycle arrive with a bottle cold full fat milk balanced on the back, we enjoyed every last drop.

From the Aras River we crossed the mountains to the Caspian Sea. Another world away from the hot dusty hills of Turkey and Iran we have been cycling through for the last couple of weeks. We cycled through a one kilometre tunnel and emerged into a world of jungle clad mountains and humidity. As we dropped down towards to the sea we began to ride through some rice paddies. It was so out of place it felt like we were in Laos or Vietnam not Iran. I was very keen to sleep by the sea so we pitched up the beach only to be welcomed into a kiwi plantation next to the sea. The swimming was a little different from the Cornish waves I am used to but it still did the world of good. And afterward we all took full advantage of the rather ellaborate irrigation system on the farm to take showers. Luckily it was very dark, with the moon behind the clouds, but had it not been people would have seen three very white naked people taking showers under kiwi sprinklers.

I will leave you with that thought…

Buying Sweets (Robb Maciag)

Mountain Leaders (Ania Maciag)

Green Paddies (Robb Maciag)

Sunrise over the Caspian Sea