Iran - Andrew Burke [121]
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JOLFA
0492 / pop 14,000
The original Jolfa was once a major Armenian settlement famous for its skilled artisans. So skilled, in fact, that in 1604 Shah Abbas kidnapped the entire population, whisking them off to build him a new capital at Esfahan where their descendants still live. Original Jolfa is now a busy little border town focused on Ashura Sq, a sizable roundabout directly south of the Azerbaijan immigration post. Nearby you’ll find freelance moneychangers and No Avaran Internet Club (Vilaete-Fagih St off Ashura Sq; per hr IR6000; 9am-2pm & 4-8pm Sat-Thu). The town has little to see in itself, but makes a good low-budget base for visiting the Church of St Stephanos (opposite), exploring the fascinating Aras River Valley or crossing into Nakhchivan or Armenia.
Sleeping & Eating
Yemekhana Hatäm ( 302 2828; Ashura Sq; s/tw IR30,000/50,000, tw with shower IR60,000) Survivable rooms available at the back of a popular, recently redecorated restaurant, which serves a splendid zereshk polo ba morgh (chicken with rice and barberries) dinner for IR20,000, including soup and drink.
Hotel Durna ( 302 3812; Vilaete-Fagih St; tw/tr/q IR65,900/77,900/88,000) Unsophisticated but neat, well-kept and spotlessly clean rooms share decent squat toilets and hot showers. Signed in Cyrillic, 400m east of Ashura Sq, it’s a step up in quality from the similarly priced Hotel Azerbaijan almost next door.
Jolfa Tourist Inn (Mehmansara Jahangardi; 302 4824; fax 302 4825; Eslam St; tw with/without bathroom US$30/20) Jolfa’s smartest option is 1km from the centre. Walk a block south from Ashura Sq then 10 minutes diagonally right at the T-junction, passing the train station en route. Some English is spoken.
Getting There & Away
Savaris gather just north of Ashura Sq for Marand (IR12,000, one hour), Hadiyshahr (Alamdar; IR1500, 15 minutes) and occasionally Tabriz (IR35,000, 2½ hours). Minibuses to Marand (IR4000, 1½ hours) run from Hadiyshahr, but not from Jolfa itself. The road to Khoy, shown on most maps, is partly mud track across almost uninhabited wilderness. It can be very hard to follow in places, but it’s possible in a Paykan (IR200,000, 2¼ hours). You’ll need a full-day taxi charter to do justice to the scenic Aras River road to Kaleybar.
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AROUND JOLFA
West of Jolfa
Jolfa’s main tourist drawcard is the very attractive Armenian Church of St Stephanos (Kalisa Darreh Sham; admission IR3000; dawn-dusk). The earliest surviving part of the building is 14th century. However, St Bartholomew first founded a church on the site around AD 62, a single generation after Christ. The well-preserved exterior reliefs include Armenian crosses, saints and angels. The bell tower is under reconstruction.
Tucked into a wooded glade, access is five minutes’ stroll from the car park passing an ancient stone arch and ‘mill’ cascade. The church is 17km west of central Jolfa along the Aras valley. It’s a wonderfully scenic drive especially in the golden pre-sunset light, but be careful with your camera as the river constitutes a potentially sensitive international border. On the Azerbaijani riverbank 7km west of Jolfa, a truncated tomb stub and broken bridge are all that mark the original site of ancient Jolfa (view across the Aras from near a police ‘fort’). About 1km further west, as you enter a spectacular red-rock canyon, there’s a ruined caravanserai (north of the road) and, 400m beyond, a cute, minuscule Shepherd’s Chapel (south).
GETTING THERE & AWAY
A taxi from Jolfa (25 minutes each way) costs around IR60,000 return with stops. A car with an English-speaking driver from Tabriz costs around IR350,000 return Click here.
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CROSSING THE AZERBAIJAN (NAKHCHIVAN) BORDER AT JOLFA
Culfa, in Azerbaijan’s disconnected Nakhchivan enclave, is a short walk across the