Iran - Andrew Burke [142]
Using a mix of savaris and taxis it’s possible to visit both Razmiyan (65km) and Gazor Khan (110km) in a long day trip from Qazvin. But it’s much more fun to take your time, sleeping a night or three at Gazor Khan to do some trekking. If you can manage enough Farsi to charter a taxi there’s no real reason to take a guide, though a knowledgeable historian could help bring to life the castles’ bare stones.
A guide (or at least a bag-carrying mule and mule-driver) is wise, however, if you’re planning a multi-day, cross-Alborz trek into the Caspian hinterland Click here.
Razmiyan & Lamiasar Castle
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The winding descent into Razmiyan from Qazvin passes some timeless mud hamlets and gives wonderful views over the Shahrud Valley’s rice terraces. Central Razmiyan itself is a strangely soulless place but a handily central taxi agency ( 322 2828) makes it easy to arrange onward transport if you’ve arrived by savari. A taxi costs IR20,000 up to the Lamiasar Castle access path (2.5km towards Hir). From there it’s an obvious 20-minute stroll to the top edge of the castle where a remnant hint of round bastion and some other wall chunks remain. The castle site sweeps down from here to outer-wall remnants that drop vertically into the valley below. Allow at least an hour to seek out the various degraded fortifications, enjoy the birdsong and meet the lizards. Bring a hat and sunscreen as there’s minimal shade.
There’s no formal accommodation in Razmiyan. A taxi to Mo’allem Kalayeh costs IR80,000, or IR100,000 if you tack on an 8km detour to Evan Lake en route. With its powerful mountain backdrop, the tiny lake would be stunningly beautiful if it weren’t for nearby power lines and muddy car-washing spots.
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CASTLES OF THE ASSASSINS
In the 12th century, a network of incredibly well fortified Alborz mountain castles sheltered the followers of Hasan-e Sabbah (1070–1124), spiritual leader of Islam’s heretical Ismaili sect. In popular myth, Sabbah led a bizarre, much-feared mercenary organisation whose members were dispatched to murder or kidnap leading political and religious figures of the day. They believed that their actions would transport them to paradise. Supposedly Sabbah cunningly cultivated such beliefs by showing them beautiful secret gardens filled with enticing young maidens while unwittingly stoned on hashish. This gave them their popular name ‘Hashish-iyun’, root of the modern English term ‘assassin’. Or so the story goes. Peter Willey’s book, Eagle’s Nest, gives an altogether more sympathetic version portraying Hasan Sabbah as a champion of the free-thinking, pro-science Islamic tradition and suggesting that the hashish tales were fabricated exaggerations designed to denigrate Ismaili Islam.
Whatever the truth, most of the impregnable Ismaili castles were captured by Hulagu Khan in 1256 using diplomatic trickery, having earlier forced the surrender of the Ismailis’ spiritual leader (Sabbah’s successor). Only two fortresses, Girdkuh and Lamiasar, decided to put up a fight. Thanks to their sophisticated water cisterns and vast food reserves they could hold out for years, 17 years in the case of Girdkuh! Before moving on, the Mongols systematically destroyed the castles’ fortifications to avoid future difficulties. That means today it’s history and brilliant scenery more than the scanty rubble that draws the few travellers that make it here.
The crushing of Alamut was effectively the end of the Ismailis for generations though believers resurfaced centuries later and now Ismaili Islam is the predominant faith in parts of Tajikistan and northern Pakistan (though not at all in Iran). The castles were forgotten and only returned to